A war is raging in Europe closer to the German capital than the Colosseum in Rome.

Decisions long thought to be immutable must be renegotiated in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Was the nuclear phase-out wrong?

Does Germany have to upgrade now?

Should conscription be reinstated?

Participants in the “Germany speaks” debate will discuss these and other questions.

Neither place of residence, age nor level of education determine who speaks to each other.

Only controversial views count when the algorithm decides who comes together to debate.

Kira Kramer

Editor on duty at FAZ.NET.

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This is how a Putin understander meets a pacifist and a civil servant from Berlin meets workers from Augsburg: once again, the disputants meet in video conferences.

The local independence enables discussants from the most diverse corners and milieus of the country to start their dialogue without great effort.

From now until probably autumn, all readers of the FAZ can find out about the questions in our texts on FAZ.NET.

If you register once by answering all eight questions, you can be linked to a new conversation partner every week.

The rolling system remains in place - so the pool of participants is constantly growing.

While the 2021 campaign was still about the corona pandemic, the taxation of petrol and the meaning and purpose of gendering, in 2022 it is all about the Ukraine war and its effects.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is also a conflict between Russia and the West.

Until recently it seemed unlikely that Germany would also deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine, but the traffic light government now wants to send tanks as well.

Is this the "turning point" that Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke about in February?

Germany is looking for a different self-image by realigning its foreign policy.

But is the decision to supply heavy weapons right or is it a threat to peace in our country?

This question also comes up in “Germany Talks”.

But because hardly anything is certain in times of war, neither do our questions.

The eight debate questions are updated regularly so that our readers' debates are always up to date.

Building bridges in dialogue

Times of war and crisis call old certainties into question.

A Russian war of aggression seemed unthinkable to many Germans until the first Russian tanks rolled onto Ukrainian soil.

Others have long warned that dialogue with Putin is not productive.

While Daniela Bergelt, official and participant in last year's campaign, said as early as May 2021: "Sanctions are the only language that is understood in the Kremlin", her chosen interlocutor, car dealership owner Tomas Bilic, was of the opinion: "The conditions in Russia are different.

It's hard to judge from here."

Journalist Martin Benninghoff said last year: "We should maintain friendly relations with both America and Russia."

of which only 41 percent were in favor of tightening the sanctions against Russia.

In the group of under 30-year-olds, a good 60 percent supported stricter sanctions.

For the fourth time now, the FAZ and its readers have been part of “Germany Talks”.

The concept for the campaign was originally developed by “Zeit Online”, which has been inviting various partner media to help shape the campaign every year since then.

In 2021, around 14,000 people registered for the debate, with city dwellers clearly outnumbering rural participants.

On average, the participants were 48.9 years old last year.

Once again this year, the discussants have the opportunity to rate their experience after the debate.

Although the algorithm only brought together people with diametrically different attitudes in 2021, 58 percent said they wanted to stay in touch with their counterpart.

One topic that has always bothered Germans is the car.

Last year, almost half of the participants were in favor of taxing petrol more heavily.

But the war and concerns about bottlenecks are causing prices to skyrocket.

A liter of diesel costs 1.31 euros on a monthly average in March 2021, in March of this year it was a whopping 2.14 euros.

And once again things turned out differently: the tax on petrol is to be reduced, according to the government's relief package.

But does that also mean: "Keep it up"?

Or shouldn't Germany be the last European country to introduce a speed limit on its autobahns to save fuel and thus energy?

This controversial question will also divide our readership.

There will be arguments and some may encounter incomprehension.

The Ukraine war shows that not every conflict can be resolved through dialogue.

Yet it remains the best means we have for building bridges.