For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the German government plans to encourage its citizens to prepare for a catastrophe or an armed attack by stockpiling food, water and other supplies, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" reported on Sunday.

Citing the government's "Concept for Civil Defense" paper to be discussed by the cabinet on Wednesday, the government will require people to stock 10 days' worth of food and five days' worth of drinking water.

The civil defense strategy would require citizens to have a sufficient supply of food, water, energy, money and medicine to wait out a period until the state would be able to initiate a response to a catastrophe or attack.

A spokesperson from the interior ministry declined to comment on the contents of the paper until a Wednesday press conference.

A civil defense plan to be debated by the cabinet would require citizens to stockpile supplies in case of a catastrophe. The plan says people should prepare for an unlikely event that "could threaten our existence."

(The article was first published on DW. You can read the original article here.)