Tens of Thousands of Students Protest Mandatory Military Service in Germany

More than 45,000 students in 100 cities took to the streets in Germany to protest against mandatory military service.

While the government aims to increase the number of military personnel from 180,000 to 260,000, young people are opposing the introduction of compulsory service.

Students carried banners reading: “School Strike Against Mandatory Military Service. Against War and Rearmament. Youth Against Compulsory Service.”

Bela Breitner, a spokesperson for the initiative, said: “First there were the surveys, and now there is the announcement of the mandatory registration process, which is actually scheduled to begin in July 2027. The federal government is serious about gradually reintroducing compulsory military service. The responses to the surveys show that young people do not want to join the military.”

📍 The new military service law came into force in January. At the heart of the legislation is a mandatory registration process for young men born in 2008.

The German government has reinstated compulsory military service, citing what it considers a security threat to the country stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war.

Source: DW