Students across Germany are staging nationwide strikes to oppose measures that could revive compulsory military service. Organisers point to questionnaires sent to all 18‑year‑olds and mandatory medical checks for men — including around 1,000 who said they were not interested — as the immediate trigger. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is pursuing a major expansion of the Bundeswehr amid concerns over Russia and new NATO commitments. Protesters plan more than 100 demonstrations and say they will continue until conscription is taken off the table.
Students Across Germany Strike Against Plans To Reintroduce Military Service
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Students and young people staged protests across Germany to oppose moves that could lead to the reintroduction of compulsory military service.
One organiser, Bela Breitner of the group School Strike Against Compulsory Military Service, told reporters the federal government appears "serious about gradually reintroducing compulsory military service." At a rally in Hamburg, demonstrators waved flags and held banners reading, "We won't take part in your wars."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made strengthening the armed forces a government priority in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A law creating a voluntary military service came into force in January, intended to attract recruits and raise troop numbers. However, lawmakers have said that if the security situation deteriorates or too few volunteers step forward, Parliament (the Bundestag) could consider reintroducing a form of conscription.
Under the current law, all 18-year-olds in Germany receive a questionnaire asking whether they are willing and interested in serving in the armed forces. The questionnaire is mandatory for men and optional for women. Men born after 31 December 2007 who are liable for military service must also undergo a medical examination to assess fitness for potential service.
"The responses show that young people do not want to join the Bundeswehr," said 16-year-old protester Elias Bernhard from Hamburg. "That is why we are out on the streets today and plan to keep striking until compulsory military service is off the table."
Organisers say protests were triggered after some 18-year-olds in Kiel and Flensburg received official invitations for medical exams despite indicating they did not wish to join the armed forces on their registration forms. The group has planned more than 100 demonstrations nationwide, including in Kiel, Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt.
A Defence Ministry spokesperson told the BBC that the medical-exam requirement applies "to all men liable for military service who were born after 31 December 2007," including those who declared no interest in service. The ministry said that since July roughly 1,000 18-year-old men who had said they were not interested in the army have undergone the medical exam.
During the Cold War, Germany maintained large conscript forces, but it sharply reduced troop levels in the 1990s after the end of the Iron Curtain. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel ended mandatory service in 2011.
Chancellor Merz has pledged to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe's strongest conventional army. The Bundeswehr currently fields about 186,700 troops; Berlin aims to raise that number to roughly 260,000 by the early 2030s, supported by around 200,000 reservists, to meet NATO targets and bolster national defence.
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