School strikes are taking place across Germany to protest against the possible reintroduction of compulsory military service.
One of the organisers of the strike, Bela Breitner, from School Strike Against Compulsory Military Service said the federal government was “serious about gradually reintroducing compulsory military service”.
At one protest in Hamburg, demonstrators waved flags and held up banners emblazoned with the words “We won’t take part in your wars”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made boosting Germany’s military a priority following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A new law introducing voluntary military service came into force in January, with the aim of recruiting volunteers to increase the number of soldiers.
However, if the security situation worsens or if too few volunteers come forward, a form of compulsory military service could be considered by Germany’s Parliament, the Bundestag.
Under the law, all 18-year-olds in Germany are being sent a questionnaire asking if they are interested and willing to join the armed forces.
One protester, 16-year-old Elias Bernhard, from Hamburg, said that the responses to the questionnaires “show that young people do not want to join the Bundeswehr [Germany’s armed forces]”.
“That is why I am out on the streets today. That is why we are serious about striking until compulsory military service is off the table. We will carry on.”
The questionnaire is mandatory for men and voluntary for women. All 18-year-old men will have to take a medical exam to assess their fitness for possible military service.
The organisers of the protests, say the trigger came after some 18-year-olds in the northern German towns of Kiel and Flensburg, were sent official invitations for medical exams, even though they expressed no interest in joining the army on their registration forms.
The group says over a hundred demonstrations are planned across Germany, including in Kiel, Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt.
A spokesperson for the Defence Ministry told the BBC that under the law, the obligation to undergo a medical examination applies “to all men liable for military service who were born after 31 December 2007”.
This also applies to people who have stated that they have no interest in compulsory military service. The spokesperson said that since July around 1,000 18-year-old men, who showed no interest in the army, have had the medical exam.
During the Cold War, Germany, like many other European countries, had a large army. But it reduced its armed forces during the 1990s after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Germany’s former Chancellor, Angela Merkel, ended compulsory military service in 2011.
But now, in the face of perceived threats from Russia and heavy pressure from Germany’s traditional ally, the US, Merz has vowed to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe’s strongest conventional army.
The Bundeswehr currently has around 186,700 troops. By the early 2030s, Germany wants to raise the number to 260,000, supplemented by around 200,000 reservists, in order to meet new Nato force targets and strengthen Germany’s defences.
