German high school students protest against military service
https://www.dw.com/en/german-high-school-students-protest-against-military-service/a-76236452
Posted by pheexio
German high school students protest against military service
https://www.dw.com/en/german-high-school-students-protest-against-military-service/a-76236452
Posted by pheexio
40 Comments
Obviously, people do not want to die in wars, at least in some countries. What I could never understand is why in others they do?
I’m all for peace, but it’s incredibly naïeve to think that peace can be maintained without a military force.
German teenagers do not seem to understand something important, which is that, if there is a war, it is better to be prepared than to be killed in the first ten minutes. You have a bigger chance to survive and help others if you have knowledge and useful tools in your hands than if you agitate against being prepared in advance. I hope they will be informed in time.
>The German government introduced a new military service law in December 2025. The law means all 18-year-olds will receive questionnaires this year, asking them about their motivation and suitability for the military and informing them about volunteering for the Bundeswehr. Responding will be mandatory for men.
Why are people surprised that those who would be subject to it are the most against it?
I don’t blame them because they don’t have a bright future ahead. Politics there is doing only stuff for retired people. Why would you fight for a country who doesn’t care about you?
Well with a government that supports Israeli genocide and is unwilling to condemn illegal US and Israeli warmongering it doesn’t really surprise me. I don’t want my kids to be cannon fodder to support illegal wars to distract from rapist oligarch crimes.
A lot of people claim it is a moral duty to help Ukraine; others think it is a security necessity for Europe to do so, lest Russia (which can’t even invade half of Ukraine) tries to invade the rest of Europe.
But the truth is that, at the end of the day, nobody really wants to volunteer their precious body to become cannon fodder on that (or some other…) meat grinder it seems. I can’t blame them.
Virtue signaling through inflamed comments on social networks and sporting Ukrainian flags on profiles is so much safer to do.
Germans, who for the past 80 years have been conditioned to reject patriotism, are not taking military service well.
Go figure.
>Peace instead of graveyards
Ah yes, demilitarisation = eternal life.
I’m sorry but so many of you seem absolutely delusional about the level of risk of invasion Germany is at. It is not all necessary for mandatory service.
Why would they be drafted?
Ukrainian drafts situation is DIRE and Zelenskyy still doesn’t want to have soldiers younger than 25 years old. That’s because he wants them to rebuild and repopulate the country later.
Based
No way in hell I’m fighting for rich white pedophiles, billionaires, convicts, dictators, and incompetent leaders. Let them fight it out Battle Royale style on Epstein island.
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Are they protesting in front of russian embassy?
Sorry guys, Israel needs you now more than ever
“If we don’t get enough volunteers we will have to draft men”
@
conditions and salary is shit
@
“oh well we don’t have any other choice”
It sounds like Germany is heading for a similar approach as Sweden with limited conscription. If that is the case you probably don’t have to worry because they will only pick those that are motivated and physically fit enough. If you say that you are really not interested and they instead have the option to pick someone that is it would be stupid of them not to pick the other person.
I will say though that I don’t understand the idea that people have that you will only fight for the political elite. Just look at what Russia has done in Ukraine, in Bucha for example. Do you want that to happen in your country or one of your neighbouring countries?
I’ve had discussion with my colleague earlier today. So long people declaring/promoting war are charging with their family in front of me towards theird perceived enemy I’m all up for going to war.
Off course I mean every single politician. Now when we know that is never going to happen what do you think my stance is going to be on it?
Conscription or being in military service should always be optional. It should be paid so much that there are enough volunteers to have a strong army.
If the military would just learn how to treat recruits like human beings they wouldn’t have a recruitment problem.
But no, they have to stick to their ways, screaming at them abusing them and humiliating them.
Newer generations just have no tolerance for that authoritarian bullshit.
Oh, yes. Young people don’t want to be forced into their deaths. What a shocker. /s
Mark Rutte just said NATO is about projecting American power, right after he glazed Trump bombing Iran.
Why would anyone be stupid enough to fight for an American pedophile cabal?
It’s always the ones who set the laws that remain unaffected
I think the most impressive thing the CDU has done in recent years is reframing the entire discussion around the German military into “the only way for Germany to have a military is with compulsory service”. With how many people in this thread are claiming that any German youth that does not wish to be enlisted is a lily-livered pacifist who wishes to throw up the arms if Russia ever makes a threat, it seems to me that the idea of some sort of alternative has completely been ignored.
I support them wholeheartedly. The state fucks them over and wants to make every thing worse for them with every passing day and then it wants them to die to defend it.
Thank god at least someone is trying to stop Merz’s madness.
What’s the point in fighting for a country that does not care for you and will replace you with migrants once you’ve died for their wars? All the old arguments no longer holds in a society that does not prioritise its own citizens.
.As an American, if Germany and the EU want to uncouple from the US and their decisions, unfortunately, an army will have to be built. With all the American bases, I fear a lot of Europeans have become accustomed to ignoring the military.
Unless, Germany makes recruiting a sweet deal, this is what is going to have to happen. I would start giving housing and education incentives for recruits as well as job guarantees after training.
– Entire country is based around old people
– wonders why young people don’t want for a country that sells their future for pensions in the present
– doesn’t even make non sexist
– wonders why young men, the group they specifically want to protect them, refuses to do so
Jokes write themselves
> “I don’t think I’ll be dying for my friends, relatives or acquaintances, in the worst-case scenario,” 17-year-old Shmuel Schatz, spokesperson for the School Strike Committee, told DW’s Gasia Ohanes. “Rather, in the end, only for those who are put into the trenches for the interests of large corporations like Rheinmetall, ThyssenKrupp, and others, so they can line their pockets at the expense of war.”
I do wonder if this can be fixed with a couple of laws.
For example, if the country goes into war, companies producing weapons are allowed to operate at a lower profit margin and anything above it goes for building more homes, repairing infrastructure and etc.
Profits from weapons designed/produced during a time of war could also be restricted.
These are not perfect examples, but I feel like they could improve the morale.
Luckily the sons of the great Ursula von der Leyen will be exempt from conscription. **Drang** **nach** **Osten again.**
I read somewhere that this new measure will be mandatory only for men.
Is that what the protests are about, surely that can’t stand in 2026. Equality or death!
Sorry guys, off to dying for Israel now.
Pretending to be a progressive and advanced country
Mandatory for men
Pick one
I think someone would like a opinion from a conscript.
In Finland we have conscription. Conscripts serve 6,9 or 12 months depending on the job. The military takes in to consideration your personal life and you can delay the service for a wide range of reasons. You can also do civil service and women can volunteer to serve.
We don’t get a lot of money, but if you have bills the military will pay for them.
The biggest reason for the service is Russia.
In my opinion the service doesn’t affect the rest of your life significantly, a year of service isn’t long. You grow in the military and learn a little of useful things besides shooting the enemy. You have to learn to be social and get to interact with a lots of different people. You learn to build a habits and if you go to leadership positions you learn to lead people at an early age. Your fitness improves also. You get to deal with difficult situations and learn to overcome them.
In my opinion conscription has not been bad, I still have service left before I go to the reserve.
There are negatives. You have to put your life on hold for up to a year. Sometimes the service sucks ass. There is a lot of bureaucracy and the military operates sometimes like it’s still the 1950.
To summarise. The service depends a lot on the way it’s implemented and it takes a lot to get used to in the beginning. If the service is implemented poorly it sucks and nobody likes it, but if it’s implemented well it will be a benefit to the people who will serve in my opinion. Of course the youth don’t like it if they feel that the government prioritises the elderly. If the service is implemented it needs wider reforms to make the young people feel like the nation is worth protecting. But you don’t serve just the country you also serve to protect the people you love and care about.
I mean they kinda have a point, it is very easy for everyone on the sidelines to put the responsibility on you. It is way harder to then take that responsibilty (that you didnt even ask for in the first place) and make something better out of it.
On the other hand, Europe and Germany do need a stronger and while the amount of soldiers will likely be less important than at anytime before, it is still important. And we need a strong outlook to intimidate potential adversaries (USA and Russia) from attacking
Good.
How are we meant to compete with states like Russia or China that force conscription on people, punish resistance to military service (or any resistance), and churn out mass numbers of gun-carrying zealots fed on propaganda?