Germany’s parliament has voted to reintroduce voluntary military service, but getting Gen Z recruits could prove tricky.
Across the country, students gathered to demonstrate against what they fear will be a return to conscription.
In Berlin, they held signs saying, “You can’t have our lives if we don’t eat your lies” and “peace is power”.
While most demonstrators were in their late teens or twenties, some parents also turned out with their younger children.
One mother held a placard declaring: “You can’t have my son”.
The new plan means from January, all 18-year-olds will be sent a questionnaire about their fitness and willingness to serve.
Men must fill it in, while for women it will be voluntary.
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In the future, if the numbers of volunteers are too low, then parliament could trigger conscription at times of war or in emergencies.
It’s an idea which horrifies many in the crowd.
“None of us want to die for a country that doesn’t really care about us,” Levi tells me.
He says the government has ignored their calls for climate protections and better social conditions, so he feels no allegiance to them.
I ask: “If Germany was attacked, who do you think should defend it if Gen Z don’t want to?”
“Why don’t the people that started the war do it? I don’t see why the older people shouldn’t go to war. I mean, a lot of them already were in the army,” he replies.
17-year-old Sara agrees, declaring: “I would not be willing to die for any country.”
“I don’t think it’s right to send children or anyone against their will into the military, because war is just wrong,” she says.
“I’m never going to join the military and if Germany is attacked, I’ll just go somewhere else where there’s no war.”
While the government says the system will be voluntary for as long as possible, from 2027 all 18-year-old men will have to have a medical examination so the government can see who is fit to serve.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius says the mandatory medical is needed so that in the event of an attack, Germany would not waste time confirming “who is operationally capable as a homeland protector and who is not”.
The move is a massive cultural shift for Germany, which suspended mandatory military conscription on 1 July 2011.
“From my friends no one wants to volunteer because we don’t want to fight for a problem that’s not really ours. We didn’t start the problems, they [the government] did,” says Silas.
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The change is a direct reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Despite Moscow’s denials, NATO’s chief has warned Russia could be able to attack a member country in the next four to five years.
I ask 19-year-old Lola if she’s thinks Russia is a threat?
“It could be, maybe. However, I think there are more important issues, especially like social ones, than war,” she says.
Her friend, 28-year-old Balthasar, goes further, saying: “A country being able to attack isn’t the same as a country planning to attack.
“The track record of Russia has been to attempt at least diplomatic resolution, cooperation, and I think those are the right approaches to take in international politics, opposed to sabre-rattling, which the German government has resorted to.”
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he wants to build the strongest army in Europe.
Germany currently has around 184,000 soldiers and wants to boost that by over 80,000 in the next decade.
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Volunteers are being offered incentives like a monthly wage of more than €2,000 (£1,750).
Despite this, a survey earlier this year found 81% of Gen Z wouldn’t fight for Germany.
In contrast, many of the older generation supported conscription.
At the Berlin protest, 17-year-old Valentin was the only person we met who reluctantly agreed to fight.
“When we are attacked, then yes [I would fight], but when we are attacking other countries, then no,” he says.
Germany isn’t the only country looking for reinforcements, last month France announced a new military service for over-18s.
Currently, 10 EU countries already have compulsory military service.
While others like Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany are opting for voluntary schemes.
The German plan still must be signed off by parliament’s upper house later this month before it’s expected to start in January.
