WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE UK uk Kingdom - News journal UPDATE - (en) UK, ACG: German youth resist conscription (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 The German parliament backed a move to introduce voluntary military

service and allow Chancelor Merz, of the ruling Christian Democratic
Union (CDU) to further plans for militarisation and for the creation of
the largest army in Europe. In this , Merz and the CDU were ably
assisted by the Social Democratic Party, (SPD) a junior partner in
keeping the CDU in power. This indicates once again the complete
collapse of social-democratic parties on a global level, as they turn to
more openly anti-working class and militarist positions, as with Labour
in Britain.

It is intended to send out a questionnaire to all 18-year-olds in
Germany, to check to see if they are suitable for military service. This
is mandatory for males, and voluntary for women.

Since the end of the Nazi regime in 1945, there has been a persistent
stance against militarism in Germany, so this represents a huge shift.

It was not surprising that this met with horror and disgust among young
people. In response, there were significant strikes by school students
in 90 cities throughout Germany on December 5th. 55,000 walked out of
schools, with 3,000 in Berlin,400 in Essen and in Nuremburg, 1,000 plus
in Munich, and 1,500 in Stuttgart. This was despite threats by the CDU
Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, that walking out on strike would
be deemed as unexcused absences at schools and would affect end of year
grades, and despite heavy police presences.

Indeed, school students went beyond opposition to this move, expressing
opposition to cuts in education and public services, and the decision to
rearm Germany on a huge scale.

Both the CDU and the SPD, scoffed at and ridiculed the protests, with
the SPD calling this movement "pure populism, or simply nonsense," and
Pistorius producing a sneering video.

Pistorius has warned that if not enough young people are recruited via
this questionnaire, then conscription would be introduced.

Many teachers have shown their opposition to these plans, and the
demonstrations were also joined by university students. They brought
with them concerns about cuts to university budgets, the increasing
shoddiness of their learning conditions, and the flourishing of military
research programmes at universities.

In response to the CDU/SPD drive to war preparedness, school students,
university students, and workers must come together to develop a mass
movement against conscription and militarism.

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2025/12/17/german-youth-resist-conscription
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