On March 5, school strikes against conscription took place in many cities. In Osnabrück, 200 people took to the streets. We read the following speech there: ---- Dear students and their families, supporters, and people in solidarity, we are standing together in the streets today to express our resistance. To say: We do not agree with the militarization of society! We do not agree with rearmament and conscription! We do not agree that young people should be forced into military service to defend state and capital interests!
For years, we have been told that we can no longer afford investments in education, healthcare, or basic public services, that we can no longer afford the "welfare state." At the same time, an arms industry subsidized by state investment is being sold to us as economic growth. Economic growth, so-called boom, the profits of which are appropriated by the owners of arms companies and thus redistributed further and further from the bottom to the top. Moreover, these profits are generated by the most destructive form of production. Weapons can do nothing but kill and destroy.
Why does the German state subsidize this destructive production? The state's goal and purpose is to maintain and expand its own power interests and political and economic spheres of influence. If necessary, even by military force. The formerly "big brother," the USA, is becoming increasingly unreliable. This decline of the USA as a de facto world power is leading to a renegotiation of state spheres of influence and territorial claims. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US invasion of Venezuela and Iran are expressions of this struggle. And no, to be perfectly clear: Just because these countries were invaded does not mean we are on the side of those who rule there! In the division of the world, European governments also want a "piece of the pie" and are rearming to regain the ability to independently pursue their imperialist interests. To this end, society is being militarized.
But what does this militarization do to a society? Even if German participation in wars is prevented, the industrial base it has built remains. What remains is the normalization of a militarized, war-ready society.
We know this from the automotive industry: because profits are made there and many jobs depend on it, the ecologically and socially necessary transformation of the transportation sector is being obstructed. How can we expect things to be any different with a powerful military-industrial complex when it comes to peace and disarmament?
The societal acceptance of a military presence in public spaces, war rhetoric in politics, or compulsory military service for young people could not simply be reversed. The Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces) was once considered a "school of the nation," where hierarchical thinking, obedience, and the cover-up of abusive behavior towards the weak, disguised as camaraderie, are practiced. The current course is leading us, if not into war, then at least into a militarized and thus warmongering society.
The reintroduction of conscription is the next logical step and fits seamlessly into the militarization of recent years. The fact that we can still invoke Article 4, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law may be reassuring for some. This states: "No one may be compelled against their conscience to perform military service with weapons."
At first glance, this may seem like a simple and safe way to conscientious objection. However, we must understand that the phrase "against one's conscience" is deliberately vague and can be interpreted and shifted arbitrarily by the relevant authorities. Who ultimately decides which conscientious objection constitutes sufficient justification? This decision would be made by the military, who, within the framework of a "conscience test," determine whether a particular reason is sufficient and credible. We are all familiar with the arbitrariness in the grading of tests from school.
Let's look back and ask our parents or grandparents about their experiences: Conscientious objection hearings in the past were characterized by trick questions and deliberate tactics. Many have heard the story of pacifists, for example, being asked during their hearing what they would do if "someone attacked their partner at night and there happened to be a weapon at their feet." An ill-considered answer to this question could render their conscientious objection insufficient. But even if these or similar questions were answered "correctly" in the eyes of the court, participation in war was not ruled out. The wording of the article in the Basic Law (GG) states "military service with weapons." It is therefore quite intentional to force us, despite recognized conscientious objection, into military service as medics, logisticians, or administrators, in order to maintain the nation's ability to wage war.
Here, the authoritarian character of the state becomes clearly evident. Under the guise of defending "Western values" and "freedom," the freedom of its own citizens is massively restricted. As briefly mentioned above, in military operations, the state is concerned with its own interests and not with the interests of its citizens. When students and workers face students and workers from other nation-states on the front lines, they kill each other in defense of their national raison d'état. They fight against their own interests, against the interests of their class, to protect the national economy and to secure national power and territorial claims.
Therefore:
No questionnaires and no conscriptions that prepare for forced military service! Take away the military's space, stop the militarization of society!
! ... No youth officers in schools!
No weapons displays at city festivals!
No arms production in Osnabrück or anywhere else!
No to military service in any form!
https://likos.noblogs.org/2026/03/06/kein-kriegsdienst-fuer-das-kapital-redebeitrag-zum-schulstreik-am-05-03-2026/
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Link: (en) Germany, LIKOS: No Military Service for Capital - Speech at the School Strike on March 5, 2026 (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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