The German government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, recently passed a new military service law to increase the number of new recruits to the army. Starting in January, all 18-year-olds will be asked to complete a questionnaire indicating their willingness to serve in the army. The following year, medical exams will be mandatory for all males 18 and older to determine their suitability for potential service.

While military service will remain voluntary, this legislation reopens the door to compulsory service — suspended since 2011 — if the new measures do not produce enough volunteers. The idea of the conscription lottery immediately sparked outrage among high school students, who took to the streets en masse.

Across the country, students flooded city centers. In Berlin, thousands of young people marched from Oranienplatz to Neukölln Town Hall, accompanied by classmates from other schools and university students who supported them. The slogan “No more compulsory military service” set the tone for the march, but the demands went much further: they denounced cuts to education and public services, and the government’s eagerness to rearm on a massive scale.

The German education union, GEW, supported the students, and many teachers reiterated their refusal to see their students die on the front lines. University students also took part in the marches. They emphasized that they are directly affected by government policies, including cuts to university budgets, the development of military-oriented research programs, and the constant deterioration of their learning conditions.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who aspires to build the strongest army in Europe, ridiculed the protest in a video posted on social media. Meanwhile, the Berlin Senate sent a letter to the school administration reminding them that the strikes would be considered unexcused absences and deployed several hundred police officers to control the demonstration, resulting in at least one arrest.

The December 5 action could be the starting point for a broader movement against the German government’s militarization and warmongering. With the return of military service, high school student strike committees are being formed, bringing together students, trade unionists, and university students to organize the movement and a national response.

To thwart the plans of Boris Pistorius and Friedrich Merz, it is essential to instill an anti-imperialist consciousness among young people, drawing inspiration from the struggles taking place around the world. In this context, Waffen der Kritik, a youth organization of our comrades in Germany, expresses an anti-imperialist perspective and strongly opposes rearmament and the race toward militarization.

We need a movement against militarization and recruitment that does not yield to those in power. Young people must unite with workers against the wars waged by the ruling class. We must counter their recruitment with mass strikes, student assemblies, and blockades of arms shipments. Student committees and striking workers must coordinate to repel these attacks. The wars of the ruling classes are not our wars, so we must use our power to stop them.

Originally published in Spanish on December 8 in La Izquierda Diario.

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