Participants in a demonstration for the nationwide school strike against compulsory military service gather in Bremen.
March 5, 2026, 3:23 p.mMarch 5, 2026, 3:23 p.m
Thousands of students took to the streets in numerous German cities today to protest against the new military service. The demonstrations had the motto “School strike against compulsory military service”. A new military service law has been in effect since January.
In the capital Berlin, the police counted around 3,000 participants. The organizers spoke of 6,000 demonstrators in Berlin and 50,000 across Germany.
Banners and posters in the Berlin demonstration read, for example: “Dying is not on the timetable”, “Friedrich Merz to the front” and “A clever head does not fit under a steel helmet”. The young people chanted: “Never, never, never again compulsory military service” and “The rich want war, the young want a future.”
There were also demonstrations in many other cities. According to the police, around 600 young people took to the streets in Munich. In the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, larger rallies were planned in Bonn and Düsseldorf, among others. In Hamburg, students wanted to demonstrate in the late afternoon.
Young people feel ignored
The background is the law for the new military service, which has been in force since January 1st. All 18-year-old men and women receive a questionnaire to determine their suitability and motivation for the Bundeswehr. Men are required to fill out this form. If the military does not succeed in recruiting enough volunteers with the help of the questionnaire, the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz reserves the right to introduce so-called compulsory military service.
The Federal Student Conference made it clear that many young people felt ignored on the topic. The decision was made “from above” by politicians without first speaking to the young people, criticized the general secretary of the Federal Student Conference, Amy Kirchhoff, in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. (sda/dpa)