When you see headlines about Germany reintroducing conscription, you’ll be forgiven for thinking of Hitler’s 1935 Law on Building up the Wehrmacht. But we are talking about a completely different law on a “new, attractive military service” passed by the cabinet on August 27, with a Bundestag debate scheduled for October 9.
The Federal Republic of Germany has Wehrdienst in the constitution. Back in 2011, it was paused indefinitely. Now, the government wants hundreds of thousands of additional soldiers—and not nearly that many people are volunteering.
Starting on January 1 of next year, the Bundeswehr will send a questionnaire to every 18-year-old about their interest in the army. Men will be required to fill it out, while for women it remains optional. By summer of the following year, men will be required to go to a physical.
The draft law would allow the government to conscript people by decree. This would not require a “state of defense”—it would be enough if the government decides that they want more soldiers than they can convince to volunteer (and gets approval from the Bundestag).
So while people say this isn’t compulsory military service, it actually is—it’s a soft launch for conscription, laying the foundations for compulsion in the near future.
Popularity
Germany’s massive rearmament program is very popular, at least for the moment. One survey from the summer showed 70% in favor of increased military spending, and 59% in favor of conscription.
Yet there are caveats: Among 18- to 29-year-olds, so the people who are supposed to fight, only 29% are in favor. Why not conscript boomers instead?
When asked if they would personally take up arms to defend Germany if it was under attack, only 16% said “definitely” and 22% said “maybe.” A large majority says they would probably or definitely avoid any fighting.
The decision to spend half a trillion euros on weapons is leading to austerity across the board. In the coming years, we will see cuts in education, health care, wages, and pensions—transportation costs are already going up. But many of these attacks have not popped up in household budgets.
So people are in favor of vaguely defined “defense” as long as they don’t think they have to make any personal sacrifices for it. As living standards decline, however, people will start to wonder how much money they want to put into the pockets of Rheinmetall shareholders. (Look at the car party factory in Wedding being converted to weapons production—there will be another demonstration on October 12).
A history professor once told me that demographics put us in “post-heroic age.” When people used to have six or eight or ten children, sure, they might be willing to relinquish one or two of them to the “holy fatherland.” But with just one or two kids? Maybe not.
Liberals
What bothers me most right now is not the imperialist warmongers, from the CDU to the Green Party—they are doing their jobs for the ruling class, after all. I am more upset by liberal and even lefty friends repeating a watered-down version of the militarist propaganda. This goes from Heidi Reichinnek of Die Linke affirming that of course “the Bundeswehr needs to be better equipped” to Berlin magazines accepting the premise that we might get attacked by Russia any day.
I would encourage people to think of any previous war from the imperialist epoch. At the time, they were always sold as “defense” — and in retrospect, everyone recognizes pointless slaughter in the interests of war profiteers. As the joke goes, a liberal is someone who opposes every war except the current one.
The imperialist powers are locked in escalating conflicts for zones of influence. Governments talk about “freedom” or “democracy” or whatever, but it’s all about whose corporations get to control disputed territories in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, etc. That was the basis of the 20th century’s wars—and it’s the basis of the coming wars as well.
The very politicians who say they want to “defend” our “freedom” are cutting funding for our schools and hospitals, and having us beaten up when we express disagreement. The capitalist state is only there to defend the capitalists.
I am willing to fight—but not for a state that serves Nazi billionaires. I am willing to fight for my class, which is international.
Red Flag is a weekly opinion column on Berlin politics that Nathaniel has been writing since 2020. After moving through different homes, it now appears at The Left Berlin.
