Tens of thousands of students across Germany are expected to join nationwide protests this Friday against the government’s new military recruitment policies and plans to strengthen the armed forces.
According to organizers, more than 50,000 young people are expected to boycott classes and participate in demonstrations.
The protests are scheduled for May 8 — the anniversary marking the end of World War II and the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The protest movement, “Schulstreik gegen Wehrpflicht” (“School Strike Against Conscription”), opposes Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s military expansion agenda and growing defense policies.
“The government and the war industry are preparing for war, while they want to turn us young people into cannon fodder,” one protest organizer declared.
Under the new legislation, all 18-year-olds in Germany will receive mandatory questionnaires assessing their willingness to perform military service. Beginning in 2027, compulsory medical examinations are also planned.
The German government argues that the measures are necessary due to increasing security threats from Russia following the war in Ukraine.
Although mandatory military service has not officially been reinstated, authorities have not ruled out that possibility in the future.
Berlin’s goal is to expand the German military by approximately 80,000 additional soldiers over the next decade.
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