By Conor Tormey
“I don’t think I’ll be dying for my friends, relatives or acquaintances, in the worst-case scenario. Rather, in the end, only for those who are put into the trenches for the interests of large corporations like Rheinmetall, ThyssenKrupp, and others, so they can line their pockets at the expense of war.” 17-year-old Shmuel Schatz, spokesperson for the School Strike Committee in Berlin.
Carrot and stick
Last Thursday, 50,000 school students across Germany, uniting under the slogan of “The rich want war — the youth, a future”, protested against the creeping slide towards military conscription. In December 2025, a new military law was introduced that would send a “declaration of readiness” questionnaire to everyone turning 18 in 2026. This survey covered physical fitness, qualifications and willingness to join military service. It is mandatory for men and carries a fine if not answered. Although military service is currently not mandatory, there are attempts to coerce young people into joining. A grant of €2,600, free housing, and free medical insurance will be given to volunteers, while cuts to social services are having a disproportionate impact on working-class young people.
The mood on the demos across Germany was also explicitly anti-imperialist and left-wing. In Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right AfD cynically endorsed the strikes, prompting organisers to oppose the endorsement. In Berlin, opposition to the attacks on Iran, Latin America, genocide in Palestine and Sudan all got enthusiastic responses. An estimated 63% of 18-to 29-year-olds oppose the new laws. The protest last Thursday was the second demo against militarisation and conscription, with the next one being organised on 8 May, Liberation Day from Nazi rule in Germany by the Soviet army.
Conscription rolled out across Europe
The new law is a part of a broader shift to increased militarisation across Europe. Over the past few years, countries such as Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, and Sweden have brought in conscription while public services have been slashed to pay for the increased militarisation.
While conscription is not currently being introduced in most European countries, this approach relies on the assumption that young people will voluntarily join the military. However, there is no appetite among young people to join the militarisation effort, with countries testing the idea of mandatory military service, should attempts to coerce them fall flat. In Denmark, a lottery system was introduced last year for all 18-year-old citizens, should volunteer numbers continue to fall. In Belgium, letters have been sent to 17-year-olds to coerce them into signing up, promising €2000 a month. In Lithuania, conscription was introduced in 2015, and just this year has introduced a 24/7 year-round system, a shift from the previous voluntary draft.
Capitalism’s drive to militarisation
The protests across Germany show very clearly that young people are not going to be cannon fodder for capitalist wars. These protests are vital to push back against the unlimited spending spree by militaries and arms manufacturers, while working people suffer the consequences of slashed public services. In Ireland, the Government is moving away from military neutrality and looking to move closer to imperialist powers, including NATO and the US, even while bombs are targeting ordinary Iranians and they are actively supporting the Gaza genocide.
The young people in Germany are showing that militarisation isn’t inevitable and that a movement of working-class and young people can forge a different path. Crucially, the militarisation seen across the West isn’t just a product of the times we live in, but a product of capitalist decay. To fight for a world truly free of war, genocide, and imperialism, the fight against militarisation must be a fight for a socialist future.
