Growing up, the most quintessentially German phrase I could think of was: “We lost two world wars and we’re proud of it.” Our anti-military sentiment ran so deep that we dressed our police in green uniforms to make them look more like park rangers than soldiers. Now, Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants Germany to have the strongest army in Europe. What could possibly go wrong?
After World War II—or as we like to say, after the Allies liberated us—we vowed “never again”: never again to war, and never again to Auschwitz. True, Germany rearmed in 1955, but only as “citizens in uniform,” not as soldiers blindly following orders. Of course, that didn’t mean you could refuse an order; it just meant we had mandatory military service for most young men until 2011.
If that sounds unbelievable, we found it just as incredible that the British army, among others, fought wars around the world. For most of my life, the German military stayed within our borders. Then came reunification in 1990, and during the first session of the all-German parliament, Chancellor Helmut Kohl declared that Germany needed to take on a greater international role. By 1994, the law was changed to allow the Bundeswehr to operate beyond Germany again.
Still, Germans were uneasy about the idea of our soldiers actually doing what they were trained for. So we told ourselves they were “just digging wells.” I’m not joking—that was the standard reassurance for Germany’s many pacifists, a large portion of whom had gone through the German education system and heard those “never again” messages repeatedly.
Everything shifted in 1999. It’s hard to overstate how seismic that change was. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer argued that we had to abandon “never again to war” in order to uphold “never again to Auschwitz,” because Serbia was planning what he called a “new Auschwitz” in Kosovo. Invoking the Holocaust was the only way to get the German public to accept our involvement in international conflicts again.
Now we’re reintroducing conscription—but we’re calling it “voluntary conscription.” Could there be a more Orwellian term? Or how about awarding NATO a major peace prize, the International Peace of Westphalia award? Germany just did that. Even the Protestant church in Germany has been rethinking its position on war and nuclear weapons this month, releasing a 149-page report that concludes: in these troubled times, “Christian pacifism is ethically unjustifiable.”
The speed of this change is alarming, and some details are astounding. Mimicking The Hunger Games, our government has proposed using a lottery to decide who must fight for Germany if not enough young people volunteer. A popular TV news program, Presseclub, suggested that conscription is beneficial because—get this—when you’re called up for service, a doctor examines your genitals, so it’s like a free prostate cancer screening.This goes beyond just building support for remilitarization—it’s telling the German people: we think you’re foolish, and we’ll treat you that way. And maybe we are foolish. A few months ago, a prominent German feminist pointed out that it’s unfair that only our sons are required to join the army. She’s absolutely right! But then she went on to demand that our daughters be conscripted too. Feminism shouldn’t mean equal injustice for everyone; it should mean freeing our sons from having to die for their country as well.
And die they will if we join the Ukrainian war with troops, not just weapons. Patrick Sensburg, head of the Bundeswehr Reservists Association, warned that 1,000 soldiers could be killed or seriously injured every day. But is he cautioning against this madness? No. One of his main worries was how to replace those 1,000 lost lives daily. His solution: conscription. Sensburg isn’t just a reservist; he’s also a former MP from the ruling CDU party. So when he talks about replacing 1,000 dead young men—and possibly women—every day as if it’s unavoidable, he speaks from a position close to power.
Similarly, Chancellor Merz knows he’s reshaping public sentiment and setting a new direction when he says, “We are not at war. But we are no longer at peace.” Nearly every politician—and I’m ashamed to admit, nearly every journalist in Germany—echoes this. They’re engaging in what propaganda experts call cognitive warfare.
Promoting peace doesn’t mean turning our backs on Ukraine. I agree the war there is a crime—so why aren’t we doing everything possible to stop it? Why aren’t our leaders focused on de-escalation around the clock? This is exactly why I’m against bringing back conscription: a country that isn’t doing all it can to prevent wars has no right to demand its citizens fight in them.
But demand we do, and the response is clear: “No.” Most Germans under 30 oppose conscription—only those too old to serve support it. The German Peace Society has seen a sharp rise in interest in conscientious objection this summer. In fact, they’ve just updated their advice: they now urge young people to refuse conscription preemptively, after the Federal Court of Justice ruled that conscientious objection is banned during wartime. And you know what else is banned? Wars. Germany outlawed them in 1928 when it signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, meant to prevent another world war. Ah.
Mithu Sanyal is an author, academic, and broadcaster from Düsseldorf. Her latest novel is Identitti.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs based on the topic from Mithu Sanyals perspective with clear and concise answers
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is the main point of this argument
It highlights the contradiction in modern Germany the country has built its identity on learning from its horrific past and rejecting militarism yet now its actively encouraging its citizens especially the younger generation to join the military
2 Why does Germany teach its people to despise war
Because of its history specifically the atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II This education is a core part of German culture to ensure never again and to promote peace
3 Why is Germany now urging people to join the military
Due to changing global politics like increased Russian aggression and shifting international alliances the German government feels a need to strengthen its national defense and meet its NATO commitments
4 What does we refuse mean in this context
It represents the stance of many citizens particularly those from pacifist leftwing or antimilitarist backgrounds who oppose this new push for militarization based on the countrys own pacifist teachings
Advanced Deeper Questions
5 Isnt a strong military necessary for national defense How is that a contradiction
The contradiction lies in the method and message After decades of promoting peace and diplomacy as the primary tools for conflict resolution a sudden shift to promoting military service can feel like a betrayal of those core values even if the geopolitical reasons seem logical
6 What is the culture of remembrance and how does it conflict with military recruitment
The culture of remembrance is Germanys ongoing deep engagement with the Holocaust and WWII crimes It creates a societal aversion to nationalism and military glory Military recruitment which often uses patriotic appeals directly clashes with this deeply ingrained antinationalist sentiment
7 Are there historical examples of German pacifism in action
Yes For decades Germany was known for its civilian power foreign policy emphasizing economic and diplomatic solutions It also had conscription but with a conscientious objector option which hundreds of thousands used reflecting a strong pacifist movement
8 What are the practical ways people refuse this call to join the military
People refuse by
