Germany is once again grappling with a national debate many believed had been permanently settled more than a decade ago. After the Bundestag approved Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s controversial overhaul of the country’s military service laws, tens of thousands of Germans – overwhelmingly young- poured into the streets to denounce what they see as the quiet return of compulsory conscription. The wave of demonstrations, spanning some 90 cities from Berlin to Hamburg, Munich, and Cologne, signals a profound generational backlash against a government accused of preparing the country for war under the banner of security reform.

The protests followed the December 5 vote in which lawmakers passed the Military Service Modernization Act, a sweeping legal reform that expands recruitment mechanisms and grants Berlin the authority to revive conscription if voluntary enlistment proves insufficient. Although officials insist the measure simply updates an outdated system and does not constitute the return of mandatory service, the demonstrators remain unconvinced – and deeply alarmed.

In Berlin, protestors marched from Alexanderplatz to the Bundestag, chanting anti-war slogans and hoisting banners declaring, “No to conscription,” “We will not be cannon fodder,” and “Your war – without us.” Speakers warned that Germany was “sleepwalking into militarism,” driven by fear-based rhetoric and alliances prioritizing armament over diplomacy.

One protester interviewed by Ruptly said she feared the reform could eventually force her teenage sons into military service: “They are children. Why should they be sent into a conflict that the politicians themselves created?” Another speaker put the sentiment even more bluntly: “Merz should go to the........

© Blitz