Thousands of German school students protest against military service
08.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Michael Ukas/dpa
Tens of thousands of school students took to the streets across Germany on Friday to protest against a possible return to compulsory military service.
Rallies and demonstrations took place in dozens of cities under the slogan "School strike against mandatory military service," coinciding with the anniversary of the end of World War II on May 8.
Police in Berlin said around 1,200 participants turned out in the capital to march from the Brandenburg Gate to the headquarters of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative party, carrying signs reading: "Education instead of bombs" and "Berlin instead of the front lines." Organizers put the number at 5,000.
In the northern city of Hamburg, organizers said around 6,000 people took to the streets, while police counted about 2,300 participants.
The protests were not the first nationwide action against military service. In early March, around 50,000 young people participated in a school strike against conscription and compulsory service of all kinds in some 150 cities across the country.
Germany reintroduced a voluntary military service programme last year in an effort to raise troop numbers in response to Russia's war in Ukraine and new NATO targets.
The law, which took effect on January 1, aims to recruit volunteers to expand the armed forces. If recruitment targets are not met, however, parliament could decide to reinstate compulsory military service.
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