German students take to the streets against compulsory military service plans

More than 45,000 students across Germany walked out of class on Friday to protest proposals for compulsory military service, after hundreds were summoned for medical exams.

The School Strike Against Conscription initiative said demonstrations took place in more than 100 cities after the German Defense Ministry began calling in 18-year-old men for medical screening. Organizers said hundreds of young men who marked 0 out of 10 for interest in military service were also summoned.

Golo Kirsch, an 18-year-old student from Kiel, said a summons arrived even though they had been told it would not come until next year.

“We were told it was about volunteering, that the medical checks would come in 2027,” he said. “But I already had a summons in my mailbox a year early, and the Bundeswehr (armed forces) says the duty already applies now. We won’t let ourselves be forced into a medical check today, and we won’t go into the barracks tomorrow.”

Students who took to the streets on Friday are demanding a halt to forced medical checks, repeal of the new military service law, and an end to what they call a step-by-step return to a military draft.

Germany’s new military service law, which took effect at the start of 2026, requires all men turning 18 to complete a questionnaire assessing their fitness, skills, and interest in joining the armed forces.

While the system currently remains voluntary, protesters say the government aims to bring back conscription in stages, starting with mandatory questionnaires this year.

Medical screening is mandatory for men born in 2008 or later but is being phased in because capacity is limited. Nationwide exams are due as of mid-2027.

The new military service law aims to address chronic personnel shortages in the German armed forces, which currently have about 186,400 active troops.

Amid growing international crises and efforts to meet NATO goals, the Defense Ministry plans to expand the force to more than 260,000 by 2035. That would require 20,000 recruits each year, and many analysts say it would be difficult to reach that target through a voluntary system alone.

If voluntary recruitment falls short, parliament would have to revisit the law and could consider demand-based or even mandatory conscription.