Am I willing to fight for my country? I don’t know, however, for now I have a choice. Whereas 18-year-olds born one year after me, in 2008, don’t have this freedom to decide for themselves. That is because the German government is debating about reinstating mandatory military service for men, starting this year, with a required registration.
Military service in Germany isn’t a German-only phenomenon; multiple European countries have it. However, why is the reaction in Germany, especially among young people, so negative?
A significant reason for that might be the disappointment with the politicians in Berlin, who, from a young person’s perspective, don’t care about future generations and put all the future responsibility on them; that’s why, in recent months, there have been student-led protests all over Germany.
For example, a few months ago the Bundestag, which is the German parliament, passed a government bill about the pensions, which created enormous debt that the next generations will need to repay, without having a secure pension themselves, that’s due to the smaller birth rates, which means that there won’t be enough people to pay into the pension system in the future, for the system to work, which also was caused by austerity measures in the past.
With this in mind, younger people feel betrayed by politicians and their political parties and think they aren’t a priority, because increasing pensions for the largest voting bloc (old people) benefits politicians rather than the country’s future and its citizens.
Adding the reintroduction of the military service to the already existing dissatisfaction, the youth is outraged even more. Young people think they need to pay the price by serving in the military because of the failures and mistakes of older generations, a sign of a recurring generational conflict in German history.
But it’s not only the ‘old people’, some youth organisations argue that it is a broader class problem, arguing that the ruling class and corporations try to make themselves wealthier, thus causing conflict, which is causing militarisation in Germany. Hence, there is distrust of the government and a negative opinion of military service.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about fighting for my country. On one hand, the actions of the governments since my birth have not convinced me that the system is worth dying for.
On the other hand, I feel that Germany and the democracy I grew up in have given me countless reasons to defend them. The fact that, even though the German education system, with its flaws and difficulties, has and is offering free education that, compared to a global stage, is excellent. Germany is giving me the right to express myself how I want, love who I want, and even to critique the elites in Germany. Still, I can go home without the fear of being harmed, which is a reason to consider when deciding whether it’s worth defending this country and democracy, which, by the way, needs to be defended everywhere each day, especially in Germany.
If the German government fully reinstates the service, it needs to start thinking about the future and the people who will live in it and be impacted by decisions made today. Maybe then the German youth would be more convinced and willing to complete the military service.
Konrad Leutert