DW: Controversy is escalating in Germany regarding the restoration of compulsory military service

The German army suffers from a shortage, not only in the field of warplanes, frigates or helicopters.

The Bundeswehr has even suffered from a shortage of recruits in its ranks for years, so debates frequently return about whether Germany should reinstate compulsory military service.

In an interview, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who belongs to the Social Democratic Party, pointed to Sweden as a model, where conscription was suspended and then reinstated.

Is this model suitable for application in Germany?

The number of active-duty personnel within the ranks of the German Army is 181,383, according to data published by the German Army at the end of October 2023.

In the past, there were approximately half a million soldiers during the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s.

Times have changed and the Cold War is a thing of the past, however, Defense Minister Pistorius is very concerned.

It will be difficult for the German army to reach an estimated personnel strength of 203,000 men and women by 2025.

This is at a time of aggressive war by Russia against Ukraine, which has shown how quickly conflicts can arise in Europe as well.

Since taking office, Minister Pistorius has been thinking about how to make the German military more attractive again, or whether compulsory service can be re-entered.

In the interview with Welt newspaper, Pistorius said, “All options are before me,” adding, “There were reasons in the past to suspend compulsory service, but from my own point of view, that was a mistake”.

Compulsory service was for decades a pillar of German society, with the rearmament of the Federal Republic of Germany in the mid-1950s, men from the age of 18 were called up for military service.

The idea, soldiers should be citizens capable of military call-up for about 55 years old, males in Germany had to perform either military service or civil service in nursing homes or hospitals.

In the summer of 2011, compulsory service was suspended.

At that time, the German army had to be reduced, as reform of the armed forces was the slogan, however, in case of stress or defense, it can be reactivated.

Today, the German army is an active-duty army, in which women also serve.

However, it seems that volunteers aren’t coming on their own as was the case previously.

Journalist and defense policy expert Thomas Wiegold pointed out in an interview with DW that one of the reasons for great frustration in the army is bureaucratic complexity.

“Applicants often wait half a year for a response to their job application, and the labor market is now a place where young people can choose where they want to work, however, the army isn’t an attractive employer,” Wiegold said.

According to Thomas Wiegold, the Swedish model is the dream of all armies, as the armed forces there don’t need everyone to come forward… They only choose those who have the right skills at the moment”.

As soon as The German defense minister announced his ideas, a storm of anger erupted even from his own party, the Social Democratic Party, and the minister had to hear a lot of criticism.

The party’s leader, Saskia Esken, believes that the German army has developed such that it cannot now implement conscription quickly, because these training modules necessary for this no longer exist.

The Free Democratic Party, also a partner in the government coalition, was also decisive, restoring compulsory military service would be a serious infringement on the freedom of young people who want to determine their professional path,” Christian Lindner, leader of the party’s parliamentary bloc, said in an interview with the German Funke media group.

On the other hand, support comes from the conservative opposition.

In an interview with DW, the deputy head of the Christian Union parliamentary bloc, who said, “The position of the Christian Democratic Union is clear here: We support compulsory public service, any service in the army and not only that, but also any service in ambulance, firefighting and other organizations; It refers to fire brigades, rescue services and other relief organizations… It’s time to ask young people what they can offer to our country and our society”.

According to Thomas Vigold, “This is a difficult question to answer”.

“The political situation, especially since the Russian war against Ukraine, has changed radically; The pre-2011 compulsory service model in Germany isn’t supposed to return, because women had no place under the old compulsory service model, however, other forms of compulsory service cannot be excluded,” Thomas Vigold confirms.

Vigold added, “In the context of security policy, anything is currently possible… Who would have expected about two years ago that Parliament would ratify the creation of a special fund worth 100 billion Euros for the army due to the Russian offensive war?”

As for the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, he explained that he’s considering all options, but every model, regardless of its type, also needs political endorsement.