No compulsory military service! For nobody! Conscription for women is not a sign of equality

Stinkefinger mit feministischen Antikriegstattoo "According to the wishes of the Parliamentary Council, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, which came into force in May 1949, did not provide for military service - neither voluntary nor compulsory. Apparently most people no longer know that. "Never again fascism! Never again war!" was the slogan at the time. Politicians from all parties spoke out against rearmament. When in 1950, after the start of the Korean War, the slogans about a danger from the East increased, from which the newly founded Federal Republic also had to protect itself, and when it became known that Chancellor Adenauer (CDU) had rearmament prepared for the Federal Republic, the fear grew that rearmament of the Federal Republic of Germany would entail the danger of a new war (…) There were protest and silence marches and many forms of resistance. Women joined the newly founded West German Women's Peace Movement (WFFB) or the one that had existed since 1915 International Women's League for Peace and Freedom (IFFF) came together to protest against this..."Article by Gisela Notz in the SoZ from September 25, 2026 externer Link and more from it:

Further out of theArticle by Gisela Notz in the SoZ from September 25, 2026 : “(…) On July 7th, 1956, the German Bundestag passed the conscription law, which came into force on July 21st. 269 MPs voted for the law, 166 against it, and 20 abstained. The Bundestag thus decided on a conscript army when setting up the Bundeswehr. According to Article 12a Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, all German men from the age of 18 were obliged to serve with weapons in the armed forces, in the Federal Border Guard or in a civil defense association. According to Article 12a Paragraph 4 of the Basic Law, women were forbidden from carrying weapons. Opening up the Bundeswehr or even compulsory military service for women were not the subject of public discussions. Not even in the GDR, where conscription was introduced in 1962. In the Federal Republic of Germany, 18- to 25-year-old women have been able to be obliged to provide services in the civilian medical service of the Bundeswehr and in inpatient and outpatient nursing care since 1968 in accordance with Article 12a Paragraph 4 of the Basic Law, albeit in the event of a defense. There was resistance to that too at the time. (…)
In June 1979, union women and women from autonomous contexts came out with a call for “Women in the Bundeswehr? – We say no!” to the public. They took the position that a dignified life for women and men can only develop if society is demilitarized. (…)
Since January 2001, all military careers have been open to women in addition to civilian ones. The electronics engineer Tanja Kreil fought this before the European Court of Justice. The idea for the EU lawsuit came from Alice Schwarzer and the then State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, Michaela Geiger (CDU). They were supported by the Bundeswehr Association. (…)After the change in the Basic Law on December 19, 2000, women are no longer categorically excluded from serving as weapons. The second sentence of Article 12a Paragraph 4 of the Basic Law now reads: Women “may under no circumstances be required to serve with weapons.” This means that they can learn to shoot voluntarily, but no one can force them to do so. This cannot be celebrated as an emancipatory success. The Bundeswehr is not an employer like any other. It practices daily for emergencies and is based on absolute command and obedience. It does not create jobs, but “death places” (Robert Jungk). In 2011, compulsory military service was suspended by a decision by the Bundestag. The reason was the changed security and defense policy situation. However, it remained in the Basic Law and the suspension only applies in times of peace; it can be activated again in the event of tension or defense. Since the war in Ukraine and the supposedly "real threat from Russia, we have to be prepared for an escalation," it is now being said again, "Germany must become capable of war again." (...)
On September 4, 2025, the Left party submitted a request to the Bundestag to delete Article 12a of the Basic Law without replacement. This would restore the status quo of the constitution adopted by the Parliamentary Council. The representatives of all other parties reacted to this proposal at the hearing on September 11, 2025 with complete incomprehension and insults due to a lack of love for their homeland, rejection of fatherland defense and abandonment of threatened neighbors. Desiree Becker (Member of the Die Linke) explained: »Equality does not mean distributing oppression and coercion evenly. Equal opportunities, equal rights, equal wages and an end to violence against women are what improve the lives of young women, not deployment at the front. No conscription for men! No compulsory military service for women! No compulsory military service! For no one!”…”