No to increased armament, conscription and war! Nationwide demonstration on October 3, 2026 in Berlin and Stuttgart

“The danger of direct war with Russia, even nuclear war, is growing. Germany is made ready for war. The government wants Germany to become the leading power again. Therefore, compulsory military service should be reintroduced. Health care and infrastructure are being geared towards war, freedom of expression and democratic rights are being restricted. The Bundeswehr is being upgraded to become the largest army in Europe. Long-range first-strike weapons are being developed. (…) Spending on armaments and the military in Germany has doubled in the last five years and is to be doubled again by 2030 in order to achieve the NATO 5% target by 2035. We have to pay for this with higher taxes, social cuts and worse public services. Billions are already missing from hospitals, care, schools, universities and daycare centers, youth and culture, environmental protection and transport. We should work longer and pensions should be even lower. Sanctions lead to price increases and job losses…" From theCall of the Action Alliance , seethe action page with all information

• 290 groups and organizations are calling for the anti-war demonstrations on October 3rd - only regional branches of the DGB unions
  • Now it’s time: come to the demos in Berlin and Stuttgart on October 3rd!
    “On October 3rd we will combine these struggles and demonstrate in Stuttgart and Berlin under the motto “No to armament, conscription and war! – For peace, democratic rights and social security”. The demonstration is now supported by 290 groups and organizations from all over Germany…”Info letter number 2 from the Action Alliance October 3, 2026 from September 28th. with details about the demos in Berlin and Stuttgart
  • Trade unions should be involved in the rearmament course
    “Ulrike Eifler on the connection between war preparation and social cuts, which the leaders of the DGB member organizations rarely talk about.
    [The leaders of the major trade unions are not calling for the demonstrations against rearmament and war on October 3rd and for the "Unforcible" rally with a concert against conscription and militarization on Friday in Berlin, only regional branches. Why did the topic of armaments not appear in the calls for the DGB day of action against social cuts on September 26th? Where do you see the reasons for this?]
    The unions are currently under great pressure, and around 10,000 jobs are being lost in industry every month. At the same time, the attacks on the welfare state by the federal government are also an attack on the institutional power of the unions. This development encourages officials from business associations to question union rights more and more openly. Let us think, for example, of BDA President Rainer Dulger, who recently called for the powers of works councils to be restricted. That's no excuse, but it perhaps explains why the unions don't have the same focus on all issues. (…)In my view, this is not a problem between leadership and base. The deputy DGB chairman Stefan Körzell, for example, has clearly stated the connection between rearmament and social cuts, others have not yet done so. This is a process and not an immobile state. The discussion about the fact that we will not win the argument about defending the welfare state if we do not say where the money will come from has only just begun.(…) The “Trade Unions Against Armament and War” initiative, of which I am a member, does not see itself as an internal opposition. We are supporters of the unified union and reject the division into good and bad unionists. Instead, we want to convince colleagues who are at different points in the debate to understand the connections between rearmament and social cuts. For us, both topics are inextricably linked. (…)
    We are currently experiencing that the militarization of society leads to a militarization of the world of work, but the conditions there are very different. While defense investors promise job security in the industry, seminar obligations and evacuation exercises exacerbate the already high workload in the clinics. And the Bundeswehr's recruitment attempts in schools are not met with approval from all teachers. The debates in the unions are correspondingly different.”Interview by Thomas Gesterkamp from September 29th, 2026 in ND online 

See also:

• On the streets! Against social cuts and war!
  Flyer from the “Trade Unions Against Armament and War” initiative 
• The assembly of delegates of IG Metall Berlin passes the motion of IG Metall-Youth: “Against conscription and militarization!”

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