German school students walk out over compulsory conscription

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Demonstrations were set to be held in over 100 German cities.

It is the fourth nationwide school strike since the movement launched in late 2025.

Organisers of the protests say previous rounds of protests involved around 50,000 school students.

Since January, the new military service law has required all men over 18 years of age to fill out a Bundeswehr registration questionnaire.

The German government says mandatory medical screenings will only begin in mid-2027, yet the military has reportedly already summoned around 1,000 teenagers who stated they did not want to serve.

But the government insists recruitment is voluntary. If not enough volunteers come forward, the Bundestag can vote to reinstate full conscription, suspended since 2011.

If the required number of volunteers cannot be reached, the Bundestag will be able to decide to reinstate the compulsory military service that was suspended in Germany in 2011.

A spokesperson for the initiative told the dpa news agency that the students intend to continue the strike until the issue of introducing compulsory military service is removed from the agenda.

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