War Minister Pistorius cautiously rejects conscription. Although the Bundeswehr has set new personnel records, there are still numerous contradictions. Not only in military planning, but also in the population. – A comment by Fevzi Ayçiçek.

War Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) is suddenly confident that the Bundeswehr could possibly cover its personnel needs without compulsory military service. Pistorius committed suicide onNovember 7thexpressed great confidence in an interview that recruitment numbers would increase and personnel planning was on the right track.

“If the course continues, we won’t have any problems with young talent.” So there would then be “no discussion about compulsory military service in whatever form” – but is that true?

Bundeswehr currently slightly above target values

In onePress releaseThe Ministry of Defense explained in mid-October that they were currently slightly above their self-imposed goals. The legal troop strength targets for October would be 186,000 to 190,000 soldiers. However, with October being the month with the highest number of recruits, the number is currently over 190,000 soldiers.

What initially sounds like an all-clear raises many questions when you take a closer look. Because nothing has changed in the federal government's major long-term rearmament plans. Until2035The Bundeswehr is expected to grow to a total of 460,000 members. The statutory growth path envisages up to 212,000 active soldiers in just three years.

The Bundeswehr is expected to grow even more significantly than before within a few years. It is by no means credible that these goals can be achieved by volunteers alone. Pistorius himself also acknowledged thisDeutschlandfunkto the view that personnel development could decline again.

Then you just have to react, explained the minister. And mass recruitment is already being prepared anyway. This also includes the launches that became public in SeptemberForced musterby more than 5,000 men. The Bundeswehr also proudly speaks of the establishment of24new muster centers.

Mandatory mustering in the Bundeswehr? Our answer: school strike!

Conscription has not been abolished

With the existing military service law, the federal government has long since created the conditions for a possible return to compulsory military service. Since January 2026, all 18-year-old German citizens have received a questionnaire from the Bundeswehr. It is mandatory for men to answer the questionnaire; participation for women is still voluntary. The muster is also mandatory for men born in 2008 and younger.

Section 2a of the Conscription Act is particularly crucial: If the defense policy situation or the personnel situation of the Bundeswehr makes it necessary, the Bundestag can introduce a so-called compulsory military service through a new law.

Pistorius' statement therefore in no way means that conscription is fundamentally off the table. On the contrary:200,000 lettershave been sent since January. Because more than a quarter of young men ignore these, they are now facing fines. The Ministry of Defenseexplainedto start administrative offense proceedings from October against all young men who had not yet answered the letters. Despite a fine of up to 250 euros, you are still obliged to answer the letter.

CDU criticizes Pistorius

criticismPistorius' statement is also available from within the Bundestag. CDU parliamentary group vice-president Norbert Röttgen told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: "Cautious optimism is okay, hasty statements are out of place. With our initial success, we are far from being where we need to be." The chairman of the defense committee, Thomas Röwekamp, ​​also contradicted Pistorius. "It is crucial that the Bundeswehr achieves the personnel strength it needs for its tasks as quickly as possible. If voluntary participation is not sufficient for this, we must return to compulsory military service."

CSU chairman Markus SödercontradictedPistorius also said that simply investing in equipment and infrastructure and significantly accelerating procurement was not enough. Germany is more threatened than it has been for a long time. It is clear to Söder: “We need real conscription again.”

And Pistorius himself hardly differed from the CDU and CSU in this position in the past. Just two years ago, Pistorius said in his infamouswarworthiness-Speech in the Bundestag: “I am firmly convinced that it will not work without mandatory components.” Because you have to be ready for war by 2029. And that goal still stands.

Gen Z rules: A step forward

Gen Z protests against militarization

It is no coincidence that Pistorius is now expressing understanding for the concerns of young people and questioning compulsory military service. The statement comes at a time of growing youth protests. For months, students and young people have been taking to the streets against conscription and growing militarization.

Around 45,000 young people in more than 100 cities took part in the last nationwide school strike against conscription. Their demands were directed against the threat of conscription, compulsory military service and the increasing militarization of society.

Inspired by school blockades in France, a new youth protest movement has also developed in Germany. The so-called Gen Z protests on October 31st were, in addition to criticism of cuts in the education system, also largely characterized by anti-war sentiment. Around 120,000 people gathered nationwide.

Since the first day of protest, there have also been school and university blockades across Germany, such as in the fight to preserve the civil clause in Kassel or four parallel school blockades in Hamburg. They were the largest youth protests in years. The protests also have a broad social impactUnderstanding, regardless of age.

Four school blockades in Hamburg: "No cuts! No conscription! Against police violence!"

The reactions to the Bundeswehr's muster letters also show that many young people have little interest in military service.Two-thirdsof the letters sent do not indicate any interest in the Bundeswehr. In addition, 28 percent of the 18-year-old men contacted did not answer the mandatory questionnaires at all.

This raises the question for the federal government as to how it actually wants to achieve its planned increase in personnel. While on the one hand it relies on voluntary action, on the other hand it further creates the conditions for a possible obligation.

Against this background, Pistorius' statements can also be understood as a political appeasement maneuver. By showing understanding for the concerns of young people and publicly questioning compulsory military service, he is trying to at least temporarily take the pressure off the debate. However, this does not change the medium-term military objectives.

The entire society should be upgraded

The rearmament is not limited to the Bundeswehr. In August, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs prepared discussions with associations and organizations about possible capacities for reintroducing community service.

There is a lack of trained specialists, particularly in areas such as nursing and social care. Mandatory community service would not solve these structural problems. Instead, there would be a risk that young people with low pay and without sufficient professional training would be asked to close gaps in an already overburdened social system.

This would kill several birds at once: In times when the welfare state is being massively dismantled, conscientious objectors can be sent there. From 2030 onwards, according to the plan, everyone willthird euroin the federal budget are put into the military.

Massive savings in health, social services and education are planned for this. In other words, exactly the areas that those doing community service are supposed to cover. And especially in the areas of health and care, there will be an increased need to care for the wounded in the event of war.

Fight against conscription - fight against community service

The reality within the Bundeswehr

While the Bundeswehr had a quick cutYouTube seriesIf you try to present yourself as a cool and attractive employer, a different reality emerges within the force. Pistoriusquitnew efforts to attract more women to the Bundeswehr. In terms of numbers, the armed forces are a “boy’s shop” and that won’t change any time soon. Nevertheless, they want to have more women in the Bundeswehr. The federal government is aiming for 20 percent.

Since 2001, women have been able to serve in all military areas. However, this does not mean that they are equal or equally safe. The hierarchical and patriarchal structures of the Bundeswehr create power imbalances and dependencies that make women particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, harassment and professional disadvantages.

Several recent reports show how widespread attacks are:The mirrorreported that the Bundeswehr handed over a total of 724 cases of “suspected violations of sexual self-determination” to public prosecutors between 2023 and 2025.

Research by NDR, among others, documented almost 2,000 reports of suspected sexual misconduct between 2021 and 2025. This corresponded to around 70 percent of the women who took part. Some of those affected are said to have refrained from reporting the incident out of fear of professional consequences. There were probably also superiors among the accused.

A scientific dark field study by the Bundeswehr is intended to examine the actual extent and the favorable conditions. Your results are still pending.

Again reports of sexualized attacks in the Bundeswehr - statistics show increasing violence

No all-clear will help against militarization

Whether the Bundeswehr can actually achieve its personnel targets without compulsory service remains an open question. However, the fact that the federal government is sticking to its military expansion and is keeping the option of “military conscription” open is clearly proven by law.

Our Minister of War declares that no one wants to send young people to the front. At the same time, like the rest of the Bundestag, he justifies the massive expansion of the Bundeswehr with the need for military deterrence. The logic behind it: ever larger armed forces are intended to prevent a possible war. The fact that this policy simultaneously requires comprehensive rearmament, more personnel and greater involvement of the population in military planning is presented as a necessary consequence.

However, the youth protests of the last few months make it clear that these ideas do not remain unanswered. Thousands of young people do not want their future to be determined by the military personnel planning of imperialist states. The demands of the youth movement have long been broader than just against conscription. The connections between militarization and austerity have long been recognized.

It is therefore not in question whether conscription will return tomorrow or in a few years. It's about why the federal government wants to expand the Bundeswehr to such a size and what consequences this rearmament has for society.

The tone of German federal policy is clear: a war will come and the population must be shaped accordingly. The government doesn't like the fact that there is so much resistance now. All measures against a new youth movement are being taken. From defamation campaigns in the press and media, from violence by state officials, to attempts at appeasement and integration.

Next week, on November 20th, thousands of young people will take to the streets again. In the morning at the Europe-wide youth strike and in the evening at the Gen Z protests. It is unlikely that Pistorius' apparent concession will have an impact on the protests.

The postPistorius cancels conscription? – Preparations for war continueappeared firstperspective.