Germany sees protests over early military service screenings

Protests have erupted across Germany following the announcement that the Bundeswehr has begun military screenings for 18-year-old men ahead of the scheduled 2027 start for mandatory service. This early implementation has triggered nationwide school strikes, with organizers reporting that over 45,000 people participated in demonstrations across more than one hundred cities.

In Berlin, a major rally titled ‘Kein Bock auf Krieg und Wehrpflicht’ is scheduled to take place at the Brandenburg Gate. Organized by the Unzwingbar alliance—which includes the German Peace Society and the ‘School Strike Against Compulsory Military Service’ initiative—the event will feature musical performances by artists such as K.I.Z, Disarstar, and Apsilon, alongside speeches from satirist Martin Sonneborn. The organizers have explicitly excluded far-right, nationalist, and antisemitic participants from the event.

While large-scale strikes have occurred nationally, local participation has varied. In Konstanz, for example, turnout was significantly lower than in previous demonstrations, with only a few dozen protesters appearing compared to hundreds in previous years.