More than 55,000 students in almost 100 cities across Germany went on a school strike today to protest against the reintroduction of military service, which was decided by the Bundestag today. It will be voluntary for now, even though everyone needs to reply to the government calls and make a medical examination, but it will become possibly mandatory in a few years for all persons born in 2008 or later with a male entry in their passport. And thus again a further step towards making society more war-ready, in Germany, as in many other countries, where similar laws are being discussed and where governments want to make us accept war as the only alternative we have.
“The future of young people must not be sacrificed to the logic of profit, power, and armament.” In their speeches, the young people not only criticized conscription itself but also expressed clear opposition to a social system that exploits, for the purposes of war, the precarious conditions the students of today are facing. The state and the military take advantage of social inequality and the precarious situation of young people by, for example, luring the to-be soldiers with financial incentives such as covering the costs of driver’s licenses (which can cost up to 5000€). They also criticized cuts in education, lack of support for mental health issues, and a policy that invests billions in armament instead of in a social and ecological future. “If you want your Rheinmetal shares protected with arms, go conscribe yourselves! (…) Fuck your wars! We say: No to compulsory military service!”. The German defense minister has replied to the students on strike that they need to contribute to defending democracy and its rights, and this is why they introduced the law, because democracy is defended, according to him, through weapons, killings, and military discipline. Conscription means that young people are drafted and sent into compulsory service to die for a state that does not represent their interests, that declares it a necessity to cut welfare, and that prosecutes as antisemitic all those who do not accept the genocide in Gaza.
It is encouraging that in such a short time, students in so many cities have organized and gone on strike at their schools. On the one hand, the strikes were places to oppose the state’s control over their and our lives; on the other hand, the strikes were also places to come together and get to know each other. Students of different ages and schools were able to build connections. The initiative “School Strike against compulsory military service” announced that it will continue its strikes and actions. Today, the foundation was laid for the many small seeds of resistance to grow into a dense network of defiance.
The students’ cry should awaken all those who still doubt that Europe is at war and that we need to get organized across borders, strike together, to oppose the war logic spreading all over our lives.
