Hundreds of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin for a demonstration and concert against the possibility of a return to military service and against German plans to increase defense spending.
Gathered under the motto “unwzingbar”, which could be translated as “incoercable” or perhaps even “inconscriptible”, the crowd chanted slogans such as “military service, never again” and “the rich want war, the poor want a future”.
Police estimated attendance Friday evening at around 2,000 people, but with the program expected to continue for a few more hours, until around 9 p.m. local time.
Organizers included groups like Attac, a left-wing group primarily focused on taxation and monetary policy, the German Peace Association DFG-VK, and the International Youth Association IJV.
Germany has yet to reintroduce a period of military or civilian service, as was the case for most, but not all, young men until 2011, but some politicians have warned it may eventually be necessary.
For now, the Bundeswehr has begun sending a questionnaire to 18-year-olds – with boys required to participate and girls encouraged to do so – seeking to gauge their theoretical interest in service. The Bundeswehr says this, coupled with a more general recruitment drive, has allowed it to meet its recruiting targets so far as it seeks to expand its ranks in the coming years.
Organizers also called on the government to reallocate its planned defense spending increase to other social areas, some of which face the prospect of cuts.
Similar protests are expected on Saturday in Berlin and Stuttgart.
Gn world
