SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 10.17.2026
Can Vladimir Putin’s increasingly aggressive actions against Germany force the government to bring back compulsory military service?
It’s hard to fathom the idea that Germany could conceive of bring forced military service back to the country.
Conscripts are never happy about being dragooned into the military. Think of the United States and its involvement in the Vietnam conflict. 1961-1975.. A Civil War which successive administrations poured hundreds of the thousands of young Americans into a senseless war. Over 50,000 Americans perished. Many of whom were conscripted young men at the margins of society. Black, Hispanic and White, too.
Given Germany’s hellacious Nazi regime (1933-1945) resulting in World War II and the Holocaust today’s German youth are quite rightfully taking to the streets in protest of any proposed conscript military.
Deutsche Welle 10.17.2026
Experts believe that, so far, Germany has been ill-prepared — both militarily and mentally — for Russian provocations. They also warn against the idea that ending support for Ukraine would make Germany safer.
The Bundeswehr (German: [ˈbʊndəsˌveːɐ̯] ⓘ, lit. Federal Defence) are the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part (armed forces or Streitkräfte) and a civil part. The military part consists of the four armed forces: German Army, German Navy, German Air and Space Force and Cyber and Information Domain Service, which are supported by the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command. Bundeswehr – Wikipedia
The perceived security threat has led the German military, the Bundeswehr, to fast-track significant modernization through substantial investment. But it is struggling to find enough recruits for its planned expansion. Many young Germans have taken to the streets to protest against plans to reintroduce conscription. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius faced criticism from inside his own party, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), for saying that Germany must become “capable of waging war.” Many found the statement to be too militaristic.
Is Germany prepared for a military threat? “Not at all. Germany is not well prepared militarily or in the civilian sector, and the population isn’t mentally prepared for it either,” said Meister. “Just look at the demonstrations against conscription and the military that continue to take place, even though Germany needs a draft. For decades, we’ve grown up in this culture of pacifism, in a comfort zone. I believe there is very limited societal resilience, but above all, we are not at all mentally prepared for war.”
Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are under increasing political pressure — especially from the far right — to scale back support for Ukraine. But Merz never tires of emphasizing that Ukraine will continue to receive support under his chancellorship, calling it a matter of Germany’s security. He recently visited Kyiv once again and, together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, surveyed the destruction caused by Russia.
But this also means that the threat from Russia will continue and even intensify, says Stefan Meister: “I believe we will see a massive increase in attacks such as the one in Leipzig, of provocations involving drones. We will see attacks on infrastructures and possibly also on specific individuals within the military-industrial complex. I believe this is the real, concrete danger facing Germany in the coming months.”
https://www.dw.com/en/how-big-is-russias-threat-against-germany/a-79688426
