German schoolchildren staged mass strikes against possible compulsory military service

German schoolchildren held mass strikes against possible compulsory military service in about a hundred cities in Germany.

About 45 thousand schoolchildren took part in the strikes.

The new law on military service in Germany provides for the resumption of military registration for all 18-year-old boys and mandatory medical examinations from 2027, and also allows for the possibility of returning to military service suspended in 2011 under certain conditions.

BERLIN, September 25 - RIA Novosti. Mass strikes of German schoolchildren against compulsory military service covered about a hundred cities throughout Germany, DPA reports.

“Across the country, tens of thousands of schoolchildren took to the streets on Friday to express their protest against the possible introduction (in Germany - ed.) of military service,” the publication says.

According to the organizers, about 45 thousand schoolchildren took part in the strikes.

“At first there were questionnaires, and now mandatory medical examinations are being announced, which, in fact, were supposed to begin only in July 2027. The Federal government seriously intends to gradually introduce (in Germany - ed.) conscription,” Bela Breitner, a representative of the public initiative “School Strike Against Conscription,” told the agency.

He emphasized that the results of questionnaires on readiness to serve in the army, which began to be sent to German men of military age in January, show that young people do not want to serve in the Bundeswehr.