Germany makes preliminary preparations for potential civilian service return

Germany's constitution, the Basic Law, guarantees that no person can be forced into armed military service. Should the government reinstate mandatory conscription, a civilian-service alternative would have to be established for people who invoke their right to refuse military service on moral grounds as conscientious objectors.

Germany's federal government is making arrangements for this. The Family Affairs Ministry, led by Karin Prien, of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), has confirmed that in recent months it reached out to 23 large associations and organizations to ask what capacities they had to offer if civilian service were reinstated. Of those, 22 indicated a general willingness to offer opportunities for civilian service participants.

Thorsten Frei, the parliamentary group leader of the center-right bloc of the CDU and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) in the Bundestag, told the German broadcasters RTL and ntv that it was "very clever and correct" for the Family Affairs Ministry to prepare in this way. However, Frei said, there are no new developments in the discussion surrounding the possible reinstatement of conscription.

Bundeswehr seeks soldiers

After lengthy negotiations, the coalition government of the CDU/CSU and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) agreed that military service would remain voluntary in Germany for now. Whether this remains the case will depend on how many soldiers the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, can recruit in the coming months and years.

The goal is to increase the number of troops from 185,000 to at least 260,000 by 2030 in order to strengthen national defenses and fulfill NATO requirements. Or, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) put it: The Bundeswehr should become the strongest conventional army in Europe.

The so-called new military service, which has been in force since the start of this year, is also expected to boost the recruitment effort. It combines improved conditions for volunteers with responsibilities applying to all 18-year-old men: They must fill out a questionnaire to answer if they would be prepared to serve in the army.

They are required to undergo medical examinations and to state whether they are interested in joining the armed forces. However, they maintain the constitutional right to refuse military service as conscientious objectors.

Bundeswehr applications increase

Even without reinstating compulsory military service, the recruitment drive is on track to reach its target for 2026, according to a June forecast by Germany's Defense Ministry. However, only about 530 young men have voluntarily signed up to the military as a direct result of the Bundeswehr questionnaire in 2026.

So, though a return to conscription is not currently expected, it remains an option for the government. Combined with civilian service, it was in place in Germany (starting in West Germany in 1956) until 2011, when it was suspended. However, it was not removed from the constitution. So, parliament can reactivate it by law if needed, for example if the country's security situation changes.

The alternative, mandatory civilian service (Zivildienst) usually involved working in a hospital or care home for several months.

This civilian service was replaced in 2011 by the Bundesfreiwilligendienst , or federal volunteer service, which is open to people of all ages and genders. Conscription only applied to men.

'Government-mandated cheap labor'

Major German welfare organizations have pledged their support should civilian service be relaunched. At the same time, they warn against false expectations. The general consensus is that civilian service is no fix for acute staff shortages in the social services sector. Instead of relying on obligation, the federal government should instead strengthen the optional engagement of young people.

"Our main wish is improved conditions for the voluntary services," Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, the president of the German Caritas Association, told the public broadcaster ARD. "And there is still a lot of room for improvement on that."

Germany's opposition parties have also criticized a possible return to mandatory civilian service. According to the socialist Left Party, the state "should not dictate how young people spend a year of their lives," co-leader Ines Schwerdtner said. That applied to both military and civilian service. On the other side, young people should not serve as "stopgaps for a welfare state" which the government "has been systematically underfunding for years." Nursing care, emergency services and social institutions did not need "government-mandated cheap labor," Schwerdtner told the Funke media group.

In any case, the Family Affairs Ministry sees a need to revise and modernize the current civilian service law. It plans to present its proposals after Germany's summer recess.