UNIVERSITY and secondary school-aged students took to the streets across Germany today in protest against the German parliament voting through government plans to increase the size of the military, and potentially reintroduce conscription.

The Bundestag approved by 323 votes to 272 a modified version of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s plans to increase the size of Germany’s military from around 180,000 to 260,000 over the next decade.

The government says it also needs around 200,000 reservists, more than double the current amount.

It hopes to do this by improving pay and conditions for people who sign up on a short-term basis, and offer better training and more flexibility on how long people can join, starting from a minimum of six months.

The plans stop short of reintroducing conscription, but leaves the possibility to do so should the plans fail to convince enough people to join voluntarily.

Ronja, co-organiser of School Strike Against Conscription campaign’s protest in Berlin today, told the Morning Star’s German sister newspaper Junge Welt that the young were not being heard.

“It’s constantly claimed that two-thirds of all Germans are in favour [of reintroducing conscription],” she said.

“But those who are actually affected are not being asked. And that naturally makes us angry and disappointed. That’s why we’re here, and taking to the streets, to give young people a voice and show that we don’t want this. We oppose it.

“And that’s why young people in particular are here, and why schoolchildren in particular are here, because they are not being heard.”

“And if you think about the purpose of training young people to use weapons, why should they be trained? Well, it’s always claimed that it’s to defend Germany, for security interests and so on.

“In my opinion, this is part of a massive rearmament programme and, of course, preparation for a war that may come at some point. It is said that we should be ready for war by 2029.

“And we cannot understand exactly what for and against what.”