Gen Z Bucks German Military Push --- Today's generational split over serving is more about economic concern than politics

 

“BERLIN -- The country on the front line of Europe's rearmament effort is struggling to meet its military recruitment goals. The problem isn't pacifism, but young people posing a new variation on the age-old question: "What is in it for me?"

 

European nations have stepped up military spending and begun preparing for a potential conflict with Russia. As a part of the effort, countries such as Germany and France have sought to get young people thinking about military service again.

 

Germany has introduced a new military service, initially on a voluntary basis. Some 700,000 men and women born in 2008 started receiving questionnaires this month about their fitness and willingness to serve. Only men are obliged to answer, and they will have to report for medical evaluation, whether they want to serve or not.

 

News about the new military service sent tens of thousands of school-age demonstrators into the streets. A frequent refrain: Why should they sacrifice for a state that channels a quarter of its federal budget into pension payments to the old?

 

Their objections are more about economics than politics, a big difference from the idealism of the German peace movement in the 1970s and 1980s, shaped by the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the fear of a nuclear conflict in Europe.

 

Even in a country with virtually free higher education, universal healthcare and unemployment benefits, the objections are proving tough to overcome.

 

The problem was in evidence this month at the German armed forces' "career lounge," the first port of call in the German capital for people contemplating a military career. Snow and subzero temperatures weren't the only reason for the low foot traffic.

 

"In a democracy, you do something for the state and you get something in return," said Benedikt Zacher, a 25-year-old student and math tutor who was walking past the center. His students, he added, "think they're not getting anything from the state, and as a result, they are growing more selfish, rightly so."

 

A PR push for the German armed forces, known as the Bundeswehr, has helped to boost the number of recruits in the past two years. The Defense Ministry said the number of active-duty soldiers had reached its highest level since 2021.

 

Even so, the newcomers are barely offsetting departures and retirements, and the force is growing older.

 

Germany has set modest goals in the near term. In a letter to lawmakers seen by The Wall Street Journal, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he aimed to enroll 20,000 in the new service this year. The ministry said it wanted to recruit another 13,500 soldiers outside the military service.

 

Still, this is well below the 60,000 to 70,000 new recruits a year analysts think are needed for Germany to reach its goal of raising troop numbers from 184,000 to about 260,000 and tripling reservists to 200,000 by 2035.

 

A detailed opinion survey by the Bundeswehr's Center of Military History and Social Sciences last year showed high support for the Bundeswehr and the rearmament policy -- across all age groups. The problem: The number of respondents who would consider a military career has reached its lowest level since the study started in 2020.” [1]

 

 In Lithuania, no one takes to the streets because of this. We remain a nation of serfs and servants. We serve the Germans now.

 

1. World News: Gen Z Bucks German Military Push --- Today's generational split over serving is more about economic concern than politics. Bertrand, Benoit.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 22 Jan 2026: A6.