Compulsory military service brings tens of thousands of schoolchildren to the streets in Germany. “Berlin instead of the front line”
Tens of thousands of students took to the streets in Germany on Friday to protest against the possible reintroduction of compulsory military service, reports DPA, taken over by Agerpres.
Rallies and demonstrations took place in dozens of cities under the slogan 'School strike against compulsory military service', an action that coincided with the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II on May 8.
According to Berlin police, around 1,200 participants gathered in the federal capital for a march from the Brandenburg Gate to the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, carrying placards reading: 'Education instead of bombs' and 'Berlin instead of the front line'. The organizers reported that the number of participants was around 5,000.
In Hamburg, in the north of the country, organizers said around 6,000 people took to the streets, while police counted 2,300 participants.
Friday's protests were not the first nationwide against military service. At the beginning of March, around 50,000 young people took part in a school strike against conscription and compulsory service in any form in around 150 cities in Germany.
The law entered into force on January 1 aims at the recruitment of volunteers to increase the armed forces. However, if the recruitment targets are not met, the parliament could decide to reintroduce compulsory military service.
