Conscription in Germany

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Conscription
1780 caricature of a press gang
Related concepts
Alternative civilian service Civil conscription Conscientious objector Conscription crisis Counter-recruitment Draft-card burning Draft evasion Impressment Levée en masse Military service National service Penal military unit War resister
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Between 1956 and 2011, Germany conscripted men subject to mandatory military service (German: Wehrpflicht, German: [ˈveːɐ̯ˌp͡flɪçt] ^ⓘ). After a proposal on 22 November 2010 by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German Minister of Defence at the time, Germany put conscription into abeyance on 1 July 2011.^[1][2] While the German constitution retains the legal instruments for reintroducing conscription in Germany, currently only men over 18 years of age can be conscripted whilst women cannot under any circumstance (auf keinen Fall) be required to "serve with a weapon" (Dienst mit der Waffe).^{[a] [4][5]}

The constitution (called Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany)^[4][5] and several special laws (e.g., Wehrpflichtgesetz^[6]) regulate these duties and exceptions. In the last year of active conscription, men were obliged to either (1) serve six months in the military, which they could refuse, or alternatively (2) complete a civilian or honorary service of at least six months in a civil defence organisation. Families of those who were victims of or oppressed by the Nazi regime (predominantly Jews) were exempted from conscription, although some volunteered to serve.^[7]

From 2025, 400,000 German men who have reached the age of 18 will have to complete a mandatory questionnaire. Male questionnaire recipients must provide information about their motivation for military service, and 40,000 men will then be compelled to attend a muster. While military service itself will continue to be on a voluntary basis, the government hopes to recruit at least 5,000 additional German citizens of all genders for military service each year in this manner.^[8][9] The participation of women and other genders in equality to men,^[a] as regulated by the Self-Determination Act from 1 November 2024,^[10] will remain a subject of discussion from 2024 but requires a change to the constitution.^[11][12][13]

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