This is a challenge that is rooted not only in the recruitment numbers, but in decades of political decisions that pushed the military to the margins of society.
After a reduction in staff after the Cold War in 1994 under Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the military bases were closed – especially in cities. With this, according to Carlo Masala, professor at the University of Bundeswehr in Munich and advisor to the army, the army has faded from public life. “Their bases today are in the midst of nowhere,” he said. “There is no direct contact for young people.”
This disconnection is only deepening in recent years.
The conscription ended in 2011. In 2018, the Bundeswehr recruitment campaign at Gamescom Gaming Convention in Cologne attracted a poster on a poster that said “multiplayer to its best”. Critics accused the army of trivializing war and targeting adolescents. “Disgusting,” posted a user on X. “Trying to attract ignorant players to arms.”
Earlier this year, the eastern city of Zwickau prohibited the Bundeswehr advertisements from public spaces, qualifying as a “city of peace” – although the municipal supervision authority of the municipality noted that the decision was illegal. It is in this backdrop – to discolor visibility and political hesitation – that Germany is now betting on a new voluntary military service.
The window closes
“We need these 100,000 additional soldiers immediately – and as quickly as possible,” the Best German military commander said, the German German Relations audience last week.
Politices
