When conscription was suspended in Germany in 2011, Crimea was still Ukrainian, and Chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurated the Nord Stream gas pipeline with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in Lubmin: “With this project, we are showing that we are committed to a secure, resilient partnership with Russia in the future,” said the German head of government in her speech. Hardly any politician or citizen could have imagined a scenario in which Central Europe would experience conventional fighting.
This misjudgment was reinforced by the suspension of conscription. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer people in Germany who have had to deal with military scenarios at least once in their lives or who have been exposed to them by relatives. Soldiers were no longer “citizens in uniform”, no longer a reflection of society. This increased the distance to the army that had already existed since the post-war period.
Today we are in the third year of the war in Ukraine, and the civil protection minister of the new NATO member Sweden is warning the population that there could be war in their own country. They must be prepared.
It is therefore only logical and consistent that Defense Minister Pistorius (SPD) is now presenting plans for the introduction of a new type of military service. And he has the support of most Germans: in surveys, between 60 and 70 percent of those surveyed are in favor of such a step.
Accordingly, alternative civilian service should also be reintroduced. For many young people – especially those from academic backgrounds – military or civilian service was their first and often most lasting encounter with the reality of life. Both heightened their senses for the value of social cohesion.
If the idea of serving society returns, it should be up to date and apply equally to men and women.