BERLIN, December 7, 2025 — A massive wave of dissent swept through the heart of the German capital on Sunday as an estimated 10,000 students and young activists staged a fierce demonstration against the reintroduction of mandatory military service and the rising tide of militarization in Europe.
Organized by a coalition of communist and socialist youth organizations, the march transformed the city center into a sea of red flags and banners. The demonstration served as a direct rebuke to the federal government’s recent policies regarding the Bundeswehr and the expansion of defense spending.
"We Are All Anti-Fascists"
Braving the biting December cold, the protesters gathered initially at Alexanderplatz before marching toward the government district. The atmosphere was charged with high-energy chants, most notably the unified roar of "Wir sind alle Antifaschisten" ("We are all anti-fascists").
For the organizers, the reintroduction of conscription is not merely a policy change but a historical regression.
"They tell us this is for national security, but we see it for what it is: a return to the militarization of society," said Lena Schmidt, a spokesperson for the organizing coalition. "We are here to say that the youth of Germany will not be marched back into the barracks. We refuse to let the history of the 20th century repeat itself under the guise of 'defense'."
Against War and Capital
The central theme of the protest was an explicit rejection of what the students termed the "alliance of War and Capital." Hand-painted signs and professionally printed banners alike carried messages linking the drive for conscription to capitalist interests.
"Money for education, not for tanks," read one prominent banner carried by high school students. Another, draped across the front line of the march, declared: "Against the Dictatorship of Capital – No Service for Imperialism."
Speakers at the rally argued that the push for a stronger military comes at the expense of social welfare, education, and climate protection. They accused the ruling coalition of prioritizing the defense industry's profits over the future of the working-class youth who would be the first to be drafted.
"They want us to fight their wars to protect their capital," shouted a representative from a university communist group to the cheering crowd near the Brandenburg Gate. "But our enemy is not across the border; our enemy is fascism and exploitation at home."
A Growing Movement
The scale of the protest—drawing 10,000 participants—indicates a significant mobilization of the political left among Germany’s younger generation. While previous protests against defense spending have been sporadic, the specific issue of mandatory conscription appears to have galvanized a broad coalition of students, trade union youth, and anti-fascist groups.
Police maintained a heavy presence throughout the route, but the demonstration remained largely peaceful.
As the sun set over the Tiergarten, the rally concluded with a pledge from the organizers: if the government proceeds with the implementation of the draft, Sunday’s march will be only the beginning of a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience.
"We are loud, we are many, and we are not going to the army," the crowd chanted in unison as the event dispersed.
08 December
