Ukraine episode?
The number of Bundeswehr conscientious objectors has almost quintupled
Created: 06/01/2023 23:01
By: Fabian Pieper
The number of conscientious objectors has skyrocketed.
© Angelika Warmuth/dpa
Compared to the previous year, the number of conscientious objectors in the Bundeswehr has almost quintupled.
The reason is probably the Ukraine war.
Berlin – More than 180,000 soldiers are currently serving in the German Bundeswehr.
But apparently not everyone is behind the decision to serve in the Bundeswehr in Germany.
Because in the past year 2022, the number of conscientious objectors has skyrocketed.
The
editorial network Germany (RND)
learned this from a spokesman for the Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Tasks.
In concrete figures this means: 951 applications for conscientious objection were received by the office.
That is almost five times as much as in 2021. At that time there were said to have been 201 applications.
Five times as many conscientious objectors in the Bundeswehr because of the war in Ukraine
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is cited as the reason for this.
According to the RND
report
, many of the applicants had not expected a military conflict in the conflict that had been smoldering in Europe for years.
And the war is also reflected in the recruitment of new Bundeswehr members.
Compulsory military service was suspended in Germany in 2011 – even though many Germans would now like to see it reinstated.
Since then, new recruits have voluntarily decided to join the Bundeswehr.
In 2022, however, the number of applicants for military service in the Bundeswehr will decline, according to the
RND
in September from the Federal Office for Personnel Management of the Bundeswehr.
What exactly does the term "conscientious objector" mean?
Before the suspension of compulsory military service in 2011, there was an option in Germany to refuse military service and do community service instead.
With the abolition of conscription, this type of conscientious objection became obsolete in Germany.
The term “conscientious objector” today refers to Bundeswehr soldiers who are already doing their service in the Bundeswehr and subsequently refuse to do so.
More conscientious objectors in Germany: tarnished image of the Bundeswehr
But the problems are home-made, says Michael Schulze von Glasser, political director of the German Peace Society - United War Service Opponents.
It is understandable that many servicewomen and men now want to leave the Bundeswehr, because on the one hand they were lured into the Bundeswehr with advertising promises that were inconsistent with reality, but on the other hand they would also come to know "not to others in these explosive times in terms of security policy shooting people and wanting to kill or injure them”.
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Recently, the image of the Bundeswehr had suffered greatly - which is also due to the misconduct and the external image of Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).
In May 2022, she was criticized for her son's helicopter flight with a Bundeswehr machine, and she was recently sentenced by a court to provide full information about the incident.
She is also accused of the poor condition of the Bundeswehr equipment, such as tanks failing.
Recently, an embarrassing New Year's Eve video by Lambrecht attracted attention throughout Germany.