Since conscription was suspended in 2011, conscientious objectors are only people who are already serving in the Bundeswehr. According to the RND report, many conscientious objectors justify their applications in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and a possible escalation with the fact that they did not expect a military conflict.
According to the RND report, a spokeswoman for the Federal Office for Personnel Management in the Bundeswehr also stated in September that “the actual number of applicants for military service in the Bundeswehr has been declining since the beginning of 2022”.
The political director of the “German Peace Society – United War Service Opponents”, Michael Schulze von Glaßer, called in the RND newspapers for a “simple way out” for soldiers from the army, “who come to the realization in these explosive times in terms of security policy, but not to others shooting people and wanting to kill or injure them”.
“Many of today’s Bundeswehr members were lured into the army with advertising promises that have nothing to do with reality,” he said. “Now many are dissatisfied and it is understandable that they want to leave the army.”
