It\u2019s a challenge that\u2019s rooted not just in recruitment numbers, but in decades of political decisions that pushed the military to the margins of society.<\/p>\n
After a sweeping post-Cold War downsizing in 1994 under Chancellor Helmut Kohl, military bases were shut down \u2014 especially in cities. With that, according to Carlo Masala, a professor at the Bundeswehr University in Munich and an adviser to the military, the army faded from public life. \u201cTheir bases today are out in the middle of nowhere,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no direct contact for young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
That disconnect has only deepened in recent years. <\/p>\n
Conscription ended in 2011. In 2018, the Bundeswehr\u2019s recruitment campaign at the Gamescom gaming convention in Cologne drew backlash<\/a> over a poster that read \u201cMultiplayer at its best.\u201d Critics accused the military of trivializing war and targeting teenagers. \u201cDisgusting,\u201d one user posted on X<\/a>. \u201cTrying to lure unaware gamers to the weapons.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the eastern city of Zwickau banned Bundeswehr ads<\/a> from public spaces, calling itself a \u201ccity of peace\u201d \u2014 although the municipal supervisory authority later found that decision was illegal. It\u2019s against that backdrop \u2014 of fading visibility and political hesitation \u2014 that Germany is now placing its bet on a new, voluntary military service.<\/p>\n The window is closing<\/p>\n