German army recruitment drive collapses

Germany’s new military registration program has fallen disastrously short of the numbers expected by the Bundeswehr, Die Zeit has reported, citing data from the Defense Ministry.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in April that the size of the German military should increase from the current 184,000 to 460,000 by 2035, including 260,000 active-duty troops and 200,000 reservists.

In order to achieve the goal, the Bundeswehr launched a military registration program at the start of the year, asking all 18-year-old citizens – male and female – to respond to an online questionnaire to assess their readiness to serve.

According to a Die Zeit article on Thursday, the Defense Ministry has reached out to 298,200 potential recruits over the past five months, but only 530 of them eventually volunteered to join the armed forces.

All of the men contacted were obligated to respond to the questionnaire, and 96% out of over 153,000 males did so, the article read. The other 4% who declined to answer could face administrative cases against them, it added.

Just 4% of women replied to the questionnaire, according to German Defense Ministry figures, although the survey was optional for females.

Overall, one in five young people expressed interest in military service, but many said they would be ready to join in a year or two, Die Zeit said.

The Bundeswehr also continues to use traditional recruitment methods, with the number of applications through the army reaching 38,500 since the start of the year, which is 24% more than during the same period in 2025, the paper noted.

The chairman of the German parliament’s defense committee, Thomas Rowekamp, told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) earlier this week that the authorities in Berlin still have a year to evaluate the effectiveness of the military registration program.

If it doesn’t succeed, a decision could be made in 2027 to return to compulsory military service, Rowekamp stressed.

Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Berlin announced a major militarization drive, citing the alleged threat posed by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed claims that it is planning to attack NATO as “nonsense,” arguing they are only intended to scare the public and distract from numerous problems in Western countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday that Western nations are now “openly saying that they are preparing for war with us, increasing military offensive budgets.”