During the night between Thursday, December 4th and Friday, December 5th, activists from the “Wir verweigern! (We object!)” campaign modified several German army posters to draw attention to the right to conscientious objection and counter propaganda in favour of war and violence.
“For me, as a young man, it’s disturbing to see this pro-war advertising everywhere, a war the state wants to send me into through compulsory military service. My life is not your asset!” explains one of the activists.
Wir verweigern! is a youth group campaign calling for mass civil disobedience and resistance to rearmament and compulsory military service. In early September, activists spray-painted the exterior wall of the Bundestag nursery: “Are you forcing your children to kill too?”
White writing: Do what really matters. 70 reasons for the German Army. Why we cannot hand over responsibility. Find your reasons. 70 years of the German Army. Red writing on “responsibility”: kill.
White writing: Because fundamental rights don’t defend themselves. Find your reasons. 70 years of the German army. Red writing on “fundamental rights”: Capitalists.
The protest against compulsory military service is growing. Youth and student organizations across Germany are calling for a nationwide strike today, Friday, against the mandatory medical check-up.
One activist commented: “We don’t want to die for a state that doesn’t care about us. Our schools and universities are falling apart, our pensions are disappearing, and we are experiencing the full impact of the climate catastrophe. As if that weren’t enough, we are now also expected to kill and be killed on the front lines for the powerful interests of others. But let’s be clear: we will refuse military service.”
Press release from https://widerstands-kollektiv.org/, December 5, 2025
Translation from Italian by Evelyn Tischer