00:08They should be in school, but these students in Germany are choosing to cut class to send
00:16a message to the government, no to military expansion, no to their involvement in it.
00:29These young students and activists aren't just participating here in Berlin.
00:34This is a nationwide day of action.
00:37You have cities like Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Nuremberg all participating.
00:45Germany has pledged to turn the Bundeswehr, its military, into the strongest conventional
00:50army in Europe.
00:54To do so, it will need young Germans to sign up for service.
00:59But in a country shaped by its Nazi past, support for the military remains complicated.
01:06Can Germany change this perception?
01:09And looking beyond its borders, what lessons might it learn from one of Europe's most military-friendly cultures?
01:17Our grandfathers have fought in war and protected our country, so it's like really this traditional
01:24thing to respect our elders.
01:48The unease here is that while joining the military is voluntary now, it may not be in the near future.
01:56The Bundeswehr needs much more than these young citizens.
02:00It needs to recruit hundreds of thousands of new soldiers over the next decade, with the
02:05goal of building a 460,000-strong wartime force.
02:09The government has started sending out letters of inquiry and interest to males turning 18, which
02:16they are required to answer.
02:18That has provoked enough anger to spark sustained, regular protests across the country, organized
02:25in part by students, such as Pavel Kanakaev, who volunteers as a spokesperson.
02:31We're fighting here against exactly those procedures.
02:34Because while the state is funding more and more into military, into an arms race, the
02:39schools are being broken down.
02:41My school has a toilet which has not been fixed for a year, because there's not enough
02:44money from the state funding the schools.
02:47Museums are shutting down because there's not enough money for culture.
02:50To these protesters, the idea that Russia might pose a danger to Germany feels overblown.
02:57What's more, most Germans have little interaction with their military.
03:02Unlike some countries where soldiers are highly respected, civil-military relations are not
03:07strong here.
03:08So when young people are suddenly being asked to consider contributing to national and European
03:12defense, it can come as a shock.
03:16And so we are here to show the politicians that we do not want to fight their wars, we
03:20want a future.
03:20The very fact that they're being contacted by the military, and that they really consciously
03:25have to think about making a decision.
03:28Do I want to join the military?
03:29Do I want to serve my country?
03:30That is totally a new experience, right?
03:34Timo Graf is a senior researcher at the Bundeswehr Center of Military History and Social Sciences.
03:41He cautions that the loudest voices, however, might not represent mainstream opinion.
03:49From the numbers, I can tell you that roughly one-third to one-quarter of men would actually
03:55be willing to do this and to serve their country, right?
04:00And if you translate that into absolute numbers, this is actually a huge potential.
04:04What Timo Graf means is that with a population of 84 million people, even a fraction of interested
04:10adults amounts to a big fighting force.
04:13Still, Germans remain some of the world's least willing citizens to fight for their country,
04:19as this global poll shows.
04:22At 23%, the data aligns with Timo Graf's research.
04:26Compare Germany with other places from this survey and additional polling in neighboring
04:30Poland, Switzerland, or especially looking at Finland, however, and it becomes clearer that
04:37the German government has a big challenge on its hands.
04:41But I think where Germany, especially when compared to other European countries, where
04:45we can do a bit of catching up, is in the appreciation that we show for the service in general,
04:51you know, including politicians, civil society actors, right?
04:55That we allow ourselves to say, it's okay that people serve.
05:00These people, they serve us.
05:02They serve our freedom.
05:03And that this appreciation is being communicated.
05:06And I think we need more platforms, more moments of direct interaction between civil society
05:13and the military.
05:14That has been lacking in Germany for a very long time.
05:25Summer in Finland.
05:27We've landed on one of the most beautiful days of the year here.
05:30To explore a society with a fundamentally different military culture.
05:38Defense is embedded in everyday life.
05:41They call it comprehensive security.
05:44At first glance, you'd miss it.
05:46But go underground, deep underground, and you'll see that many of the metro stations
05:52and other facilities double as wartime bunkers.
05:56Finland shares a 1,340 kilometer long border with Russia and has already lost substantial
06:02territory to Moscow in the wars of the 20th century.
06:06So the calculus is different from Germany's.
06:09Still, there are takeaways.
06:12Citizens here view security as a personal responsibility and key to protecting their democracy.
06:20So we're on our way to Santa Hamina, an island five kilometers from Helsinki, to check out
06:27the Guard Jaeger Regiment.
06:28It's a very interesting time to visit because almost 800 new soldiers have just started their
06:35mandatory military training there.
06:40All Finnish men, with limited exceptions, serve up to one year in the military.
06:47Women can volunteer as well.
06:50Before basic training, most Finns have never handled a gun before in their lives.
06:55We have a small nation, small population, and because of the conscript system, the most male
07:05individuals have done their military service.
07:08They understand how important it is to defend Finland.
07:13It doesn't matter what rank or what is a position in civilian life.
07:18You know exactly how important it is to defend Finland.
07:25This particular regiment specializes in urban warfare and, specifically, the protection of Helsinki.
07:35Once these soldiers complete their time, they stay in this same unit as reserves, building decades of trust and friendship.
07:44If ever called to fight, they will do so together.
07:47It's been great. We have learned a lot. Sometimes it's been tough, but overall it has been a great experience.
07:56I think in Finland we have this mindset that we have to value our own independence and country.
08:07Aino Bostrom and Monir Flea are six months into their training. Both see the importance of serving.
08:14For Aino, in part because she remembers her grandmother saying she wanted to serve but couldn't at that time as
08:20a woman.
08:21And for Monir, because his family had fled war-torn Iraq, arriving in Finland as refugees.
08:30It's, you know, it's the things that we do here that's what keeps security in Finland and the people safe.
08:35The people who don't have the power to defend or nor to pick up arms to defend their homes.
08:40So, you know, and it's absolutely nice since I got to, I had the chance to become a combat medic.
08:46And, you know, and I've been just loving it ever since. It's been truly amazing an experience.
08:50By no means does Germany need to import the Finnish culture and model, lock, stock and barrel.
08:58But what Finland shows is that it's possible for a citizenry to accept that they might need to use guns
09:05in the name of democracy.
09:07Something that continues to sit uneasily with many Germans.
09:13It's Bundeswehr day in Munster, Lower Saxony, home to the army's largest garrison and, for the day, open to the
09:22public.
09:23For the curious, the skeptics, for anyone who wants to learn more about the military.
09:3250,000 citizens have turned up.
09:38Including Pepe Neumann. Pepe is 16 years old.
09:43From Schleswig-Holstein, he's already in his town's volunteer fire brigade
09:48and knows how he will respond to the government's query when the time comes.
09:52He's saying yes, and has convinced his friend to also enlist.
09:58Joining the military is not a normal profession. You might die from it.
10:03Why would you be willing to put your life on the line like this?
10:06I think that military is important for our country, for the current situation in Europe, in Ukraine.
10:13We have also threats from terrorism and such.
10:16You don't fight for any government, but I would fight here because it's my home,
10:21because I've grown here, because my family lives here. That's important.
10:27That's important.
10:32Pepe hopes to learn how to operate a tank or armored vehicle.
10:37His view of the Bundeswehr could hardly be more different from that of those who protest
10:42and underscores shifting attitudes among German youth.
10:47They grew up in a mostly carefree post-Cold-War era of relative European stability and tranquility.
11:15The European status quo has been upended by a changing world with a far less reliable United States.
11:27Despite a citizenry still ambivalent about German remilitarization, the government is moving forward.
11:39This year, Germany will spend some 108 billion euros on defense.
11:44The political fight over that money often revolving around whether it comes at the expense of education and healthcare.
11:51Reflecting persistent orthodoxy over what is essential versus what is considered optional.
12:05But scenes like this show that views are changing.
12:09There's a willingness, at least among some, to reassess their views of the Bundeswehr.
12:14And perhaps convince a few they might even want to sign up and make it their lives purpose.
