German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has announced a crash program to build new barracks, but he might not be able to fill them with new recruits.
As part of the planned expansion of Germany’s Bundeswehr, 270 new company barracks are planned, using rapid (modular) construction methods from 2027 onwards. The Bundeswehr wants to fill them with conscripts, which should rise annually in the coming years, from around 15,000 at present to 40,000 per year from 2031.
However, those barracks might remain empty. The number of applications for conscientious objection to military service in the Bundeswehr has increased dramatically. By the end of August 2025, some 3,257 applications had been submitted, according to the German magazine Focus. This represents an increase of 9.2% compared to the previous year as a whole and marks the highest figure in 14 years. Many citizens are refusing to serve in the Bundeswehr and submitting clear applications to the Federal Office for Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions. The decision on applications is made there, and most of them are approved.
From 2011, when compulsory military service was abolished, the number fell from over 100,000 a year to a few hundred applications per year, but now it is rising dramatically again.
