In the army, again? 80 years after the Holocaust, Germany’s Jews consider conscription

Eighty years after the Holocaust, German Jews are reconsidering military service as the Bundeswehr expands and conscription is debated. Lt. Levi, one of an estimated 300 Jewish soldiers, serves at a former Nazi school. Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council, urges Jews to 'do their part.' A military rabbinate was established in 2021. The Bundeswehr plans to grow to over 260,000 soldiers, with mandatory medical registration for young men from 2027.

Eighty years after the Holocaust, German Jews are reconsidering their relationship with the Bundeswehr, as the country debates renewed conscription. Lt. Levi, a 33-year-old biologist and one of an estimated 300 Jewish soldiers, is stationed at a former Nazi school in Sonthofen, now a Bundeswehr base. He describes himself as a 'Jewish German' and wants to defend his country. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, which represents about half of the estimated 200,000 Jews in Germany, wrote in November 2025 that Jews must be ready to 'do their part' for the democratic state. A milestone was the establishment of a military rabbinate in 2021, with Rabbi Zsolt Balla as the first Jewish chaplain in over a century. The Bundeswehr, founded in 1955, is set to grow from 186,000 to over 260,000 soldiers, and starting in 2027, all young men must register for medical assessment. Military service remains voluntary for now, but could become mandatory if recruitment falls short. The article highlights the historical sensitivity, noting that nearly all of the 15,000 initial officers had served in the Wehrmacht, and around 300 had been in the Waffen-SS.