Conscription in Germany

Hey there kiddo, do you know what conscription means? No worries, let me explain. Conscription is when the government forces people to join the military, even if they don't want to. In Germany, conscription used to be mandatory for all men once they turned 18 years old. They would have to go through basic military training for at least six months, and then they could be called upon to serve their country for up to two years.

Now, you may be wondering why the government would force people to join the military? Well, it is to ensure that the country has enough trained soldiers to defend itself in case of an emergency. Germany has a long history of conscription, dating back to the 19th century when it was known as the Prussian Military Draft.

However, in 2011, Germany decided to end conscription and made it a voluntary service. This means that people can choose whether or not they want to serve in the military, and if they do, they can choose how long they want to serve for. This change was made because the government believed that a voluntary service would attract more motivated and skilled people to join the military.

In conclusion, conscription in Germany used to be mandatory, but now it is not. It was done to make sure that the country had enough trained soldiers to defend itself. However, now people have the choice to join the military or not.