BERLIN—The country on the front line of Europe’s rearmament effort is struggling to meet its military recruitment goals. The problem isn’t pacifism, but young people posing a new variation on the age-old question: “What is in it for me?”
European nations have stepped up military spending and begun preparing for a potential conflict with Russia. As a part of the effort, countries such as Germany and France have sought to get young people thinking about military service again.
Germany has introduced a new military service, initially on a voluntary basis. Some 700,000 men and women born in 2008 started receiving questionnaires this month about their fitness and willingness to serve. Only men are obliged to answer, and they will have to report for medical evaluation, whether they want to serve or not.
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