Germany has embarked on an ambitious journey to establish the most powerful conventional military force in Europe for the first time since the Second World War.
Driven by a deepening distrust of American security guarantees and growing threats from Moscow, the German government has initiated a series of legislative and financial measures to rebuild the Bundeswehr, reports Al Jazeera.
At the start of 2026, the German government began issuing mandatory questionnaires to 18-year-old men to register their fitness for military duty.
While enlistment remains voluntary for the time being, new legislation provides the state with the authority to reintroduce mandatory service to meet its aggressive expansion targets.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has emphasized that the army must become the continent’s leading conventional force, with active personnel already rising to 184,000 as of late last year.
The long-term objective is to reach 260,000 active troops and 200,000 reservists by 2035, aiming for a total force size reminiscent of the Cold War era.
To fund this massive transition, Berlin has committed 108 billion euros ($125bn) toward defense this year, which constitutes 2.5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This investment is more than double the defense budget of 2021. Current projections suggest that spending will further increase to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2030. To incentivize recruitment, the government is offering 23-month contracts with monthly pay of roughly 2,600 euros, supplemented by free housing and medical insurance, which provides young soldiers with high disposable income after taxes.
The motivation behind this military resurgence is twofold, rooted in both external aggression and shifting global alliances.
Recent polling indicates that eight out of 10 Germans are convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of seeking peace in Ukraine, and many now view 2029 as a potential date for a Russian attack on NATO territory.
Simultaneously, faith in the United States as a reliable partner has withered; 84 percent of Germans no longer believe Washington will continue to guarantee European security. This erosion of trust was accelerated by President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy, which was widely perceived in Europe as a dismissal of the transatlantic alliance.
As a result of this geopolitical shift, public sentiment in Germany is moving toward a “European NATO” that relies less on American leadership. Support for a unified European army has surged to 57 percent, and three-quarters of the population now prefer an Anglo-French nuclear deterrent over the current US-led framework.
Despite the clear political direction, the path toward rearmament faces significant cultural and practical hurdles.
For decades, the Bundeswehr struggled with a negative public image and bureaucratic delays that slowed the distribution of defense funds.
Furthermore, experts warn that Russian propaganda is actively targeting German society, attempting to exploit domestic sensitivities regarding conscription to undermine the government’s efforts.
Analysts also note that translating financial investment into actual industrial capacity and combat-ready forces will be a time-consuming process.
