Conscription in Germany Germany has conscription ( " Wehrpflicht " ) for male citizens . The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany and several special laws ( e . g . " Wehrpflichtgesetz " ) are regulating these duties and the exceptions . Men are obliged to serve six months either in the military , which they can refuse , and do alternative civilian service , or honorary service ( like any volunteer ) for at least six years in a civil protection organisation . Families of those who were oppressed by the Nazi regime ( usually Jews or homosexuals ) are exempt from conscription , though a small number do serve . Although the conscription is of a military nature , nowadays twice as many draftees refuse military service and serve in alternative services . Women are not part of the draft . They may join the military as volunteers or under the legal construction of a " voluntary conscript " . Military service . Draftees who do not state that they are conscientious objectors and do not request service in the civil protection are by default drafted into military service ( " Wehrdienst " ) in the Bundeswehr ( German federal defense forces ) . Basic training ( " Allgemeine Grundausbildung " ) consists of two months of combat training , then four months service at the assigned post . The conscripted soldier will normally reach the rank of " Obergefreiter " ( NATO code OR - 3 , comparable to U . S . Army Private First Class ) . During his service he gets free health care , housing , food and a railway ticket . Conscripts get paid between €9 . 41 and €10 . 95 per day of basic pay ( depending on rank ) plus several bonus payments such as distance - from - home pay , additional food pay for days absent from the service and others . Conscripts cannot be deployed to active service in conflict theatres against their will . The German contributions to forces such as ISAF in Afghanistan or KFOR in Kosovo exclusively comprise professional soldiers and volunteers . Conscripts who wish to partake in such missions must volunteer for a service extension . Civil Protection . Draftees can also opt for service in the Civil Protection , which is by law equal to military service . Today , those are normally medical ambulance organisations and organisations for disaster relief ( " Katastrophenschutz " ) . This is subject to validation by local authorities , who usually are allowed a certain contingent of such volunteers per year of birth . Thus , organizations such as the Technical Relief Service ( " Technisches Hilfswerk " , THW ) , volunteer Fire Department s or other emergency assistance and crisis management agencies as the Red Cross are supported in performing their volunteer services in disaster response . In the ambulance services , their service can overlap with the service of conscientious objectors . Draftees in the Civil Protection get no payment outside of compensations for clothing and transportation fares , doing an honorary service ( " ehrenamtlich " ) . Conscientious objection . The German " Basic Law " requires that conscientious objection be possible , therefore draftees may elect to perform civilian service " ( Zivildienst or Wehrersatzdienst ) " . The conscientious objection has to be declared in a personal letter to the local county draft board outlining one ' s moral objections . Those must be directed against war and military service in general , without regard to the circumstances . If the draftee plausibly states such objections his application will be accepted without further problems today . Alternative service can be more convenient than military service since the draftee can continue to live at home rather than in military barracks . The objector will perform civilian service , lasting for six months , in which he may find employment with a civilian institution that renders a public service , such as a kindergarten , hospital , rehabilitation center or assisted living facility for the elderly . Duration and payment . The German constitution also requires that the duration of civilian service does not exceed that of military service . Civil service since 2003 has the same duration in months as military service . Before , there was a rate in hours both services had to serve , which was then divided by the average daily work hours in military and civil service . Thereby , civil service tended to be 1 – 3 months longer than military service , as the former used to have 50 working hours a week as against 40 working hours in civil organisations . This made four " military weeks " equivalent to five " civil weeks " . This practice was abolished when the draft duration was reduced from 10 / 12 months to 9 / 9 and later 6 / 6 months . As conscientious objectors also receive compensation payment for clothing and lodging ( which is provided by the Federal Defence for conscripts ) , payment is significantly higher for conscientious objectors , making this service more desirable for youths living at home . Conscientious objection in the past . While the option of conscientious objection is required by law , in the past there were several hurdles in place to discourage it . Until 1983 conscientious objectors had to undergo a " Gewissensprüfung " ( inspection of conscience ) , an oral examination before a board that tried their motivations , which could decide to deny them conscientious objector status . Before German reunification in 1990 , citizens of West Berlin were exempt from the draft as West Berlin formally did not belong to the FRG . Many young men moved to Berlin immediately upon their high school graduation in order to avoid the draft entirely , and thus did not serve in either the military or in an alternative service . In the former German Democratic Republic , conscripts who were not willing to bear arms were drafted into the National People ' s Army as " construction soldiers " ( " Bausoldaten " ) . They were used in public construction projects , and sometimes also to fill worker shortages in various parts of the East German economy , such as the mining industry . Men who served as " Bausoldaten " were frequently subjected to discrimination by the East German state , even after they had finished their service . For example , former " Bausoldaten " were often barred from enrolling in university . Alternatives . Another alternative is to become a foreign " development helper " ( " Entwicklungshelfer " ) , which means that the person will be expected to work in a technical capacity in a recognized " developing country " for a period of not less than two years . To qualify for this option , the candidate has to meet the requests of the chosen agency which includes formal vocational training or an educational program that grants a recognized qualification in a marketable skill making him a useful asset in a developing host country . Many men who choose this option , become so engrossed in the developmental needs of such countries that they stay abroad many years longer than the legal requirement . The disproportionately high percentage of German nationals found in many international aid , conservation , medical and technical assistance organizations active in developing countries may be directly attributable to this trend . Women and undrafted men may elect to serve one year of voluntary service in a social or environmental institution , called " Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr " ( FSJ ) and " Freiwilliges Ökologisches Jahr " ( FÖJ ) , respectively . It is not a real alternative to military service , but for most practical purposes identical to the civilian service that conscientious objectors are required to serve . This includes social security coverage for the term of service and may give the young attendee a direction for his later career as well as a certain improvement in soft skills . Draft dodgers ( " totalverweigerung " ) . If a conscripted man refuses to serve in the military and do any alternative service , this man will be subject to legal prosecution and may be sentenced to confinement in prison . In 2007 a 20 year old was arrested by the " Bundeswehr " for AWOL ( Absent Without Official Leave ) . The sentence is dependent upon the way the conscripted man refuses to serve . In the military it is dealt under military law . In the civilian service it is AWOL . The court is never a court - martial . The accused is often dealt by juvenile law and can be punished by a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years or fined , often 3 months ( 3 months are not recorded in the " certificate of good conduct " " Polizeiliches Führungszeugnis " ) . Exemption from service . Women are not included in the draft , but may serve voluntarily . Since 1975 women were allowed to serve in medical and music band functions . In 2001 the European Court of Justice ruled that limiting women to these functions was against European law . Subsequently all positions in the Bundeswehr were opened up for women . Men can be exempt from service for various reasons . The most frequent reason for exoneration is a medical exemption ( " Ausmusterung " ) . All conscripts , including conscientious objectors but excluding those exempt for other reasons , must attend a medical examination ( " Musterung " ) at the local county draft bureau ( " Kreiswehrersatzamt " ) . Those who do not fulfill certain standards do not have to serve , neither in the military nor in a civilian service . Delinquents sentenced to more than a year or charged with a felony against peace , democracy , the state or state security will not be drafted for military service . Priests will not be drafted . Another provision exonerates everyone from military service who has two siblings who have already served . Same is true for men whose father , mother or sibling died in a military or civil service . Men who are married , living in a registered civil union or have children are also free to choose . Workers performing tasks in areas of important public interest may be exempt from military service on request . This mostly is valid for policemen , career firefighters and specialists in telecommunication or engineering services . Political debate . The post - cold war downsizing of the Bundeswehr has led to a considerable decrease in demand for young conscripts . Of all men reaching draftable age , currently less than one half actually serve . In 2005 about 15 % served in the military , while 31 % performed civilian service or some other form of alternative service . More than 36 % were screened out for medical reasons . This percentage was lower in the past ( 15 % in 2003 ) , but to avoid drafting more men than needed , medical standards have been raised . The remainder includes those who were exempt for various reasons , but is mostly made up of men who were not drafted because the military had already reached its recruitment goals . This has led to discussions about " draft equality " ( " Wehrgerechtigkeit " ) , which is the principle that the draft should apply equally and non - discriminatorily to all men . The issue of " Wehrgerechtigkeit " is one aspect of the ongoing political debate over whether the Bundeswehr should be converted into a purely volunteer - based , professional army . Historical arguments . Proponents of the draft argue that it conserves the military ' s firm rooting in civilian society , and warn that a professional army might return to the militaristic , anti - democratic and elitist traditions of the Nazi and earlier eras . Draft service is also considered a tradition dating back to the 1848 Revolution , intended to ensure the continuity of the democratic state . Military arguments . Military detractors of the draft claim that shortening the service to six months , which was necessary to accommodate a constant number of conscripts in a shrinking army , has made conscription worthless because conscripts receive too little training . Military proponents counter that some service is better than none at all , bringing citizens in contact with their military and thereby countering above - mentioned fears of a disconnection between military and society . Another factor is the armed forces ' difficulty to find volunteers for senior positions beyond the conscript level . Currently many soldiers in advanced ranks are recruited from former conscripts who volunteer to extend their service . Abolishing the draft would close this pathway into the military . Therefore military leaders fear that abolishing the draft would lead to recruitment shortages even for higher ranking positions . Financial arguments . Some detractors of the draft expect considerable savings in defence spending from abolishing the draft , because it would allow a downsizing of the armed forces , which owe much of their current size to the need to accommodate large numbers of conscripts . It is arguable how such a reduction in size would affect the Bundeswehr ' s capabilities . Those in favor of a downsizing claim that it would not affect the ability to act in conflict theatres , since conscripts cannot be involuntarily deployed to such areas , making such missions already today the domain of a quasi - professional army . Experiences of countries who have abolished draft , especially the USA and France , show that professional armed forces can be more expensive than a draft - based military . Professional armies need to pay their soldiers higher wages , and have large advertising expenses to attract sufficient numbers of able recruits . The above - mentioned difficulties in recruiting soldiers for advanced ranks , as well as difficulties in retaining such higher - ranking soldiers whose term of service time ends , indicates that a professional army might have to make considerable financial efforts to be competitive as an employer . Civic arguments . Civilian detractors argue that the draft is simply anachronistic , instilling an undue sense of militarism in young men , and also delays their entry into the workforce . Others argue that especially young people often detach themselves from their community , consuming its benefits but trying to avoid its duties . The draft obliges male citizens to pay society back through their military or civilian service . Furthermore , abolishing the draft would also mean abolishing civilian service . A purely civilian compulsory service would be incompatible with the German basic law , which permits the draft only for the purpose of defense . This would cause a considerable drop in the number of people working in the care of children and elderly people . Such care facilities often rely on civilian service to furnish them with large numbers of very low - paid workers . Apart from that , professional forces tend to be recruited largely from underprivileged groups . As of 2007 , a disproportionate number of soldiers ( about 4 out of 10 ) who volunteer beyond their basic service stem from the poorer eastern states of Germany . It is feared that a professional force increases this trend , disconnecting the armed forces from the more affluent groups in society .