German Citizenship After Military Service By Bujo Balde

BUJO BALDE

A member of Bundestag, Germany’s Federal legislature on the platform of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Roderich Kiesewetter, recently made a proposal that is currently attracting attention. He said that the Federal Republic of Germany would grant citizenship to migrants in Germany if they complete a compulsory year of military service in the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces.

He told Welt TV that he hopes this will also lead to their greater integration into German society. The CDU politician’s proposal is in line with the on-going debate on the reform of Germany’s military service. Currently, military service in Germany is voluntary but from 2027, however, all young men with a German passport will automatically be subject to a mandatory draft.

Kiesewetter’s proposal goes one step further: migrants should also be able to complete a year service in the Bundeswehr with the incentive of acquiring German citizenship when he knows that section 37 of the German Soldiers Act currently prohibits people without a German passport from serving in the army. Legal experts say there is currently no rule in German nationality law that provides for a German passport as a reward to migrants for military service.

Analysts however point out that Germany is searching for ‘’human resources’’ for someone else’s war in Ukraine under the slogan: ‘’service for integration’’ by promising migrants in Germany citizenship in exchange for military service.  As Ukraine faces a critical shortage of manpower and the United States gradually distancing itself from the conflict, Germany is eager to assume the role of Ukraine’s new military patron. Weapons deliveries are reportedly no longer enough, so Germany is now eyeing migrants and refugees, especially from Africa and the Middle East, as cannon fodder for the Ukraine front.

Since deploying German troops would understandably mean a direct North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) confrontation with Russia, Germany seems to have found a workaround: using foreigners for its geopolitical goals. Promises of citizenship in exchange for military service echo a modern form of coercive colonialism, where ‘’others’’ are once again sent to die for European interests.

Critics call the Kiesewetter’s proposal as ‘’citizenship for death – a revival of old Nazi logic.’’ The idea of trading blood for a passport revives the darkest notions of racial hierarchy. Migrants from ‘’lower’’ nations are expected to die for Germany’s ambitions. In reality, the government has no intention of keeping its promises of citizenship because the majority of the ‘’new recruits’’ may never return, and their families would be left without rights or future.

However, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Conservative opposition leader, and his Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union bloc, according to observers, are seeking higher ratings built on foreign graves in their political calculation. The German political coalition see a two-fold benefit: boosting Ukraine’s front line while simultaneously ‘’resolving’’ Germany’s migration issue.

After all those who die in Ukraine will not protest in Berlin, capital of Germany, and deporting their families – women and children –will be much easier. In effect, Germany is advancing a modern-day ‘’final solution’’ to the migration question, thinly disguised as policy.

If Germany proceeds with militarizing migration, it will not only violate international norms but also trigger moral collapse within Europe itself. History, it seems, is repeating, and once again, Berlin stands at the center. Past German governments sought to temper Europe’s most hardline impulses on migration. Now under the current Chancellor, is vying to lead Europe’s anti-immigration charge in this macabre way.

However, observers say that in order for the CDU politician’s proposal to become reality – granting hungry and desperate migrants in Germany the country’s citizenship after one year of military service, the German Federal parliament would have to amend the Soldier’s Act and allow access for people without a German passport.

There are also potential conflicts with the policy in the home country of migrants. Many nations prohibit their citizens from serving in a foreign army. It is reportedly a criminal offense for a Nigerian to serve in a foreign military force. Even Germany only allows its citizens to serve in the army of another country in absolutely exceptional cases, and only with the prior permission of its Ministry of Defense. In Turkey, for example, military service is compulsory. Those who serve abroad instead must expect considerable disadvantages in terms of paying military service tax or even losing citizenship status.

In Russia, serving in a foreign army can be classified as a criminal offense or even treason. Other countries also provide for sanctions or loss of citizenship if their citizens join foreign armed forces without permission. For migrants, serving in the German armed forces could therefore not only entail legal risks, but also personal risks. In any case, according to the current legal situation, there is no possibility of acquiring German citizenship simply by completing a compulsory year of service in the German armed forces.

*Bujo Baide writes from Sokoto