West Germany’s Jewish community is seeking an end to the long standing arrangement by which Jewish youths of military age are exempt from the draft. The arrangement is a tacit understanding derived from Germany’s past rather than a legal waiver. Defense Ministry sources say that, exceptin individual cases, Jewish youth avoid recruitment on grounds that it is morally impossible for them to serve in a German army.
But this argument has been questioned in recent years because not all Jews who reach the age of 18 are from families who suffered under the Nazi regime. The Jewish communal leaders have emphasized repeatedly that the community cannot indefinitely enjoy full rights under German law without contributing to the country’s defense. This is particularly important they say because the Bundeswehr is facing a manpower shortage.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
