Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
The Federal Republic of Germany had conscription for male citizens between 1956 and 2011. On 22 November 2010, the German Minister of Defence proposed to the government to put conscription into abeyance on 1 July 2011. The constitution, however, retains provisions that would legalize the potential reintroduction of conscription.
The voluntary ecological year in Austria and Germany is an educational and orientation year for teenagers and young adults of ages 16 through 27. The voluntary ecological year can be attended only once and usually lasts 12 months.
Zivildienst is the German denomination for the alternative civilian service for conscripted persons who are conscientious objectors to fulfill their national service, typically in the fields of social work and, although rarely, environmental protection, agriculture, and public administration. As such, it is exempt from the general ban of forced labor by the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's State Museums, the Berlin State Library, the Prussian Privy State Archives and a variety of institutes and research centers. As such, it is one of the largest cultural organizations in the world, and also the largest cultural employer in Germany with around 2,000 staff as of 2020. More than four million people visited its museums in 2019.
Alternative civilian service, also called alternative services, civilian service, non-military service, and substitute service, is a form of national service performed in lieu of military conscription for various reasons, such as conscientious objection, inadequate health, or political reasons. Alternative service usually involves some kind of labor.
Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V., commonly referred to as Die Johanniter, is a voluntary humanitarian organisation affiliated with the Brandenburg Bailiwick of the Order of St John, the German Protestant descendant of the Knights Hospitaller. The organisation was founded in 1952 in Hanover under the leadership of Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff. One of the main reasons for its creation was the rise in injuries and deaths from road traffic accidents. JUH participates in international aid efforts together with its sister organisations in other countries as part of the Johanniter International partnership; it also works with the German Malteser Hilfsdienst, affiliated to the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta. As of 2017 the organisation had 37,000 active volunteers and youth members and around 1,300,000 registered members.
Holger Ziegler is a professor of social work at the Faculty of Education at Bielefeld University. He was a member of the Research Training Group Youth Welfare and Social Services in Transition of the German Research Foundation (2000–2003), Fellow at the Department of Criminology at Keele University (UK) (2003) and Assistant Professor of Special Education at Westfälische Wilhelms University Münster. He has been a member of the academic advisory board of the German Soccer League since 2010; of the North Rhine-Westphalia research school Education and Capability and member of the Human Development and Capability Association (HDCA) and since 2010 speaker of the HDCA Thematic Group on Education.
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster.
In January 1995, the government of Helmut Kohl introduced the Social Law XI 1, the German long term care insurance. It is an independent part of the social security in Germany, in the Sozialgesetzbuch and provides financial provision for the risk of care necessity. Long-term care insurance was introduced as the fifth pillar of social insurance after health insurance, industrial injuries, pensions and unemployment insurance. This fifth pillar is financed by the care fund, which was built for all the individual health insurance policies.
The International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim/Auschwitz is an educational institution whose campus lies between the center of the Polish city of Oświęcim and the former German concentration camp of Auschwitz. More than one million persons, mostly Jewish and Polish, were murdered at Auschwitz during the Second World War (1939–1945). Proposed in 1971, the center was opened in 1986 following years of planning, negotiations, and fundraising. It seeks to "develop the understanding of National Socialism and its consequences, particularly among young Germans, through dialogue and encounter between people of different origins", and is particularly engaged with Germans and Poles, Christians and Jews. In 2010, the Center hosted more than 17,000 overnight stays by youth groups participating in its programs. Many young Germans and Austrians have held year-long voluntary positions at the Center that satisfy their civilian service (Zivildienst) responsibility. One of these, Robert Thalheim, wrote and directed the German-language dramatic film And Along Come Tourists (2007) that features the center and its activities.
The Zivildienst is the most common mandatory alternative service for conscientious objectors of the national military service in the Austrian Armed Forces. Officially called Zivildienstleistender (ZDL) or Zivildiener it is common to call them Zivi. Since 1975, drafted men may refuse the military service on conscientious reasons and serve in the compulsory alternative community service instead. This generally involves work in social services like hospitals, youth organisations, nursing homes, rescue services, emergency medical services, and care of the disabled. The service usually lasts nine months. About more than 40% of the drafted male citizens in Austria choose this option by declaring a conflict of conscience. There is no conscription for women, therefore women are not obliged to serve as a Zivi, which is just a substitute for the still existing mandatory military service.
The Friends of Waldorf Education, referred to as the “Friends” below, is a charity association founded in 1971 registered in Stuttgart, Germany. The association fosters initiatives all over the world for a free education and organisations that work on the basis of Waldorf education.
The Federal Volunteers Service is a German government program which encourages volunteerism among German and foreign adults of any age for public welfare, especially for social, ecological and cultural engagement. Every person who has finished school can apply for a volunteer position in a welfare institution accredited by the federal government. The main difference between the old-established juvenile volunteer services voluntary social year or the voluntary ecological year, which are open for persons until the age of 27, is the possibility of people of any age to volunteer.
Kevin Kühnert is a German politician and the General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2021 elections, representing Berlin-Tempelhof-Schöneberg.
Kerstin Griese is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the German Bundestag since 2000.
Steffen Bockhahn is a German politician. He is the Senator for Social Affairs, Youth, Health and Schools of the Hanseatic City of Rostock. From 24 October 2009 to 5 November 2012 he was the state chairman of the Left Party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and from 2009 to 2013 he was a member of the 17th German Bundestag, where he was elected as a direct candidate.
The 365-Euro-Ticket is the official or informal name given to public transport offers in Austria and Germany in some cities or regions for an annual ticket at the price of (approximately) 365 euros.
The Swiss Civil Service Association, best known under its abbreviation CIVIVA, is a Swiss organization that advocates for the preservation and expansion of Swiss Civilian Service.
