Mach, was wirklich zählt!
2026, Deutschland
Mach, was wirklich zählt! (engl. do what actually matters!)
is an advertising slogan used by the German Armed Forces.
In his photographic series Valentin Sohn documents the shifting relationship between the German society and its military, as perceived from a Gen-Z viewpoint. From teenagers protesting on the streets to advertisement campagnes targeting a young audience, his work
traces the many tensions, contradictions, and changing perceptions surrounding the military’s place within contemporary German society.
Mach, was wirklich zählt! reflects on a broader societal discourse shaped by political uncertainty, generational and class-confilct, and the renewed visibility of the military in everyday life.
Student protest in Freiburg against the reintroduction of compulsory military service, March 2026.
The EU-Comissions stand presenting FPV-drones
at the Hannover Messe, infront of an AI-generated bombed city, April 2026Military-band playing for fresh recruits taking their oath in Medebach, June 2026Students in Freiburg preparing a protest against compulsary military service, March 2026
Recruits of division Panzer Brigade 21 taking their oath at the end of their basic training in Medebach, June 2026
Former military office rooms in the Rochdale Kaserne Bielefeld. July 2026 Chants from a protest against compulsary military service in Munich, May 2026Peace activist
Benno Malte Fuchs at the DFG-VK office in Dortmund, May 2026
Bentik 20, a student from Freiburg organizing protests against militarization, May 2026 Police arresting a girl for holding a poster on a protest in Munich, May 2026Public military display at the Tag der Bundeswehr in Unna, June 2026Tracks on the military range at Sennelager, June 2026 Germany chancelor Friedrich Merz visiting a display of the German armed forces in Medebach, June 2026Volks-Wagen factory in Osnabrück, a year before being transformed into an Israeli arms production, April 2026
Mach, was wirklich zählt!
was exhibited in 2026 at the Werkschau
in Bielefeld.