Pacifism in Germany has been subject to significant fluctuations in influence and popular support since the country's unification. Initially a small movement in Imperial Germany, the German Peace Society, founded in 1892, struggled against a prevailing culture of militarism and expansion. Pacifism remained limited during World War I due to strong pro-war sentiment and government censorship, though women's groups notably opposed the conflict. The movement was virtually non-existent and suppressed under the Nazi regime, led by Adolf Hitler, which championed a pro-war ideology.

The main exception to this militarism was during the Cold War, with a Bonn peace demonstration having a large turnout of around 300,000 people. Christian peace groups have been the most consistently pacifistic, as an opposition to violence is a key part of the Christian faith. The size of pacifist groups in Germany, whilst remaining small, has varied throughout the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The public's opinion regarding pacifists has also varied with historical periods.

With the unification of Germany as a single state, the country began to expand militarily as an international power, which in turn created a pacifist movement in the nation. This first movement was called the German Peace Society and was founded in 1892. However, the movement was small with only 10,000 active members at its peak, as it did not resonate with the wider population which was in favor of the German expansion. With relatively low support, the ability of the movement to grow was limited to the ability to speak freely, which was later limited due to the government declaring a state of war. The rapid military expansion of Germany was also largely popular with the population. Prior to the outbreak of war,^[which?] the support of the movement began to decline as the public support of a war grew and also to avoid a response from the government.

During this time, there were two Hague Peace Conferences, which resulted in various multilateral treaties regarding military expansion and foreign policy. The conferences were also about establishing the universal values and therefore the obligations of states. In 1899, Germany participated in the Hague Peace Conference but was instrumental in blocking any meaningful disarmament proposals. At the 1907 conference, Germany was considered uncooperative, which was due to the restrictions on their ability to expand their military power.

German pacifism was not as organized in this era when compared to that of Cold War Germany; however, a large number of groups adopted pacifist attitudes, which evolved throughout the war. During this period, a group of female war opponents emerged, which was a pacifist group who were opposed to the war, as it was – according to this group – caused by masculine values and attitudes. This group also overlapped with the group of advocates for women's rights during the same period, as well as the socialist movement. This activism from female groups was the result of changing cultural, political and social roles^[which?] of women which had developed during the war.^{[citation needed]}

Early in the war, the attitudes toward the war were very positive, which – along with the conscription of German soldiers – resulted in the pacifists’ movement remaining a relatively small group. Since the country was in a state of war, the government performed heavy censorship. This resulted in the censorship of views that directly opposed the government in pacifist publications. Because of this, they^[who?] switched to addressing the wider issue of war with other countries. The government remained lenient towards those with pacifist attitudes – a reaction that comes into great contrast with that of the Nazi Government and others which enacted the concept of total war on the home front.

In 1915 at The Hague, the Women's Peace Conference met to discuss methods to end the war through negotiations. Four German delegates attended this event. After this conference, the government began to restrict pacifists and their groups as there was a consensus that this event had weakened Germany's position for negotiations. Towards the end of the war, public support massively declined, which resulted in an increase in the support for pacifist ideas. Despite this, the movement remained small in size. At this time, the government tried to assert more control over the home front in order to provide more resources for soldiers on the front line. With the Russian Revolution, the pacifist movement also gained support and inspiration through the Marxist ideology behind the revolution. During the war, literature was restricted and the literature that was promoted all displayed similar views. These supported the war effort through the justification of the war as well as the celebration of acts of heroism and sacrifice. Pacifist literature was virtually non-existent during this time period until the end of the war, when it became more widely discussed.

K. Eckhard Kuhn-Osius notes that pro-war ideas were "bound to be appealing" for educated Germans in the face of inflation and unemployment during the Weimar Republic. Walter Flex's book Der Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten (English: The Wanderer between Two Worlds) was a pro-World War I book which promised a sense of meaning and a role in the nation's future through war, which would resonate with Germans between the end of the nineteenth century and the rise of Nazism.