German military turns to under 18s to boost recruitment

'Wrong Signal'

The Bundeswehr says the YouTube content aims to offer a realistic and authentic image of life in the military, but some politicians and children's rights advocates argue the glossy marketing gives minors a false impression.

"The entire advertising efforts of the Bundeswehr are more adventurous than a realistic description of the job," Tobias Pflueger, defence policy spokesman for the pacifist Left Party https://en.die-linke.de/welcome.

More than 30,000 people signed a letter delivered to German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen a year ago that urged the Bundeswehr to stop recruiting minors.

She said then that the army must have the same chance as other employers to attract people before they turn 18, adding that minors were trained in safe spaces and didn't handle weapons alone until they turned 18.

"This is embarrassing and sends a wrong signal to the world," said Ralf Willinger from rights group terre des hommes https://www.tdh.de.

"It weakens the international 18-year standard, encouraging armed groups and armies from other countries to legitimate the use of minors as soldiers."

Recruits under 18 in Germany undergo military training like other adult trainees, but they have special provisions such as not being allowed to participate in guard duty or foreign missions, and weapons are only used for educational purposes.

"This is not a normal profession. In no other profession does one learn to kill, and is one confronted with the danger of dying in war. That is the one difference," Hoffmann said.