In the last five years, with regard to minors under 18 years of age, 7,681 young people were recruited, with 1,996 voluntary recruitments of "minors" in 2023, more than the 1,773 that occurred in 2022.
According to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr), last year a total of 18,800 incorporations were registered.
Voluntary service in the German Armed Forces is permitted from the age of 17 with parental consent.
The Armed Forces clarified that if interested parties waited until the age of 18 to begin military training, they would be at a disadvantage compared to civilians of the same age who begin learning a profession.
The Die Linke party's parliamentary spokeswoman for educational policy issues, Nicole Gohlke, today criticized the recruitment practice, stating that the "Government appears to have abandoned the need to protect minors from militarization."
Quoted by German news agency DPA, Gohlke added that this "deliberate recruitment of young people is unacceptable".
On the other hand, she criticized presentations about the Armed Forces given by military personnel in educational establishments, stressing that German schools must be "politically neutral places where political education must be independent and age-appropriate".
The Ministry of Defense rejects the accusation that it is promoting militarization by presenting the Armed Forces in schools.
"(Military) officers in the youth area do not recruit young people", points out the Ministry of Defense, explaining that "only information sessions are carried out" on general issues of military policy and security regarding the missions of the Armed Forces.
The Ministry of Defense also says that presentations are provided following an invitation sent by the educational establishments themselves.
Last year, 3,460 lectures were held in German schools and universities, reaching a total of 90,000 students.
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