According to a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Defense, the number of school visits by youth officers is increasing. Based on current inquiries, the ministry projects around 5,900 events and approximately 206,000 participants for the entire year 2026. The spokesperson noted that if this trend continues through the end of the year, the number of events would surpass that of the previous two years, and even greater growth is expected among participants. In the past two years, there were roughly 5,600 of these events, each reaching about 164,000 attendees. This year, the ministry reported that 4,000 events, involving 137,600 participants, have already been tracked. This growth in Bundeswehr school visits has been significant in recent years. The participation of youth officers in schools is regulated by cooperation agreements across the various federal states. The Defense Ministry clarified that these agreements do not constitute an obligation for teachers to invite youth officers as lecturers. Separately, a policy paper presented by the Green Party, the Social Democrats (SPD), and the Left party during their preliminary discussions in Berlin suggests abolishing this cooperation agreement in the capital city.
Politics
