Bundeswehr on TikTok - When weapons become toys
Just imagine: Young men in camouflage uniforms standing on a Leopard 2 tank, posing for the camera, joking, striking martial poses, and making faces as if they were at an amusement park. In the background, explosions, weapons being loaded, finger guns being drawn, the German flag fluttering dramatically in the wind - all in slow motion and accompanied by epic music. There are sayings like, "Join the Bundeswehr, brother!"
by Christian Becker
by Christian Becker
What sounds like a parody of a Michael Bay film is the current social media routine of so-called Bundeswehr influencers. People like Josh Krebs, aka Cinematic Sergeant, who has over 430,000 followers on TikTok, promote a career in the Bundeswehr with highly professional, action-packed clips - which, mind you, are not officially commissioned by the Bundeswehr. Of course not. And the earth is flat.
The gray area becomes a recruitment platform
From a legal perspective, these actors operate in a delicate gray area. According to Section 17a of the Soldiers Act, soldiers are not permitted to misuse their uniforms. Section 40 of the SG, in turn, prohibits the use of official resources for private purposes. And yet, in the videos, we see: uniforms, military infrastructure, vehicles, weapons, terrain - all used for private social media content.
The official statement from the Ministry of Defense is: Official resources may not be used for private content. Yet at the same time, these social media stars are actively recruiting new soldiers - often better and more effectively than any official Bundeswehr advertising campaign. It's as if a doctor in an emergency room were offering private cosmetic surgery - using hospital resources, but "in his spare time." This isn't called "creative," but institutional hypocrisy.
Selling War as a Leisure Activity
The real problem, however, isn't the legal loophole, but the image of humanity conveyed in these videos. The Bundeswehr is portrayed as a sporty adventure vacation with cool guys who experience camaraderie, fitness, adrenaline, and good humor - a bit like the Boy Scouts, only with hand grenades. The reality of a military deployment - fear of death, injury, the death of one's comrades, the killing of people - all of this is ignored.
This aestheticization of war is not only naive, it is ethically reprehensible. Because it is aimed primarily at young people. People who may have just finished school, searching for direction, a sense of belonging, and meaning. And instead of enabling them to make informed decisions based on realistic information, they are emotionally lured - with the aesthetics of a video game and the drama of a Hollywood movie. This is propaganda in a hoodie.
Playing with Reality
The separation between official and "unofficial" channels is particularly perfidious. Influencers like Cinematic Sergeant or Otto Bulletproof act as private individuals - but with direct or indirect access to Bundeswehr resources. According to the Ministry of Defense, Otto Bulletproof even has explicit collaborations. He accompanies the training of commando soldiers on film - not entirely without consultation with the troops, of course. One could also say: They let him do it because it works.
This blurring of boundaries between reality and staging, between state institution and private advertising machine, is not only dangerous but also a problem for democratic politics. Because it evades any accountability. No one controls the content, no one is liable for its impact. The Bundeswehr officially stays out of it - but profits massively from the boost in image.
Advertising with a Soft Focus
Honest advertising for the Bundeswehr would be legitimate. A modern army needs new recruits. A democracy must be able to defend itself. But that means luring people not with air guitars and machine guns, but with the truth: Serving in the Bundeswehr may mean going into armed conflict, killing people, and being injured or killed yourself. It means discipline, responsibility, and toughness--and not TikTok fame and likes.
Added to this is the repressed reality within the troops themselves. 916 suspected right-wing extremist cases in 2023 alone demonstrate that the Bundeswehr not only has a recruitment problem, but also an internal attitude problem. Yet influencer videos ignore such topics. Not a word about extremism. Not a word about misconduct. Not a word about the long-term psychological consequences of service. Instead: the tank as a catwalk, the machine gun as a selfie prop.
Conclusion: TikTok is not a barracks
This form of military glorification is not enlightenment, but whitewashing--and it does so at the expense of young people who are lured into an institution that is systemically failing in many ways by professionally staged pathos, distorted reality, and the promise of adventure. The Bundeswehr is not an adventure playground, but a An apparatus with profound problems - from right-wing extremist networks and poor equipment to disillusioned soldiers who return home with psychological scars.
Anyone who portrays the Bundeswehr as a cool employer with guaranteed action is complicit inA fraud. Because in truth, the Bundeswehr - in its current state - is neither ethically nor structurally a place where young people should build their futures. It is poorly managed, morally corrupt, and politically problematic - in short: the Bundeswehr sucks. Not because soldiers are bad per se, but because the system betrays them, abuses them, and molds them into an image that has nothing to do with reality. Anyone who covers this up is not promoting the defense of democracy - but rather its erosion.
May 13, 2025
*Christian Becker was born in Hamburg in 1977. He is married and has two children. After studying law, he became self-employed as a human resources consultant, lecturer in adult education, and legal guardian.
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The gray area becomes a recruitment platform
From a legal perspective, these actors operate in a delicate gray area. According to Section 17a of the Soldiers Act, soldiers are not permitted to misuse their uniforms. Section 40 of the SG, in turn, prohibits the use of official resources for private purposes. And yet, in the videos, we see: uniforms, military infrastructure, vehicles, weapons, terrain - all used for private social media content.
The official statement from the Ministry of Defense is: Official resources may not be used for private content. Yet at the same time, these social media stars are actively recruiting new soldiers - often better and more effectively than any official Bundeswehr advertising campaign. It's as if a doctor in an emergency room were offering private cosmetic surgery - using hospital resources, but "in his spare time." This isn't called "creative," but institutional hypocrisy.
Selling War as a Leisure Activity
The real problem, however, isn't the legal loophole, but the image of humanity conveyed in these videos. The Bundeswehr is portrayed as a sporty adventure vacation with cool guys who experience camaraderie, fitness, adrenaline, and good humor - a bit like the Boy Scouts, only with hand grenades. The reality of a military deployment - fear of death, injury, the death of one's comrades, the killing of people - all of this is ignored.
This aestheticization of war is not only naive, it is ethically reprehensible. Because it is aimed primarily at young people. People who may have just finished school, searching for direction, a sense of belonging, and meaning. And instead of enabling them to make informed decisions based on realistic information, they are emotionally lured - with the aesthetics of a video game and the drama of a Hollywood movie. This is propaganda in a hoodie.
Playing with Reality
The separation between official and "unofficial" channels is particularly perfidious. Influencers like Cinematic Sergeant or Otto Bulletproof act as private individuals - but with direct or indirect access to Bundeswehr resources. According to the Ministry of Defense, Otto Bulletproof even has explicit collaborations. He accompanies the training of commando soldiers on film - not entirely without consultation with the troops, of course. One could also say: They let him do it because it works.
This blurring of boundaries between reality and staging, between state institution and private advertising machine, is not only dangerous but also a problem for democratic politics. Because it evades any accountability. No one controls the content, no one is liable for its impact. The Bundeswehr officially stays out of it - but profits massively from the boost in image.
Advertising with a Soft Focus
Honest advertising for the Bundeswehr would be legitimate. A modern army needs new recruits. A democracy must be able to defend itself. But that means luring people not with air guitars and machine guns, but with the truth: Serving in the Bundeswehr may mean going into armed conflict, killing people, and being injured or killed yourself. It means discipline, responsibility, and toughness--and not TikTok fame and likes.
Added to this is the repressed reality within the troops themselves. 916 suspected right-wing extremist cases in 2023 alone demonstrate that the Bundeswehr not only has a recruitment problem, but also an internal attitude problem. Yet influencer videos ignore such topics. Not a word about extremism. Not a word about misconduct. Not a word about the long-term psychological consequences of service. Instead: the tank as a catwalk, the machine gun as a selfie prop.
Conclusion: TikTok is not a barracks
This form of military glorification is not enlightenment, but whitewashing--and it does so at the expense of young people who are lured into an institution that is systemically failing in many ways by professionally staged pathos, distorted reality, and the promise of adventure. The Bundeswehr is not an adventure playground, but a An apparatus with profound problems - from right-wing extremist networks and poor equipment to disillusioned soldiers who return home with psychological scars.
Anyone who portrays the Bundeswehr as a cool employer with guaranteed action is complicit inA fraud. Because in truth, the Bundeswehr - in its current state - is neither ethically nor structurally a place where young people should build their futures. It is poorly managed, morally corrupt, and politically problematic - in short: the Bundeswehr sucks. Not because soldiers are bad per se, but because the system betrays them, abuses them, and molds them into an image that has nothing to do with reality. Anyone who covers this up is not promoting the defense of democracy - but rather its erosion.
May 13, 2025
*Christian Becker was born in Hamburg in 1977. He is married and has two children. After studying law, he became self-employed as a human resources consultant, lecturer in adult education, and legal guardian.
CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW BOOK
TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "SONGS & STORIES" TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "HE\\\\\\'S BACK"
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