20261005 "Übungen" der Bundeswehr

05.10.2026 "Übungen" der Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr in the Schoolyard

We actually thought that after “Red Storm Charly” — the Bundeswehr exercise held within Hamburg’s city limits two weeks ago — nothing could surprise us anymore, but the Bundeswehr’s five-day “exercise” in Kupferzell, a town of 7,000 residents in Baden-Württemberg, is hard to top. The Bundeswehr set up camp between the school, the gym, the playground, and the kindergarten.

It seems the Bundeswehr isn’t just trying to promote itself by having career counselors advertise well-paid jobs — it’s now also establishing a presence right in the midst of the children. An announcement in the municipality’s official gazette in July stated that the 750th NBC Defense Regiment from Bruchsal would “occupy its designated area.” Fuchs armored personnel carriers and other armored vehicles would be deployed for this purpose.

What was practiced?

According to the press officer of the Territorial Command in Stuttgart, more than 500 soldiers from the NBC defense unit would ensure that the armed forces can successfully defend “our country and our allies” even in the face of nuclear, biological, and chemical threats.

When, on September 20, three civilians wearing yellow armbands ran toward the entrance to the camp — which was cordoned off with NATO barbed wire — and shouted something about “peace,” the purpose of the “defense exercise” became clearer. Otherwise, not much happens during the five days. Only the ban on photography, announced on signs, is more or less enforced. After the “exercise ends,” the Bundeswehr provides no answers to the many questions posed by residents and journalists.

After last weekend’s large peace demonstrations in Berlin and Stuttgart, with over 30,000 participants, we can only conclude that the “exercise” in Kupferzell had little to do with the reality in the country ...