A German Military Postcard With Our Last Name on It

Hi, friends. I had just gotten back from a trade show called "Life and Death" (or, as my husband calls it, "Murder and Mayhem") when a photo of two postcards from the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, popped up in our family WhatsApp group. Camouflage background, a huge HARMANN splashed across it, and the Bundeswehr logo underneath.

Had they really customized every single postcard? I was rattled and typed three horror-face emojis. Two minutes later I wrote: "Wait, our oldest didn't get anything like this, did she? Or is that reserved for the male 'human material' in this country?"

Bundeswehr Postcards: Off to War?

Yes, I wrote "human material," because in that first moment it felt exactly like that, as if we were now supposed to hand our boys over as cannon fodder. "It's not a draft notice," came the reply. "They're just being reeled in for now. It's an invitation to the Bundeswehr's Talent Scout event."

Talent Scout? Seriously? I felt a little sick, I'll admit it. Looking back, there were three reasons. First, the whole martial look of the card scared me, and for a second I honestly thought: Shit, is war coming now? Do we actually have to start preparing?

Sometimes you just don't want to face what's going on in the world, especially when you were born in the '80s like me and have been lucky enough to live in complete peace until now. What kind of future are our kids supposed to expect? I'm usually unbelievably good at staying optimistic, but in that moment there was only one feeling: a tightness in my chest.

Second, I almost never worry about data privacy, but it still struck me as strange that our boys' names were printed there in big, bold letters, as if it were already settled that they'd soon be dealing with sergeants and commanding officers. I also wondered: Where did they get our address? From the residents' registry (in Germany, everyone has to register their address with the local authorities)? Then this is something totally official. Heaven help us!

Third, my mom instinct kicked in right away: Is the government reaching for my kids right now? Am I losing influence and control? It honestly felt like an octopus reaching for them, and I can't protect them from it. Yes, I lean pacifist, as you can tell. And I'm not a fan of artificially manufactured hierarchies, of rigid discipline and order, of drill, of power imbalances that, sadly, can be abused. (All prejudices and clichés, I KNOW, but that's how I feel about it anyway.)

Eventually I showed you the postcards on Instagram, and many of you wrote: "Oh God, creepy." "I got goosebumps." "We got this in our mailbox today too." This topic hits a nerve. A colleague then sent me a photo of a döner kebab wrapper from Cologne that said: "Do what really matters. DURCHBEISSEN. Because you can." (The word means both "bite through" and "tough it out," which is quite the pun for a kebab.) It had the Bundeswehr logo too, and a QR code for more info.

Another reader wrote that the day before, they'd been at an ice cream shop and the cups were printed with BundesWEHRbung (that's Bundeswehr plus Werbung, the German word for advertising, and the pun has to stay!). The ice cream didn't taste as good to her afterward. Cones from now on, I guess, right?!

Of course, some of you also said: Well, how else are they supposed to get attention? How is Germany supposed to build up its military again if nobody takes care of it? And you're right, of course! I'd still much rather we never had to think about military buildup at all… naive, maybe, but we've simply been lucky enough to let that topic slide in our lives so far.

Back at home, I looked at the back of the card and felt a bit calmer. It all sounded less awful than I'd feared. It said: "Want to know what opportunities and prospects the Bundeswehr offers you? Discover more than 50 apprenticeship programs and degree programs, plus more than 1,000 different jobs in uniform or as a civilian. Find all the info at bundeswehrkarriere.de"

"Be there as a VIP at the TALENT SCOUT on Bundeswehr Day, Saturday, June 28, 2025. Get exclusive behind-the-scenes looks, exciting backstage tours, and find out what you're made of, even near you. Hurry up and grab one of the coveted VIP spots, free train ticket included!"

Below that, an endless privacy notice that begins like this: "Pursuant to Section 36(2) of the Federal Registration Act (BMG), you have not objected to the transmission of data under Section 58c of the Soldiers Act (SG). Every year, the municipal registration offices transmit the last name, first name, and address of all persons with German citizenship who will come of age the following year. (…)

So the postcard didn't go out only to male teens, but to everyone else too. Everybody who turns 18 next year. Everybody who, in Ukraine for example, apparently really does have to go to war at that age. It breaks my heart to think of them and their families. Give me a postcard with an invitation we can expertly ignore, and then we get to go on living our perfectly ordinary lives… I'm so grateful our kids get to just be teenagers in peace.