The scandal unfolds against the backdrop of Berlin’s recruitment initiative to reshape the armed forces into the “strongest conventional army in Europe”
Local media report that dozens of soldiers in an elite German army unit are under investigation for abuse, bullying, Nazi salutes, and drug use.
Der Spiegel and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported last week that 55 suspects within the 26th Parachute Regiment—one of Germany’s top-tier units—are being probed over allegations ranging from sexual misconduct to violent extremist rituals.
Armed Forces Inspector Christian Freuding visited the regiment’s base in Zweibrucken on Monday and is set to brief parliament’s defense committee on the investigation later this week.
The allegations came to light in October after a small local newspaper received an anonymous tip that soldiers at the unit were performing Hitler salutes and photographing colleagues in showers.
The army later confirmed it has been quietly investigating abuse reports at the regiment since early 2025, following complaints from female paratroopers. These complaints detailed instances where male officers entered showers and toilets uninvited, assaulted them, and subjected them to vulgar remarks, pornographic jokes, and rape threats. One account noted a paratrooper required emergency surgery after blows to the genitals during training.
Other accounts described far-right rituals, including parties where participants wore Nazi-style uniforms and performed Hitler salutes—reportedly “common” among some paratroopers—along with anti-Semitic insults such as “Jewish pig.”
Media reports state the probe also uncovered additional offenses, including 16 cases involving hard drugs, mainly cocaine. Around 200 abuse cases have been brought to prosecutors’ attention in total, with dismissal proceedings initiated against 19 paratroopers and three reportedly already removed from service.
The scandal has sparked accusations of official inaction and a cover-up. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius only commented publicly late last month, stating he was “appalled” by the “shocking” revelations and giving the impression he had only just learned of the investigation.
The reports emerge amid a major recruitment drive in Germany. Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to transform the armed forces into the “strongest conventional army in Europe” and make it “war-ready” by 2029, citing an alleged Russian . This month, Berlin launched a program to 18-year-olds to a new voluntary military service, which critics see as a first step toward reinstating conscription, suspended since 2011.
Moscow has long dismissed claims of a Russian threat as “nonsense” used to justify inflated military budgets. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov German leaders of reviving ambitions to turn Germany into “the main military machine of Europe,” warning of “clear signs of re-nazification.”