Children throughout history have been used in warfare in some form or another. Children in the military have performed many duties. They have marched as soldiers, gone on spy missions, ran special messages to and from the battle field, placed on look outs, and even held up as human shields. Were these children willing participates in battle? Did they willingly leave their families to fight battles? Children are often seen as easy targets. They are easy to recruit at an early age and easy to brain wash. In third world countries, children that are orphaned and living a horrible life, see joining the military a way out, or the only way to survive. Often times, children are forced to join the service.
The Holocaust, children around the age of ten, recruited to be a part of the Hitler Youth. Boys and girls were coerced to serve their county and become a Hitler Youth. “In this organization, the Nazi commanders, trained boys to be great warrior and girls to become great mothers and obedient wives ( Schmittroth 375). The leaders pushed the idea that Jews, Gypsies, and Slavic’s were an inferior race and that the Germans were above all other races. German children in the Hitler Youth preformed unbelievable acts of violence to other children and adults. They
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But there were children that did participate willingly. Although there was an age restriction, many young boys did enlist on both sides. African children joined to escape slavery. In the article, “Children on the Battlefield” stated that recruitment officers turned a blind eye in order to fill their recruitment quotas. Throughout the Civil War young children performed numerous duties. They included musicians, mounted couriers, hospital workers, and supply carriers. The youngest of the children in the Civil War were the powder monkeys and the drummers. Because children are much smaller than men, they were perfect for the