Speaker A
It feels a bit like we’re in the middle of nowhere here, somewhere lost 1,000 kilometers away from Germany.
German soldiers stationed in Lithuania guard the tense border with Belarus, highlighting NATO's deterrence efforts amid fears of conflict in Eastern Europe.
Key Takeaways
- NATO's eastern flank is a critical and tense military zone requiring constant vigilance and deterrence.
- German soldiers play a key role in protecting Lithuania's border with Belarus amid geopolitical instability.
- The presence of soldiers serves both a defensive and psychological deterrent against potential aggression.
- Deployment far from home impacts soldiers personally, highlighting the human dimension of military service.
- Local populations in Lithuania live with heightened awareness and fear of possible escalation into war.
Summary
- The video documents German soldiers deployed in Lithuania near the Belarus border, one of Europe's most dangerous frontiers.
- Border guards patrol a heavily fortified fence with surveillance cameras and sensors, reflecting high tensions.
- German soldiers maintain a cautious distance to avoid provocation but are prepared to defend NATO territory if necessary.
- Julia and Daniel, two German soldiers stationed in Lithuania, share their personal experiences and motivations for serving far from home.
- The deployment is part of NATO's collective defense strategy to deter aggression from Belarus and its ally Russia.
- Lithuanian officials express strong support and view the German presence as a critical security guarantee.
- The soldiers face harsh winter conditions and the psychological strain of being close to a potential conflict zone.
- The local population in Lithuania lives with the constant fear of war, showing solidarity with Ukraine and preparing for emergencies.
- The video explores the human side of military deployment, including relationships, fears, and the sense of duty among soldiers.
- Economic incentives and the seriousness of the mission motivate soldiers despite the risks and challenges.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
We are in Lithuania, on our way to one of the most dangerous borders in Europe.
Speaker A
We are only a few kilometers away from the border with Belarus. You can actually see border guards patrolling everywhere here.
Speaker A
We have already been checked, shown our ID cards, and told them who we are and what we are doing here.
Speaker A
But you can really sense that the border guards here are under a lot of pressure.
Speaker A
We came here because we wanted to know why this border is so dangerous, which is why we arranged to meet here.
Speaker A
Far out at a Lithuanian border guard station, Carolis is one of the bosses here.
Speaker A
He’s not allowed to give interviews, but he wants to take us to the border with neighboring Belarus.
Speaker A
We have to turn off our cell phones. Belarus may be trying to check exactly who is traveling on the other side.
Speaker A
Carolis drives us and his colleagues right up to the border. You’re not allowed to go here without the border guards’ approval.
Speaker A
But if it weren’t for the big border fence, the border guards tell us, you could drive straight to Moscow on this road.
Speaker A
Yeah, crazy. Now we’re standing right here at the fence. If you look over, you can see the Belarusian side.
Speaker A
There are cameras everywhere here, which are now pointing at us and guarding the border.
Speaker A
It’s a strange feeling somehow. We’re used to having open borders in Europe and being friends with other countries everywhere.
Speaker A
And here you can see the extreme opposite: there are two fences, one on the Lithuanian side and one over in Belarus.
Speaker A
Lots of cameras. And you know, they’re probably listening in over there somehow. They have special sensors in the ground.
Speaker A
The cameras react to every movement. There are only a few places where you can actually cross the border.
Speaker A
Otherwise, drones from Belarus fly over repeatedly. And this is the border here, which German soldiers would have to protect in case of emergency.
Speaker A
They themselves say that they actually keep a distance of five kilometers. They don’t want to provoke unnecessarily, they say.
Speaker A
But this is exactly where, in an emergency, it would be a matter of protecting NATO territory.
Speaker A
Right here at this border to Belarus. Could something really happen here? In any case, just 100 kilometers away, a large number of soldiers, mainly Germans, are marching this morning.
Speaker A
They are the ones who have to defend this border. One of them is Julia.
Speaker A
She is someone who said, I’m leaving my homeland and going to cold Lithuania. She has been here since 2024.
Speaker A
Her boyfriend Daniel has been here since 2025. He is also here as a soldier, in Lithuania. Reporter: “Can you see him?” Julia: “Yes, all the way over there.
Speaker A
All the way in the back, to the right.” Reporter: “You unfortunately can't wave, can you?” Julia: “Well, I could, but he is not allowed to wave back right now.” I will accompany Julia and Daniel here in Lithuania and
Speaker A
want to know: What would they fight for? It is a show of strength, precisely because the situation at the border is so tense.
Speaker A
Many of the soldiers have only recently arrived in Lithuania, a country where you have to dress very warmly.
Speaker A
Reporter: “What’s crazy is that it’s really cold. -15 degrees Celsius. We’re freezing. I think the soldiers are freezing a little bit too.
Speaker A
But for them, this isn’t just a drill or something like that. You can tell that it’s really, really serious.
Speaker A
Because these are the soldiers who, in case of doubt, are supposed to defend NATO’s eastern flank, as it’s called in Bundeswehr jargon.” NATO’s eastern flank.
Speaker A
This includes Lithuania’s border with Belarus. NATO is a military alliance of countries from Europe and North America.
Speaker A
Its goal is collective defense. If a member is attacked, the alliance comes to its aid.
Speaker A
Lithuania and Germany are members of NATO, as is the US, for example. On the sidelines of the so-called military appeal, we meet the Minister of Defense, the highest-ranking officer in the Lithuanian armed forces.
Speaker A
I ask him how he feels about the German Armed Forces being here. Kaunas: “It’s a great feeling, a feeling of security, stability, and the best deterrent we could wish for.” Deterrence, that’s what it’s all about.
Speaker A
The German soldiers are supposed to make an impression on those on the other side of the fence.
Speaker A
That’s also Julia and Daniel’s mission. The two met in Lithuania, far away from home, at a place that is so very different from their German homeland.
Speaker A
A place where the danger of war seems much greater than it does at home.
Speaker A
Julia: “On the one hand, I do think it’s important to be here, but of course there’s always a little bit of fear involved.
Speaker A
What if, what happens if? But in the best-case scenario, it just doesn’t happen.” Reporter: “What constitutes this fear?” Julia: “The proximity to the border is of course a big factor when you look at the map.
Speaker A
Belarus, Kaliningrad. We are right in the middle.” Somehow, I think it’s a pretty strange feeling.
Speaker A
A fence that is so dangerous that thousands of German soldiers have come from Germany to guard it.
Speaker A
But Belarus on the other side is a dictatorship. A close friend of neighboring Russia and of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, who is currently waging a brutal war against Ukraine.
Speaker A
And in Lithuania, many are asking themselves: Are we perhaps next in line? If Putin were to invade the rest of Europe, he would probably go through Lithuania.
Speaker A
We are traveling to the capital city of Vilnius. Julia and Daniel live here. They came here voluntarily to protect this country.
Speaker A
Reporter: “It looks great in here!” Julia: “Thanks! Come in! If you go around the corner here, you’ll find yourself right in our living and dining area.
Speaker A
We have a large couch, a few shelves, my bookcase, and a very comfortable chair.” Reporter: “Is this your favorite chair?” Daniel: “Yes, my favorite chair and Julia’s reading chair.” Reporter: “Who can sit in it more often?” Julia: “Me!” Julia and Daniel
Speaker A
moved in together a short while ago. They met at the barracks. Julia: “I always thought, yeah, no soldiers.” Reporter: “Why?” Julia: “Oh, I don’t know.
Speaker A
I just didn’t like them. And then I ended up with one anyway. But I have to say, I wasn’t actively looking for one.
Speaker A
What comes your way, comes your way.” The both are a pair and also somewhat like a bit of normality for each other.
Speaker A
1,000 kilometers away from home and their families. Reporter: “And who do you miss the most?” Daniel: “My brother.” Reporter: “Why him?” Daniel: “Well, he’s my brother.
Speaker A
I used to be a kind of father replacement for him. There were some troubles with his real father, so I stepped up to the role.
Speaker A
And that’s why, yeah, he does mean a lot to me.” Now both of them are here together, in what looks almost like an adventure in the photos, but in the end could also be very dangerous.
Speaker A
Not just easy. Daniel: “You don’t practice for nothing; you practice so that you can ultimately do it.
Speaker A
And I would say that here, you become even more aware of what you are practicing for than you are at home.” Of course, the adventure factor still plays a role, they say.
Speaker A
Julia: “Do you show your fake tie on camera now?” Daniel: “Hey, don’t tease me!
Speaker A
That’s not a fake tie!” But also the money. The German Armed Forces pay you about 50% more here than in Germany.
Speaker A
And of course they say, “We are also here because we want to defend Europe in case of emergency.” It’s something you have to get used to at first.
Speaker A
Europe at war? Really? But anyone driving through Vilnius can see that the threat of war has long been part of everyday life here.
Speaker A
Ukrainian flags everywhere, solidarity with the attacked country, banners at the city administration building saying: Putin, The Hague is waiting for you.
Speaker A
And even signs showing: This building is a shelter if something should happen. In Lithuania, many people are afraid of war, even in their small country, which would be difficult to defend on its own.
Speaker A
Passerby: “I feel like something could happen at any moment, and we’re just trying not to panic and to cope.
Speaker A
With your soldiers here, we feel much safer.” Passerby: “Knowing that you are helping actually makes us feel safer.” It’s off to work, to the barracks for Julia and Daniel.
Speaker A
Daniel: “Do you have the broom?” Julia: “Yes, in my footwell. I’ll give it to you in a moment.” They often feel how grateful the Lithuanians are that they are there.
Speaker A
Julia “I was standing at a traffic light and a car pulled up in front of me and suddenly honked its horn.
Speaker A
Of course, I was startled and looked to my left. And there was an elderly gentleman sitting inside, smiling and giving me a thumbs up.
Speaker A
It was really cute, and it’s little things like that that brighten up your day a little.” They say they don’t experience this very often in Germany.
Speaker A
Perhaps this is because Lithuanians know exactly why German soldiers are here. Julia: “And, of course, we are still a German agency defending the freedom and democracy of the German people.
Speaker A
But now, here in Lithuania in particular, we are also here to defend the freedom of the Lithuanian people.” Like them, there are now 1,700 soldiers stationed in Lithuania with the so-called 45th Armored Brigade.
Speaker A
By the end of 2027, there will be as many as 5,000 soldiers and other Bundeswehr personnel.
Speaker A
Then the Germans also want to move into their own newly built barracks. At the moment, they are still housed in Lithuanian barracks.
Speaker A
Julia and Daniel work here with the signals company. So their job is to ensure that soldiers can communicate with each other by radio, in peacetime, but especially in wartime.
Speaker A
Julia: “Well, since we don’t work in the same office, we usually say goodbye on the first floor, where i work, and then he goes all the way up.” Julia works in the back office, taking care of mail, sick notes, applications, and even catering for the soldiers.
Speaker A
Meanwhile, outside in the courtyard, her colleagues drive up with heavy equipment. The GTK Boxer tank is one of several tank models that are to be stationed here.
Speaker A
All of this costs a lot of money, of course. Money that Germany is investing in case of an event that will hopefully never occur.
Speaker A
Reporter: “Hello, I’m Rafael” Marcel: “I am Marcel, hello!” In an emergency, the general, his boss here, would arrive in the tank, Marcel explains to me.
Speaker A
But for now, we are allowed to ride along. Reporter: “What would happen here if there really were an emergency?” Marcel: “I strongly assume that the atmosphere will be very tense.
Speaker A
Nevertheless, we soldiers are trained to continue to act and see things through.” Marcel left alot at home, aswell.
Speaker A
Going to Lithuania? Without question. I am a soldier through and thourgh, he says. Does it do somethings to him, knowing what can happen here?
Speaker A
Marcel: “If I thought about the worst case scenario every day, I would probably be afraid.
Speaker A
Nevertheless, I am aware that we are close to the border here and that anything could happen at any time.” He made a conscious decision to come here as a professional soldier.
Speaker A
Incidentally, those who do military service do not have to go to Lithuania if they do not want to.
Speaker A
Because, of course, anyone stationed here must be aware that being a soldier is not just about driving around in tanks, but also about being prepared for emergencies.
Speaker A
Reporter: “Yes, thank you. And it really is a special feeling to be sitting here.
Speaker A
It’s loud. You can’t see much, the light is red, and it almost feels a bit like sitting in a submarine, doesn’t it?
Speaker A
How do you feel about it?” Marcel: “Yes, it’s very interesting because you can’t hear any noise from outside at all and you’re just sitting there in silence.
Speaker A
Depending on the situation, it can be an uneasy feeling, but also a very interesting one.” To put it bluntly: with nearly 5,000 soldiers they are here because the threat of war is real.
Speaker A
But I notice that in everyday life, this doesn’t play a big role for many of the soldiers here.
Speaker A
When you watch Julia working at her desk, you realize that amid all the normal stuff, the papers, the applications, the files, you don’t think about danger all the time.
Speaker A
Julia: “Because you quickly forget the threat due to this normality, where you simply drive to work, do your job, and then drive home, meet up with friends, or do whatever else.” They will remain in Lithuania for at least three years, a country
Speaker A
where they already feel somewhat at home, yet they are aware that they are not only here to work, but also to fight if necessary.
Speaker A
Reporter: “If it really comes to the worst and you have to fight, what will you be fighting for?” Julia: “Clearly, in my case, for my family, for my friends, and of course for all people who cannot defend themselves.” Daniel: “I stand up for those who
Speaker A
cannot defend themselves and want to show that to the outside world.” Back at the border.
Speaker A
The border that Julia and Daniel would have to defend in an emergency. We drive back, away from this fence, which reminds us that we live in rather uncomfortable times.
Speaker A
One of the border guards tells me on the way back: We have fought long and hard for freedom in Europe.
Speaker A
For the freedom to express our opinions. If that were to be attacked, he would defend it at any time.
Speaker A
More about the German Armed Forces: In this film, my colleague Tom was on a navy warship, and here our colleagues from COOKED checked how much the German Armed Forces’ TikTok videos really have to do with reality.
Topics:German soldiersLithuaniaBelarus borderNATOmilitary deploymentEastern Europeborder securityRussia Ukraine conflictdefense deterrencemilitary life
