Children and war
Robin Cross
From earliest times, children have not only been the passive victims of military campaigns but also active participants in theatres of war. In the ancient world, youths often served as aides, charioteers and armour bearers to adult warriors. And today at least 300,000 child soldiers under the age of 18 are estimated to be fighting in some 30 wars around the world. One third of them are girls, and some are as young as six.
They are all part of a long and bloody history of child warriors that extends from the youths of Sparta in the 1st millennium BC, through the generation of German children who belonged to Hitler Youth, to the young men and women who have been drawn into conflicts around the world in the early 21st century.
This website provides glimpses of the involvement of children in war throughout the ages. You will also find information on how to investigate this massive subject more thoroughly.
