Bleisch | Video Pfadfinderschlacht

"Bleisch Video Pfadfinderschlacht" (often shortened to Pfadfinderschlacht) is a 12-minute, single-channel video created by Swiss contemporary artist Yves Bleisch in 2007. It is not a historical documentary about Boy Scouts fighting a real battle. Instead, it is a meticulously staged, low-budget re-enactment of a World War II-style infantry skirmish, with all roles played by pre-adolescent boys in full Scout or military-style uniforms.

The work sits uneasily at the intersection of performance art, post-war memory, and the critique of latent militarism in youth organizations. It is widely considered Bleisch’s most provocative piece and has been exhibited internationally (Kunsthalle Basel, Kunstverein München) largely because of its ability to generate ethical vertigo. Bleisch Video Pfadfinderschlacht

Pfadfinderschlacht fits into a small but potent genre of art about children and war: Bleisch’s unique contribution is the amateur, almost banal

Bleisch’s unique contribution is the amateur, almost banal aesthetic – the battle is not epic but pathetic, which makes it more real. Bleisch’s unique contribution is the amateur

Switzerland requires military service for men, and the country maintains a citizen army with assault rifles kept at home. Bleisch suggests that Swiss children absorb a culture of armed readiness. The Boy Scout oath (“to serve the Fatherland”) is not far from a soldier’s. The video asks: What does it mean to teach children to fight, even symbolically?