The lieutenant-general followed a supporter of the Identitarian Movement and posted positive comments in response to his posts, according to research conducted by the ARD public broadcaster for its news programme Panorama.

The Identitarian Movement is a pan-European far-right group whose Germany branch has been placed under state surveillance for its racist ideology.

Defence Ministry spokesman Christian Thiels on Thursday described the individual in question as “an assistant without a management function.”

He was “responsible for a small part of the Bundeswehr’s social media activities,” he said, adding that an investigation was launched into the employee as soon as the first indications of the allegations emerged.

Concerns have grown recently in Germany about right-wing extremism in the ranks of the Bundeswehr military, particularly following a scandal involving the elite Special Commando Forces (KSK), in which 20 suspected cases were placed under surveillance earlier this year.

Thiels did not go into detail regarding the latest case at the ministry, citing legal reasons.

He stressed that Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has a “zero-tolerance” policy for right-wing extremism and that she set the bar particularly high for ministry workers whose duties include managing social media.