Hitler Youth

"You, my youth, are our nation's most precious guarantee for a great future," Hitler exhorted a crowd of 80,000 children assembled in Nuremberg on September 10, 1938. "And you are destined to be the leaders of a glorious new order under the supremacy of National Socialism. Never forget that one day you will rule the world." This long-standing belief of the führer's was the driving force behind the formation of the Hitlerjugend, or Hitler Youth, by the Nazi Party in 1926. More than just a military organization, the Hitler Youth indoctrinated boys aged 10 to 18 in all aspects of Nazi ideology. They were trained not only in aircraft identification and weapons handling, but also in anti-Semitism and racial purity. In 1930, the organization was expanded to include a female division called the Bund Deutscher Mädel, or League of German Girls. A law passed in 1936 made Hitler Youth membership compulsory for all German children. (Grossmann, 1993)

At first, the Hitler Youth took part mostly in parades and rallies, in fundraising efforts, and in propaganda campaigns. But as the war continued and German victory became more and more unlikely, members of all ages were called upon to complete increasingly dangerous tasks. By the time the Allies invaded Germany in early 1945, Hitler Youth were loading and operating antiaircraft guns, committing acts of sabotage behind enemy lines, and leading regiments of the German civilian army, the Volkssturm, into battle. (Grossmann, 1993)

To the outside world the Hitler youth seemed to stand for German discipline. However, this image was far from being accurate. School teachers complained that boys and girls were very tired from attending meetings in the evening at Hitler youth, that they found it difficult to stay awake in school the next day. Therefore, in 1938 attendance at Hitler youth meetings had ...