HIS 490-Second Revised Rough Draft

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Joe Barbella
Revised Rough Draft
12/4/14
The Hitler Youth: Youth Involvement, Interest, and Dissatisfaction in the Nazi System, 1933-45
The Nazi party did not simply brainwash Germans to follow its rhetoric; rather
individuals had a choice to follow along with the Nazi movement or to resist the Nazi movement.
One of the groups that the Nazis worked most to appeal to was the young people. The adults in
Germany already had other life experiences and could more easily resist what they saw the Nazis
put forth since the adults had already been shaped by previous events. However, the young
people had few life experiences and the majority of their childhood and adolescence was
experienced under the Nazi regime. One of the main ways that the young people were able to
engage in the Nazi society was through membership in the Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth was a
massive youth organization that had two branches, one for males and one for females from the
age of ten through fourteen and fourteen through eighteen.1
Even though membership in the Hitler Youth became mandatory for Germany’s youth in
1936,2 each young person still had an option to choose how invested he or she wanted to be in
the organization. The relationship between the Nazi hierarchy and the young people in the Hitler
Youth was two-fold as the Nazis worked to make the organization appealing and transformed
education to what students thought were practical studies, among many other ideas. In turn the
young people would invest in these ideas and immerse themselves in the Hitler Youth or they
would resist other aspects like militarization. The young people found the Hitler Youth attractive
1 A. Klonne, “300. Duty of Youth Service,” in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham,
vol. 2 of Nazism 1919-1945:A Documentary Reader, ed. J Noakes and G. Pridham(Exeter: University of Exeter
Press,2000),226.
2 “Law on the Hitler Youth (December 1, 1936),” German History in Documents and Images, accessed November
19, 2014, http://www.germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=1564&language=english.

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for reasons such as having the opportunity to travel and play sports, attend movies, and exercise
a sense of leadership. They also came to conform to the Nazi education system because the Nazi
ideals were integrated in an indirect manner into the curriculum so as not to drill students with
material. The young people found the Nazi education system empowering and used it to their
advantage as certain students were the ones who the Nazis viewed as the true leaders in the class.
The Hitler Youth was a popular and highly thought of organization by the young people until
military training and the war came to dominate the organization’s activities and goals as the
experience turned off many different age cohorts. There was a complete shift in how the young
people viewed and willingly participated in the Hitler Youth from the establishment of the Nazi
state to the fall of the state at the end of the war.
As nearly every aspect of Nazi Germany has been studied for decades there have been
various avenues of research that have emerged. Within the last few decades one of the prominent
research fields undertaken by historians has been social history in relation to ordinary people. In
the chapter “The Return of Ideology: Everyday Life, the Volksgemeinschaft, and the Nazi
Appeal” by Geoff Eley, he argues that the move toward social history has essentially moved
ideological analysis to the back of the field. Although it is meaningful to study social history,
ideological analysis allows for the study of ideas, cultural outlooks, mental energy, and the
motivations of those who identified their futures and made careers out of belonging to the Third
Reich. Eley’s research focuses on Nazi ideas such as race, empire, necessity of war, the Jewish
enemy, and most importantly the concept of the Volk or the state,3 but does so by looking at
everyday life, actual patterns of social life, and ideology’s influence on personal and public
space. The integration of Nazi ideology succeeded since the ideology took shape in every day
3 Geoff Eley, “The Return of Ideology: Everyday Life, the Volksgemeinschaft, and the Nazi Appeal,” in Nazism as
Fascism: Violence, Ideology, and the Ground of Consent in Germany 1930-1945,ed. Geoff Eley et al.(New York:
Routledge, 2013),74-75.

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practices and thought. The author makes reference to Detlev J.K. Peukert’s Inside Nazi
Germany: Conformity, Opposition, and Racism in Everyday Life as both of these authors focus
on how ideas and practices were mixed together and integrated into daily life in order to
indirectly infuse Nazi ideals into the German people’s lives.4 Eley’s focus on ideological history
helps to convey how the Nazis took hold of the German public and transmitted their ideas and
beliefs to the people on the ground through ordinary events and practices.
In Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow, Susan Campbell Bartoletti takes a
simplistic approach as she provides a general and concise overview of the Hitler Youth.
Campbell Bartoletti is focused on telling the story of the Hitler Youth through the accounts of
multiple individuals who experienced their adolescence under the Nazi regime and participated
in the Hitler Youth. What is interesting about Campbell Bartoletti’s approach is that she opens
her book by telling a story, instead of giving a detailed account of what the purpose of the book
is or even explicitly laying out her thesis. The introduction of her book focuses on how the Nazi
regime used the death of a teenager, Herbert Norkus, in 1932 to build up the Hitler Youth.
Norkus was a fifteen year old who was handing out informational pamphlets on the Nazi party
before he was attacked and stabbed by communists. Although Norkus died from his wounds, the
Nazis glorified him as a martyr and portrayed him as a member who gave the ultimate sacrifice
for the National Socialist cause.5 Campbell Bartoletti’s writing on the Hitler Youth explains how
the Hitler Youth rose in prominence and how the organization came to appeal to the young
people through portraying Norkus and his selfless sacrifice as the face of the organization.
Routledge, 2013),65.
5 Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow (New York: Scholastic,2005),13.

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The link between the Hitler Youth and the SS (defense corps) is the major theme of
Hitler’s Children: The Hitler Youth and the SS by Gerhard Rempel. The thesis that Rempel puts
forward is that the SS manipulated and exploited the Hitler Youth in order to draw personnel for
its programs, tasks, and functions. Rempel also focuses on writing about the partnership between
the SS and the Hitler Youth in terms of social control, economic and agrarian policy, and
physical fitness programs.6 An interesting argument that Rempel makes is that by the end of the
war the Hitler Youth was completely drained as the young boys and men were being sent to war
as cannon fodder, especially the proven youth leaders. During the military activities and the war,
the leisure activities and trips that were taken by the Hitler Youth came to a stop, which was
harmful since so many young people were drawn to the leisure and travel opportunities and no
longer felt as connected to a “national community” of shared experiences.7 The author uses a
wide array of primary sources such as accounts from Melita Maschmann to draw upon and
support his argument. Rempel argues that the war had a negative consequence on the Hitler
Youth as appealing programs were cut because of the war and leadership took a significant hit as
the proven leaders were sent to the frontlines.
Military activity also figured into Detlev J.K. Peukert’s discussion about what made the
young people join or resist the Hitler Youth in Inside Nazi Germany: Conformity, Opposition,
and Racism in Everyday Life. On one hand, he explains that many young people were attracted to
the Hitler Youth because of the sense of sport, physical fitness, and having the opportunity to go
on weekend camping trips and excursions.8 On the other hand, Peukert explains that there also
6 Gerhard Rempel, Hitler’s Children: The Hitler Youth and the SS (Chapel Hill:The University of North CarolinaPress,
1989),13.
7 Gerhard Rempel, Hitler’s Children: The Hitler Youth and the SS (Chapel Hill:The University of North CarolinaPress,
1989),6-7.
8 Detlev J.K. Peukert, Inside Nazi Germany: Conformity, Opposition, and Racism in Everyday Life (New Haven: Yale
University Press,1987),151.

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was resistance to the Hitler Youth as certain groups like the Edelweiss Pirates, who were made
up of Hitler Youth aged persons, came to reject the strict adherence to discipline and the constant
drilling and training that related to the military.9 The Edelweiss Pirates deviated from the norms
that the Nazis had established and offered a type of resistance to the authoritarian and militaristic
regime, by continuing to go on trips during the war.10 Nazism was not simply imposed from
above; rather the young people could make their own choice and decide to either conform with
or resist the Nazis and their programs and organizations.
It is not enough to view how the young people collaborated within the Nazi state but what
made them willing to latch on to the Nazi regime and devote themselves to the Hitler Youth.
Although many of the young people of Germany only knew life under the Nazi state, this is not
the only reason why they became active members. The Nazis worked to make their regime and
the Hitler Youth attractive so that the young people would want to take an active part in the
regime and the organization, not solely because they were forced to. The Hitler Youth promoted
ideas of leisure and recreation activities that the young people were interested in while at the
same time providing an outlet to make the young people feel that they had a purpose in the state
and were thought of highly by the Nazis. As the Nazi agenda changed so too did the enthusiasm
of the youth change to dissatisfaction with the military training and the war-centric focus that
consumed the organization during the war years and led to a sharp fall in interest in the
organization on the part of the young people. A major theme is that there was a change in the
attitude of the young people over time as to how they viewed the Hitler Youth. Peukert describes
this idea as he discusses the initial appeal of the Hitler Youth with the various opportunities for

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trips and sports to the decline in interest because of military training and preparation for the war.
A second theme is Nazi ideology which was infused into daily life, especially education. Eley
describes the indirect introduction of Nazi ideology into every day experiences, which made
Nazi ideology that much more accessible to the young people and allowed them to take on that
ideology since they were not hit over the head with it. A final major theme is that the focus on
war and militarization ultimately undermined the Hitler Youth. Rempel argues about this fact
since the military aspects discouraged the young people and depleted the Hitler Youth
organization, both in leadership and in interest.
I. Young People’s Active Participation in the Nazi State
Not every young person felt an attraction toward the Hitler Youth, but as historians like
Detlev Peukert have argued, the connection that was felt to the Hitler Youth and Nazism was
much greater before the war. For example, the young people whose adolescence was between the
years of 1933-36 had experienced the severe economic crash and had seen how ineffective the
previous governments were in failing to get Germany out of the depression. These young people
were attracted to how the Nazis moved the state out of the depression, succeeding where other
government had failed. The young people were receptive to, “the benefits offered by the
rearmament programme (particularly after 1935-6), as well as to the ideas of the Fuhrerstaat
(leadership state), with its promise of an end to ‘party squabbles,’ and of the ‘restoration of
national greatness.’”11 During the early years of the Nazi regime, the young people were
attracted to the economic achievements of the Nazis and their future plans to clean up politics
and make Germany a proud nation again, thus the Hitler Youth served as an outlet to get
involved with the Nazis. The young people had seen how effective the Nazi government was in
11 D. Peukert, “Three Phases,” in Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich, ed. David Welch et al.(New York:

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solving economic problems and putting forth ideas that appeared to make society as a whole
better. In addition, it is clear that the Nazi system was viewed mostly favorably by the young
people early on because of attractive features, but this positive view eventually turned during the
war years.
Membership in the Hitler Youth was not simply due to the fact that it was mandatory for
young people of Germany; rather membership was so large initially because people wanted to be
a part of the organization since there were many appealing aspects about being a member. Each
individual young person had the ability to determine what interested him or her in the Hitler
Youth and how involved he or she would become in the organization. An aspect of the Hitler
Youth that made the organization so appealing was that it reached out to all the young people of
Germany, no matter their age or sex. When discussing the Hitler Youth the male organization is
usually thought of and referred to because of the physical tasks and involvement in the war.
However, there was an equally as important branch of the Hitler Youth that was comprised of
females. By having branches that incorporated both sexes, it would have lessened any gender
differences or discrimination because both sexes had the same type of opportunities available to
them to associate with people their age and feel a connection with the state. The Hitler Youth had
a totalizing approach that allowed for nearly any boy or girl from ages ten to eighteen to be
connected in the same organization and have shared experiences. There were four core groups in
the youth movement which consisted of “the Hitler Youth, the German Boys Club, the League of
German Girls, and the German Girls Club.”12 The two groups for each gender allowed for boys
and girls to be active members throughout their childhood and adolescence. These organizations
were some of the largest youth organizations at the time as the Nazi hierarchy proclaimed with
12 Oberbannfuhrer Stephan, “The League of German Girls Organization in theHitler Youth,” in The Third Reich
Sourcebook, ed. Anson Rabinbach et al.(Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress,2013),260.

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two million girls in the organization that, “we are proud to host the largest girls’ movement in the
world, the League of German Girls (BDM) in the Hitler Youth and the Hitler Youth German
Girls Club.”13 The opportunities that were available to males were available to females which
helped to eliminate any gender discrimination or favoring of one group. The Hitler Youth was
especially appealing to girls because they could take part in service in which they could meet
new people and feel appreciated in the state since the Nazis made an indirect attempt to
incorporate females into a significant role as part of a larger community.
Many young men and women felt a connection to the Hitler Youth and Nazism because
they were able to be a part of a greater whole. Everyone shared common experiences and a
common interest which helped to keep everyone on the same page. Melita Maschmann, a
member of the Hitler Youth, reflected on her involvement with the Hitler Youth and the Nazi
party in 1933 because of the attractive feature to belong to an up and coming party and the great
passion and desire that filled so many others who were members of the youth organization and
the party. Maschmann was attracted by the phrase “for the flag we are ready to die” because she
was overcome with a burning desire to belong to an organization in which its people were fully
devoted and passionate about the organization to such an extent that they were willing to lay
down their lives.14 This aspect of utmost seriousness rubbed off on Maschmann because she felt
truly connected to a cause that was not only far reaching but made it known how far its members
were willing to go for the organization. Maschmann also stated that the main reason why she
joined the Hitler Youth was because, “I wanted to escape from my childish, narrow life and I
wanted to attach myself to something that was great and fundamental. This longing I shared with
13 Oberbannfuhrer Stephan, “The League of German Girls Organization in theHitler Youth,” in The Third Reich
Sourcebook, ed. Anson Rabinbach et al.(Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress,2013),259.
14 Melita Maschmann,“A German Teenager’s Response to the Nazi Takeover in January 1933,”in The Nazi State
and German Society: A Brief History with Documents, ed. Robert G. Moeller et al.(Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Press,2010),49.

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countless others of my contemporaries.”15 She stated that the Hitler Youth served as an outlet
that allowed her to mature and to contribute to a cause that would give her a sense to feel a
greater purpose in her life. Maschmann was concerned with breaking away from her less than
favorable childhood and the Hitler Youth provided an opportunity to do so. Many young people
felt that the Hitler Youth was an outlet to connect with one another and to take a greater
responsibility in their communities. Voluntary membership, like that of Maschmann, shows how
young people took an active role in joining the Hitler Youth and becoming actively involved in
the Nazi movement.
A major reason why the Hitler Youth was so appealing was not because the Nazi
hierarchy did all the recruiting; rather the young people themselves did the recruiting for the
organization. In this sense it was easier to join the Hitler Youth because one could refer to a
friend for insight about what it was really like to be a member of the Hitler Youth. By attaining a
leadership position certain young people felt that they were wanted, which allowed for the Nazis
to capitalize on this feeling. During a list of conference minutes from 1935 the idea of
recruitment completed by actual members was visible as, “in the coming weeks, leaders of youth
groups in the classes will recruit youth for enrollment in the Hitler Youth.”16 The Nazi hierarchy
valued the young people, especially the youth leaders in this instance as they were tasked with
building up the organization. The youth leaders also showed prospective recruits how one could
increase their involvement in the organization by leading their peers. Since recruitment was
conducted by real Hitler Youth members it certainly had an impact on future members because
they could truly see the potential opportunities that had been achieved by the youth leader.
15 Melita Maschmann,“A German Teenager’s Response to the Nazi Takeover in January 1933,”in The Nazi State
and German Society: A Brief History with Documents, ed. Robert G. Moeller et al.(Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Press,2010),49.
16 “Conference Minutes,” in The Third Reich Sourcebook, ed. Anson Rabinbach et al.(Berkeley: University of
California Press,2013),245.

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Having actual members recruit potential members not only increased the membership of the
Hitler Youth, it also helped future members to relate with actual members and to better picture
themselves as members of the Hitler Youth.
In addition, members of the Hitler Youth recruited other young people as it became the
norm to be part of the Hitler Youth and belong to an organization which all of one’s friends were
a part of. Parents became almost helpless in attempting to steer their children away from the
Hitler Youth because it was very hard for a child to not be influenced by all of his or her peers.
This idea is presented as, “one cannot forbid the child to do what all children are doing, cannot
refuse him the uniform which the others have. One cannot ban it, that would be dangerous.”17
When a child sees that all of his or her friends are engaged in an activity then he or she will most
likely want to engage in the activity as well. When wearing the uniform all the children were
equal, which helped to eliminate any type of social class differences that would be obvious with
ordinary clothing. Lastly, the young people used the organization to their advantage as they felt a
sense of empowerment over their parents. As the source indicates, when a parent tells a child that
he or she cannot engage in an activity, like joining the Hitler Youth, it will inadvertently make
the child want to join the organization even more. The excerpt comes from the organization
Sopade, which was an exiled form of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).18 Sopade
was aware how the Nazis were attracting young people to their organization and having the
young people do much of the recruiting, thus the organization was expanding en masse. The
young people had control over influencing others to join the group, which made recruitment on
17 Sopade, “306. a) SOPADE-Bericht 1934 p.117-118,” in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,ed. J. Noakes and
G. Pridham,vol.2 of Nazism 1919-1945:A Documentary Reader, ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham(Exeter: University
of Exeter Press,2000),233.
18 “Reports from Germany of the Sopade [Executive Committee of the Exile SPD] on the Nazi Terror System,
January 1936,” Yad Vashem, accessed October 28, 2014,
http://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%203318.pdf.

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the part of the Nazi regime less significant because the young people took care of the job. Not
only did the young people attract one another to join the organization, so too did the Nazi regime
instill appealing aspects that made the young people want to be members of the Hitler Youth, an
organization in which young people could engage with one another and be on equal footing.
A major advantage for both the Nazi hierarchy and the young people was that the Hitler
Youth worked to discontinue the divisions of social classes. In the Hitler Youth, all the members
were on equal ground and taking part in the same shared activity. Many young people, especially
those from lower class standings saw the Nazis as an ally because they were working to make the
life of those with less better. For example, it made a big difference when all the Hitler Youth
members were wearing the same uniform instead of regular street clothes that would clearly
indicate how much money one had and what background one came from.19 Whether one was rich
or poor it did not matter in the Hitler Youth because everyone was essentially on equal footing
both ideologically in the minds of the Nazis and physically through the Hitler Youth uniform.
Even members of the Hitler Youth were aware of the elimination of class divisions as one
recalled, “here sat apprentices and school boys, the sons of workers and civil servants side by
side and got to know and appreciate one another.”20 Through membership in the Hitler Youth
young people could get to know other young people that they would not have met otherwise
because of social class divisions. The young people of different classes could also come to
respect and appreciate one another since they could truly get to know one another instead of
holding preconceived prejudices and assumptions. The Hitler Youth provided an outlet for
19 Sopade, “306. a) SOPADE-Bericht 1934 p.117-118,” in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,ed. J. Noakes and
G. Pridham,vol.2 of Nazism 1919-1945:A Documentary Reader, ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham(Exeter: University
of Exeter Press,2000),233.
20 A. Klonne, “307. A. Klonne, Jugend im Dritten Reich op. cit.pp.136-7,” in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,
ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham,vol.2 of Nazism 1919-1945:A Documentary Reader, ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham
(Exeter: University of Exeter Press,2000),234.

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people of different social classes to establish bonds with one another and view each other as
equals, not as opposites. It did not matter what social class one came from, all were in the same
organization and taking part in the same shared activities in the Hitler Youth.
Two of the most important concepts that drew young people to the Hitler Youth were the
focus on trips and sport. Trips and sport gave young people outlets for their energy and to
establish a sense of comradery with one another. Going on trips allowed young people to
experience a new part of the German state and to bond with the members who were a part of the
same organization. A member referred that, “is there anything nicer than enjoying the splendors
of the homeland in the company of one’s comrades…What joy we felt when we gathered at
some blue lake, collected wood, made a fire, and then cooked pea soup on it.”21 From this
perspective it is evident that the trips not only allowed for travel but that they allowed for many
of the members to feel more connected with one another. The trips were thought of highly by the
young people because they could experience a new part of the state and establish bonds with
their group members, a point that Detlev Peukert examined as a major draw for interest and
involvement in the Hitler Youth.22 On these trips there was also the integration of sport, which
was an activity the youth favored because it provided the chance to play and release energy. The
young people favored sport and exercise as one remarked, “we never went on our trips without a
ball or some other piece of sports equipment. It was a means of relaxation and of building us up
physically to play handball or football on a meadow or to bathe in a lake far from the noisy

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city.”23 Sport gave young people an outlet to unwind and relax from daily life. From this source
it is apparent that this individual favored going away on trips and playing sports because it
offered the opportunity to get away from the overcrowded and distracting city life and unwind in
a calm and relaxed environment. There were many activities, such as trips and sports that
presented young people with the opportunity to relax, build relationships with one another, and
take a step back from the stress of daily life that were provided by membership in the Hitler
Youth. The Nazis were able to connect with the young people because the regime provided them
with plenty of opportunities for enjoyment and leisure, some that were basic, and others that
were a brand new privilege for the young people.
Cinema was a type of medium that appealed to young people because they could be
entertained while at the same time allowing the Nazis to indirectly introduce National Socialist
ideals. This fact is evident in the film, Hitler Youth Quex as the film is loosely based on the life
of Herbert Norkus. Focusing on Norkus was an approach that Campbell Bartoletti took in her
research as she traced the beginning of the Hitler Youth through the life of Norkus and how the
Nazis exploited his death to build up the youth organization. The film renames Norkus as Heini
Volker who explores the ranks of both the communists and the Hitler Youth before he settles
with the Hitler Youth. Having been associated with the communists, Volker tells the members of
the Hitler Youth that the communists have a plan to blow up the local Hitler Youth center.
Volker is applauded for this deed by his fellow Hitler Youth members but he is condemned and
viewed as a traitor by the communist group, who vow to take revenge. While Volker is out one
day distributing Nazi pamphlets he is cornered, ganged up on, and murdered by a group of

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communists.24 As Volker has given his life, he is significant because in “the shadow of the
martyr’s death, millions more new fighters are born and brought to life.”25 In the film, Volker is
made to be a martyr who can inspire others to join the Hitler Youth. Volker also emphasizes the
role and duty of the young people, that even laying down one’s life is a necessary and proper act
that will surely be rewarded and appreciated. In an indirect way young viewers are educated
through this film that the communists are the enemy of the Nazis because a communist group
had cold-bloodedly murdered a young boy who was simply doing his work, had a plan to blow
up the Hitler Youth center, and led a gang-style execution that took a whole group of
communists to kill Volker. The film presented the Hitler Youth as the defenders of morals, law,
and order in this instance, which rubbed off on the young people and increased their positive
view about the organization. The Nazis had a calculated plan to make their organization appeal
to the young people in a manner that was not so cut and dry that the young people would feel
they were being hit over the head with Nazi ideology. Film was a simple way in which young
people could be drawn to the Hitler Youth, while at the same time providing the Nazis with an
outlet to infuse their ideals down to the future generations.
Film was one of the most accessible mediums for young people not only because it was
relied on heavily by the Nazi hierarchy but because having young people attend films was a new
cultural phenomenon under the Nazis, thus sparking the young people’s interest and support of
the Nazis through a new opportunity that was provided. Joseph Goebbels, who was the Reich
Minister of Propaganda, viewed film as the most persuasive of all propaganda arts because a
massive amount of people could be entertained as well as manipulated through indirect political
24 Licht Bild Buhne, “Hitler Youth Quex,” in The Third Reich Sourcebook, ed. Anson Rabinbach et al.(Berkeley:
University of California Press,2013),584-86.
25 Licht Bild Buhne, “Hitler Youth Quex,” in The Third Reich Sourcebook, ed. Anson Rabinbach et al.(Berkeley:
University of California Press,2013),587.

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messages.26 In a speech delivered in October 1941, Goebbels focused on the distinction of the
theater during his childhood and the theater during the Nazi regime. Goebbels stated that, “when
I was your age, it was considered improper to go to the movies, and for just this reason we used
to go.”27 However, under the Nazis this was not true anymore as the young people could attend
the movies freely and openly. Under the Nazis it was now clear that the young people had a new
advantage since they could attend movies and not be restricted due to their age. Goebbels also
asserted that the term “Forbidden for Minors!” pertaining to cinema no longer applied.28 It is
evident that the Nazis were making an effort to appeal to the young people by providing them
with a new opportunity that was not present for previous generations. Now, thanks to the Nazis,
the young people could go to the theaters freely and enjoy a film. Since they had a new privilege
under the Nazis and an outlet for leisure and relaxation it helped to be drawn into the Nazi
regime because it appeared that the Nazis had greater respect and appreciation for the young
people than did previous regimes. Nazi programs attracted the young people to their cause
because it seemed that the Nazis appreciated the young people, provided the young people with
new privileges, and gave the young people a sense of empowerment in the regime.
II. The Influence of Nazi Ideology on Education
To provoke students’ interest in education, the Nazis worked in their ideology in indirect
ways in order for the young people to warm up to the new education system instead of feeling
that education was solely impressed upon them from above. Even though the Nazis twisted
education to conform to their ideals, many students were receptive to the changes and were able
26 Richard Geehr and Gerda Geehr, “Filmas Teacher: Goebbels’ Speech for the Opening of the FilmProject of the
Hitler Youth,” Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies 14 (1984):36.

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to put their education into practice through years of schooling. Membership in the Hitler Youth
provided students with a unique leadership role inside of the classroom, especially if one was a
youth leader. The Nazis viewed the youth leaders as being more influential than teachers because
the leaders were seen as the ones who could ignite a spark in the students and get them to take
their work more seriously. Part of the appeal of the Hitler Youth was that the Nazi education
system allowed young people to have a leadership role in the class, which undermined the power
of the teachers. Baldur von Schirach, who was the Reich Youth leader who oversaw the Hitler
Youth, would state that a working relationship between teachers and youth leaders was needed
so that,
the more frequently that teacher and youth leader discuss the problems of the youths
entrusted to their care, the better it will be not only for the school but also for the youth
organization. A lazy student (and there are lazy students even in the Hitler Youth!) may
frequently be more strongly motivated to do better work if his youth leader, after a
conference with the teacher exhorts him to do better, than would be the case if a warning
came directly from the teacher.29
It is apparent that members of the Hitler Youth, primarily the youth leaders, had a great deal of
power in the education system. In schools, the roles were flipped as the students, primarily the
youth leaders, were the ones in charge and the teacher was a subordinate. The youth leaders felt a
greater sense of responsibility to the Hitler Youth since they were in charge of other students,
serving as a mentor, and becoming active in the education system. This helped to change their
view about schooling and what seemed like meaningful changes that came with the Nazi regime
as students would not have to simply sit back and be lectured at; instead the students were active
participants in both the Nazi system and in the class because of the power given to them in the
Hitler Youth to take a degree of control over their education.
29 Baldur von Schirach,“The Hitler Youth,” in Nazi Culture: Intellectual, Cultural and Social Life in the Third Reich,
ed. George L. Mosseet al.(New York: Grosset & Dunlap,1966), 300.

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Many students related with the Nazi form of education because they saw that what was
learned in the classroom could be applied in the future unlike the old and dry curriculum that was
only ever seen as being useful when the information was spit back on a test. As the Nazis
changed the curriculum in school so too did the students change their views about what should
be taught and what should not, thus conforming to the Nazi education system. When contrasting
the Nazi curriculum with the older curriculum a few students remarked that, “the teachers didn’t
understand about leadership mottoes such as ‘the schooling of character is more important than
the schooling of the mind.’ They pestered us with Latin and Greek instead of teaching us about
things which we could use later. We [who were in the Hitler Youth] decided not to be influenced
by their outdated views.”30 The students were connecting with the Nazi curriculum not simply
because it was enjoyable but because certain students found the curriculum more meaningful and
practical to be applied outside of the classroom. It is interesting to note that the students were
connecting with the Nazi curriculum and not solely being obedient to curriculum that had been
impressed upon the class because the new curriculum seemed to give the students ideas and
power that could be used inside and outside of the classroom.
With the new Nazi education system students felt that they had been given a greater sense
of power because of their association with the Hitler Youth. When the students were given work
to complete that reflected the old curriculum, such as a reading from Caesar for homework, the
students would cite that they did not have time to complete the homework since they had their
Hitler Youth service after school. This idea is expanded upon as students remarked that, “if we
didn’t want to do it [homework], we simply had been doing our [Hitler Youth] service.”31 It is
30 H. Focke and U. Reimer, “Pupil Power,” in Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich, ed. David Welch et al.
(New York: Routledge, 1997), 76.
31 H. Focke and U. Reimer, “Pupil Power,” in Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich, ed. David Welch et al.
(New York: Routledge, 1997), 76.

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evident that the students took a liking to the new Nazi curriculum but that the students also used
their service in the Hitler Youth as a way to get out of the old style of schooling. The Nazis
placed a great deal of emphasis on character shaping than actual school learning, which was an
idea that was shared by countless young people. In this sense, the young people did not see
school as a meaningless task but as a place where they could learn ideas that could be applied to
their futures. Students were attracted to the Nazi education system because it seemed that
education was more tailored toward the students and that the Nazis in their overhaul of the
education system understood what students liked and did not like about school, thus the Nazi
form of education was seen as relatable and geared toward the students. Students took a new
interest in school because they were able to learn practical concepts, the students had power, and
the students saw the Hitler Youth as an ally.
The Nazis worked to increase their influence through the school system in everyday type
of practices, which helped to make the role of the Nazis easily accessible and common to the
young people. In this way, the young people became accustomed to the Nazis since this was
primarily the only government many had experienced. By having an affiliation with Hitler and
the Nazis inside of the school setting, it gave students the sense that it was the norm for the Nazis
to be instilled in school because it was a daily occurrence. The Hitler Greeting was introduced in
schools as:
The Hitler Greeting is to be used in conversation between teachers and pupils. If the
raising of the right arm accompanies a greeting, then it can just be ‘Heil Hitler!’ Every
day at the beginning of the first lesson the pupils will get up as soon as the teacher enters
the class, stand to attention and raise their outstretched arm level with their eyes. The
teacher will go to the front of the class and offer the same greeting accompanied by the
words ‘Heil Hitler!’ The pupils will reply ‘Heil Hitler!’32
32 L.D. Stokes, “Hitler Greeting,” in Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich, ed. David Welch et al.(New York:

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Because the Nazis introduced a simple greeting that hardly required much thinking on the part of
the students, the students were truly the ones who took on the responsibility to alter the school
day and systematically adapt to the Nazi form of education. As the historian Geoff Eley noted,
the Nazis were infused into everyday life and the students were the ones who were taking on the
ideology and applying it to their own lives.33 To students, it became normal to acknowledge
Hitler every day and refer to the person who was responsible for creating the new type of
education system. The idea of greeting the teacher with Hitler’s name and practicing the Hitler
salute in school emphasized the idea of the presence of Nazism inside the typical school day. By
practicing these common Nazi gestures, students were made well aware of the reach of Nazism
on their lives and were thus more susceptible to join the ranks of the Hitler Youth because a
place where so much time was spent, the school, was made into a training ground for the Nazis
to extend their influence and incorporate their ideology into the everyday lives of students,
whether through physical actions or through curriculum.
History was a school subject that the Nazis deemed of high priority and worked to shape
with their ideology in order to allow students to connect with their past, present, and the state,
thus allowing for history to be learned from a particular point, so students would view history in
the Nazi perspective. In the mind of the German Central Institute of Education, history was to be
a meaningful and practical subject as, “the teaching of history must bring the past alive for the
young German in such a way that it enables him to understand the present, makes him feel the
responsibility of every individual for the nation as a whole and gives him encouragement for his

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own political activity.”34 History was skewed in a way so that the students would feel a need to
get involved politically which fed into the Nazi cycle. For example, history was based on a
nationalistic approach as the Treaty of Versailles was the work of “nations jealous of Germany’s
might and power,” the loss of World War I and the depression of the 1920s was the work of the
Jews, and the national resurgence of Germany had begun under the leadership of Hitler.35
History was viewed through the scope of the Nazis and in turn students would learn to view
history through this scope in both the classroom and in their own lives. The young people were
consumed by the idea that each was a part of a greater whole and belonged to Germany. From
the age of ten through eighteen the young people would serve as a member of the Hitler Youth
and then become members of the party and contribute to the state through either the labor service
or the Wehrmacht (armed forces), among other organizations so that “they will not be free again
for the rest of their lives.”36 Through education, and especially through history class, students
were led to believe that they could play a meaningful role in the society and the state as they
could take part in shaping the great history of Germany and bringing glory to the state. Since the
young people felt that they could be an important feature of their society, they thus wanted to be.
Students took an interest in history because the Nazis worked to make the subject personable so
the students could learn from the past, become involved in the present, and shape the future, thus
being able to and actually becoming involved in the Nazi regime through connecting with
ideology that the authorities incorporated into the schools.
34 K-I Flessau,“315. K-I Flessau,Schule der Dikatur. Lehrplane und Schulbucher des Nationalsozialismus
(Frankfurt/M1982) pp.82ff.,” in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham,vol.2 of
Nazism 1919-1945:A Documentary Reader, ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham(Exeter: University of Exeter Press,2000),
438.
35 “Nazi Education,” History LearningSite, accessed November 19, 2014,
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Nazi_Education.htm.
36 A. Klonne, “297. A. Klonne, Jugend im Dritten Reich. Die Hitler-Jugend und ihre Gegner (Dusseldorf 1982) p.80,”
in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham,vol. 2 of Nazism 1919-1945:A
Documentary Reader, ed. J. Noakes and G. Pridham(Exeter: University of Exeter Press,2000), 223.

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Through school, students could be influenced by what they read in their textbooks and
take an active role in their education by learning Nazi ideology. The information that was read in
textbooks would be reinforced by essay writing or math problem solving for instance. One of the
most prominent textbooks that was used in Nazi Germany was the Nazi Primer, which was a text
that touched on topics such as race, population policy, and territorial expansion, among others.
Text in the Nazi Primer was important information to learn since it was emphasized by the
teacher and other students within the confines of the school. Education was up to a certain point
indirect, but now it was direct and overt when reading from the Nazi Primer. By learning about
topics such as race five days a week, students were constantly surrounded by Nazi rhetoric and
ideas. One chapter on population policy that was rooted in a lesson on race stated that, “wiping
out of the less worthy and selection of the best are the means for raising and maintaining the
racial values of our people.”37 Although this text clearly foreshadows the Holocaust, students
were learning that it was necessary to only have desirable people in the state in order to uphold
racial values. Students were not solely learning that certain peoples should be done away with
but why it was important to do away with these peoples. Reading from the Nazi Primer was a
process that the young people had to take on themselves, thus they were the ones who were
educating themselves in this instance and instilling Nazi ideals within their own beliefs through
the learned curriculum.
Although completing a math problem or reading a passage may sound like an ordinary
school activity for students, the actual intent was to teach students the Nazi way. There was a
transformation taking place in German education as students were being educated on matters of
race that were interwoven into ordinary math problems. For example, students had to calculate
how much undesirable members of society cost the community that had to look after them. The
37 Fritz Brennecke, ed., The Nazi Primer (New York: AMS Press,1972), 84.

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question reads, “a mentally ill person costs about 4 RM per day, a handicapped person 5,50 RM,
a criminal 3,50 RM. In many cases a civil servant earns only about 4 RM, a salaried employee
barely 3,50 RM and an unskilled worker only 2 RM per person in the family.”38 This math
question was aimed at students figuring out that deficient citizens, like the handicapped and the
criminals, were a cost and a burden to society. Instead of a lecture on race, a math problem made
the topic seem normal or even logical. The Nazi authorities were suggesting a sense of morality,
as eugenics were necessary for the state to behave in a moral way, such as helping to improve the
workers’ wages. Also, the question points out that spending on the sick and criminals were
wasteful, immoral, and taking funds away from the larger community. Students had to figure out
what the undesirable citizens cost the community at a fixed price and how that cost could be
spent elsewhere. As students completed a math problem, they would also be learning about race
and the many citizens who the Nazis viewed as undesirable in their imagined community in an
indirect way as this was done through a basic math equation.
Math problems were an instrumental form of teaching young people about Nazi ideals,
especially the aspects of war and the military. These types of math problems were focused on
actual math concepts, such as figuring out time and distance, yet infused with facts and figures
that reflected the military. While completing yet another basic math problem, students were
being influenced about the necessity and strategies for war. The math problem states that, “a
modern night bomber can carry 1,800 incendiary bombs. For a stretch of how many kilometers
can it spread these bombs if, traveling at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour, it drops a bomb
every second?”39 The military math question draws on the concept of total destruction as many
38 H. Focke and U. Reimer, “National SocialistCurriculum(1),”in Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich, ed.
David Welch et al.(New York: Routledge, 1997), 73.
39 H. Focke and U. Reimer, “National SocialistCurriculum(1),”in Resistance and Conformity in the Third Reich, ed.
David Welch et al.(New York: Routledge, 1997), 73.

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bombs are being carried and a bomb is being dropped every second. It is evident that a math
problem on warfare made the subject seem normal because it was not done in a lecture style
where the students were directed by a teacher to believe an idea. While completing this type of
math question, students would have certainly had a better understanding as to how warfare was
conducted and what it took in order to win a battle. Through even an ordinary math problem, it
was evident that the Nazis were working to mold the youth in their vision, even if the methods to
do so, like completing a math problem, were not so clear to a young boy or girl. Since students
were exposed to Nazi ideals on an everyday basis it would have helped to shape the student’s
own views and ideas through years of schooling and completing coursework in an indirect
fashion instead of being hit over the head with the material.
III. Influence of the War on Hitler Youth Activities and Ideology
The young people whose adolescence occurred during the war from 1939-45 truly
experienced the bareness and strict focus on the military aspect of the Hitler Youth, an idea that
undermined the appeal of the organization. Due to the war, the Hitler Youth leadership took a
severe blow as many of the leaders were cast to serve in the war which led to the destabilization
of the Hitler Youth and the rise in youth gangs who moved away from the direction and practices
of the Hitler Youth. During the war the young people, “experienced particularly the empty
aspects of daily life in the Hitler Youth, characterized by coercion and drill.”40 The Hitler Youth
truly lost most of its appeal during this period because so many young people were not interested
in the military and when they did go off to fight in the war they were scarred and emotionally
disturbed by the horrors of war and watching their friends be slain. In addition, from 1942

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onward, “many club buildings and sports fields were destroyed by the bombings.”41 Many of the
appealing aspects of the Hitler Youth such as sports, recreation, and trips came to an abrupt end
with the war. By the end of the Nazi regime, the young people became disenchanted with the
direction that the Hitler Youth shifted in due to the negative effect that the war had on
programing, leadership, and overall interest in the once popular and highly thought of youth
organization that was now solely centered on military ideals. Ultimately the war turned off
countless young people to the Hitler Youth and Nazism.
A clear shift in interest and approval of the Hitler Youth on the part of the young people
developed as the Nazis moved away from appealing activities and indirect educational influences
toward an ever engrossing military ideology for the Hitler Youth. Young people did not enjoy
the military training and it became obvious that the emphasis on military and the war was taking
away from many of the other enjoyable activities. Even before the war began there were aspects
of militarization that were infused into daily activities that countless young people viewed as
their least favorite part about the Hitler Youth. Many young people viewed the role of marching
and drilling as oppressive and made their lives miserable as the harshness of drilling and
marching hardly compared to the enjoyment of playing sports, going on a trip, or sitting back to
watch a film. For one young person reflecting on his time in the Hitler Youth he commented on
his disdain on militaristic emphasis during the late 1930s before the war began as, “in our troop
the activities consisted almost entirely of stolid military drill. Even if sport or shooting practice
or a sing song was scheduled, we always had to drill first: endless marching with ‘attention,’ ‘at

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ease.’”42 According to this account the militarization aspect took control over all other activities.
The individual had a tough time enjoying the other leisure activities since the drilling and
marching always came first. It thus became difficult to look positively on the Hitler Youth for
this individual since he had a strong dislike for the military aspect that was such a strong focus in
the organization. The author also commented that, “the slightest sign of recalcitrance, the
slightest faults with our uniforms, the slightest lateness on parade were punishable with extra
drill.”43 It is clear that drill became a type of punishment when requirements were not met, which
helps to explain why this individual felt so strongly against drilling and militarization aspects.
Even before the war it was clear that there was dislike for military drill and preparation because
it came to dominate the activities and leisure that the young people were so interested in,
attracted to, and used to.
An appeal of the Hitler Youth that was lost in the focus of the war was the various trips
and leisure activities that were no longer available. During the war many of the activities that the
young people enjoyed were discontinued. As an example, the Reich Ministry of Justice stated
that, “the romantic urge which exists in every boy finds no outlet, particularly since, as a result of
wartime necessity, the Hitler Youth has ceased it trips.”44 The Reich Ministry of Justice thus
admitted that the war was harmful and smothering young people’s interest in the Hitler Youth.
The sense of adventure that was seen with the Hitler Youth was no more as camping and hiking
trips came to a halt because of the war.
42 A. Klonne, “308. A. Klonne, Jugend im Dritten Reich op. cit.pp. 136-7,” in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,
(Exeter: University of Exeter Press,2000), 234.
43 A. Klonne, “308. A. Klonne, Jugend im Dritten Reich op. cit.pp. 136-7,” in State, Economy and Society 1933-1939,
44 Reich Ministry of Justice,“1216 Jahnke & Buddrus, op. cit., 463ff.,” in The German Home Front in World War II,
ed. Jeremy Noakes, vol. 4 of Nazism 1919-1945:A Documentary Reader, ed. Jeremey Noakes (Exeter: University of
Exeter Press,1998),454.

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The decline in the leisure trips led to a sharp rise in youth gangs and other factions, like
the Edelweiss Pirates, a youth organization opposed to the Hitler Youth, who would continue to
go on trips even after the Nazis had put a ban on travel as Detlev Peukert argued in his research
about youth resistance groups. Even through travel and trips had ceased, this did not mean that
youth gangs could branch off and still continue to enjoy their time on their own terms. In
reference to leisure and recreation activities the Reich Ministry of Justice also reported that, “the
terror air raids have exacerbated the illegal formation of gangs. Apart from the military duties of
the Hitler Youth, there are few activities in which they can take part in their spare time. There are
no cinema performances, sporting events or sport in those cities which have been badly
damaged.”45 The war at home led to many of the sports fields and areas of play to be leveled by
bombings and rendered completely useless. The only activities that became available for the
young people out of the war were military duties, which from the excerpt is clear that military
training and work did not compare to playing sports or watching a film. The young people were
drawn to film, among many other subjects because of the opportunity it gave as to not only
educate in a more tranquil manner as opposed to a classroom but to relax, sit back, and be
entertained as was seen with the Hitler Youth Quex film and reiterated by Goebbels. With the
war, the appealing aspects of the Hitler Youth such as sports and cinema came to a halt,
undermining the appeal both physically by destroyed playing fields and buildings and mentally
by the constant drain of only having military duties to fulfill as the sole activity in the state.
One of the greatest impacts that the war had on the Hitler Youth was that the
organization suffered from a lack of leadership. Even the Reich Ministry of Justice was aware of
the negative effects of the war as it became apparent that the Hitler Youth could not involve

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people to the extent that it did before the war. In referring to the decline in leadership in the
organization, “most of its leaders are in the Wehrmacht. The units are often led by young people
who are of the same age and do not always possess leadership qualities.”46 One of the strengths
of the Hitler Youth was that young men could serve as leaders in the organization and take the
lead as role models for younger members. This was not so anymore as individuals of the same
age were in charge of one another which did not go over very well since it was difficult to be
subordinate not to a mature young man anymore but to a person who was recently promoted to
leader status out of necessity. It was also difficult to follow the younger leaders because many
individuals did not feel that they should follow the orders of someone who hardly had much
experience or practical leadership qualities. The war affected the strength of the leadership in the
Hitler Youth since so many of the proven leaders were shipped off to the war. Because the Nazis
launched the war it negatively impacted the stability of the Hitler Youth as there was no longer
adequate respect for the new, younger, and unproven leaders among the ranks since the proven
leaders were on the battlefields.
Although many Hitler Youth members were provided with the training and physical
fitness that was required to fight in a war, the reality and horror that came with the war was a far
cry from all the stories of heroism and honor the young men had been led to believe. In an
account from Melita Maschmann, a member of the Hitler Youth, she described the mobilization
of the young people in the last months of the war in which the war was surely lost and many
young boys and men were essentially sent to their deaths. The account she rendered points to the
idea that one’s experience in the war was much different from the Nazi platform of building up
the war as an experience of adventure and service to the state. In reference to the children in the

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war Maschmann recalled, “I shall never forget my encounters with the youngest of them, still
half children, who did what they believed to be their duty until they were literally ready to drop.
They had been fed on legends of heroism for as long as they could remember.”47 The account
rendered by Maschmann refers to many members doing the fighting toward the end of the war as
“half children” as if to say that these individuals had no place serving on the front line.
Maschmann explores the idea that the children had been fed with lies and deceit in order to spark
an interest and willingness to be a part of the war. The young boys were led to believe an illusion
that had been established about the war by the Nazi hierarchy in the sense that the children
believed they were doing what was right, even if that meant laying down their life after hardly
living a decade. How the war was built up by the Nazis was very different from the way it was
experienced by the young people. These boys hardly had any other profound life experiences and
would have to carry what they witnessed in the war and be shaped by the war for the rest of their
lives.
The perspective of the war from the young people was completely different than the
heroic and masculine Nazi perspective, as young boys were demoralized and emotionally scarred
from their experiences. Maschmann also provides a specific account about young boys realizing
the true nature of the war as she stated, “in one suburb of Berlin I saw a row of dead anti-aircraft
auxiliaries lying side by side. It was just after an air raid. The anti-aircraft base where the
schoolboys were serving had received several direct hits: I went into a barrack room where the
survivors were gathered. They sat on the floor along one wall, and the white faces they turned
towards me were distorted with fear. Many of them were weeping.”48 Maschmann emphasizes
47 Melita Maschmann,“The Mobilization of Youth in the Winter of 1945,” in The Nazi State and German Society: A
Brief History with Documents, ed. Robert G. Moeller et al.(Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,2010), 175.
48 Melita Maschmann,“The Mobilization of Youth in the Winter of 1945,” in The Nazi State and German Society: A
Brief History with Documents, ed. Robert G. Moeller et al.(Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,2010),175.

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the reality of the war instead of the heroic stories that were so often told back at home. The sight
of seeing soldiers, in this case young boys who were thrust into the military, were so damaged by
their experience that they emotionally broke down and cried in the arms of one another. This is
not the image that is associated with individuals in the military; however this was the reality that
became a common experience for boys who were ill-equipped for the war because they were not
mentally prepared for the cold reality that awaited them. The war was a harmful experience for
many young boys as Maschmann details, which certainly made the Hitler Youth less appealing
because of the horrors of war and the toll the war took on young boys as what was experienced
was different from the romanticized version of the war by the Nazis, thus leading to a loss of
interest in the war on the part of the young people.
Many young people came to resent the aspect of the focus on the military and their
involvement in the latter stages of the war. What was so especially unattractive about the war
was that service became mandatory and was basically forced on individuals. There was no longer
any sense of freedom of choice; it was in most cases join the war or else. This idea is displayed
by the militarization of the Hitler Youth toward the end of the war when the Hitler Youth were
being cast off as the last line of defense, to stave off the inevitable defeat if only for a little while
longer. In a reflection on the indoctrination of military service on a group of a Hitler Youth
Home Guard unit, one member commented:
Members were assembled in a common room which was then locked and a guard placed
outside! Our leader made a speech in the presence of all the instructors. He declared that,
according to a secret order from the Fuhrer, all offers to volunteer for active service were
no longer valid except for those for the SS and for the one-man torpedo weapons. He
therefore called on those present to volunteer for the SS en masse; it was, he said, a
matter of honour to do so. But if this did not occur ‘he had plenty of time.’ The room
would remain locked until evening; there would be no meals and anyone who didn’t sign
up for the SS would be sent straight to a ‘recruitment camp.’49
49 “1183 Jahnke & Boddrus op. cit., pp. 405-6,” in The German Home Front in World War II, ed. Jeremy Noakes, vol.
4 of Nazism 1919-1945:A Documentary Reader, ed. Jeremy Noakes (Exeter: University of Exeter Press,1998), 413.

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What is frightening about this passage is the degree to which the men were threatened to join the
military. The men were treated like prisoners, being locked in a room and guarded by a military
officer outside. It was no longer acceptable to volunteer for military service, it was now a
requirement. Even if the young men did not want to go off and fight in the war there was no
choice; the men were locked in the room until they agreed to take part in the war. The men were
threatened with starvation and anyone who did not conform would be sent to a ‘recruitment
camp’ to be taught a lesson and shaped to serve. The leader in this excerpt who is demanding for
the men to serve does not just want a few recruits he wants every single man in the room to stand
up and pledge his allegiance to the war. The historian Gerhard Rempel argued that the Hitler
Youth was a supply line for the SS, which is clear with the way in which the Hitler Youth
members were forced to join the SS in this post-war account. Many young men did not like the
aspect of the war because the subject was impressed upon them in a threatening and imposing
manner. The war took countless individuals out of the Hitler Youth ranks and thrust the young
men into the ranks of the military, a position that was essentially placed on and filled by the
young men because of threats and massive peer pressure, not because they wanted to serve in
what was deemed to be an unenjoyable and useless activity.
For many of the young men who wound up having to fight in the war, their greatest
experience was when the war was called off, showing how negatively the war was viewed by so
many young people. In a reflection from Walter Knappe, a military unit leader during the war, he
stated that he had no spirit and no sense of pride to participate in the war, which is not what the
training in the Hitler Youth was supposed to instill in him. The war was a terrible experience for
him because he did not believe in the war, while he felt that others had bought into the idea of
the war, which was ludicrous in his view. Toward the end of the war Knappe was given the task

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of commanding Hitler Youth members as soldiers who were ill-equipped to fight and did not
have a good sense as how to survive. Knappe stated that, “I was so glad when our mission was
called off, and I could release them all. Only too well could I understand their crazy enthusiasm;
they went to their doom in the belief that they were fighting for Germany.”50 Knappe did not
believe in the war and felt a great burden lifted off his shoulders when he could release the Hitler
Youth members from his command who he thought were dying meaningless deaths. He knew
that the war at this time was pointless, however many of the Hitler Youth members under his
command were almost delusional. The war at this stage cost many young people their lives as
they thought they were making a sacrifice for Nazi Germany, when by this time, as is evident
with Knappe’s perspective, many Germans had turned away from the Nazi ideals and were ready
to move on from the destructive and useless war; the war was the point in which the young
people began to turn away from Nazism and disengage with the Hitler Youth.
IV. Conclusion
The young people in Germany were not entirely forced in their involvement under the
Nazi regime; rather the young people could choose how involved or disengaged they wanted to
be. The Nazis worked to make the young people feel appreciated and that they did have a role in
society as was seen with the various types of leadership positions in the Hitler Youth. The Hitler
Youth was an organization that allowed for the young people of Germany to take an active and
proactive role in the state, as they were not simply threatened to conform to Nazi demands,
except during the war. Depending on how the Nazis shaped and directed the activities of the
Hitler Youth, the young people either responded with interest and willing enthusiasm or despair
in what the focus of the organization was at certain times. The young people played an active
50 Walter Knappe, “There Was No Spirt,No Sense of Pride,” in Voices from the Third Reich: An Oral History, ed.
Johannes Steinhoff et al.(Washington,D.C.:Regnery Gateway, 1989), 485.

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role in the Hitler Youth and collaborated to a degree with the Nazis by throwing their support
and interest toward the Hitler Youth and its activities up until the organization shifted focus to
complete militarization during the war years.
What was so appealing about the Hitler Youth was the wide variety of activities that
involved going on trips, playing sports, going to the cinema, and being a part of an organization
that all of one’s friends also joined. As the Nazis reformed education, the young people were
very receptive to the changes as they found the new curriculum that emphasized character
building and preparation for life outside of the classroom to be much more practical. The Nazis
were also able to introduce their ideals through education in indirect ways as students would read
about and complete math problems pertaining to race and militarization, among other topics. The
young people took an active role in the educational system because they were the ones who were
reading up on ideas like race and the military and putting forth the effort to learn the material.
After years of schooling in childhood and adolescence, the young people had their attitudes
shaped and related to an educational system where most of their lives were spent. The power
given to students in the Hitler Youth allowed them to take a degree of control over their own
education as was seen with the youth leaders who had greater authority in the class over the
teachers. Also, membership in the organization allowed one to get out of completing work for
the old and backward style of schooling. Although the young people took an active role in their
membership in the Hitler Youth and conforming to Nazi ideals, the opposite was true when it
came to the military and the war. The youth were opposed to the war and military training
because with this increased focus on militarization it took away from many of the leisure and
recreation activities. The Nazis were undermining the very nature that made the Hitler Youth
appealing and began moving in a direction in which the young people came to resist the

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organization and its aims that were once so highly thought of. The Hitler Youth was an
organization that allowed for the young people to take an active role in the Nazi state as either
individuals who threw their support and interest behind the organization in the early years of the
Nazi regime or who resisted and were against the movement towards military ideals during the
wars years.

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