“The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp’s steel.” The future of a country lies within its youth, and Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany was extremely aware of it. Massive amounts of propaganda targeted German youth throughout the 1920’s to the 1940’s. In 1922, the Munich-based Nazi Party established its official youth organization named, the Hitlerjugend, also known as the Hitler Youth. The German youth movement arose from the anger and resentment Hitler and the Third Reich continued to feed after the humiliating Treaty of Versailles and World War I. The movement’s membership stood at 100,000 members after Hitler was named …show more content…
After powerful, persuading propaganda and well articulated speeches, many German citizens were convinced Hitler could do no wrong. Children who had grown up with the ideas of Nazism grew loyal to Hitler and lived to honor him. As young boys began to join the Hitler Youth, all of them took oaths as a promise to not only Germany, but Hitler too. The Jungvolk Oath, an oath taken by ten year old boys on first entering the Hitler Youth stated, "In the presence of this blood banner which represents our Führer, I swear to devote all my energies and my strength to the savior of our country, Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so help me God." The Hitler Youth bred boys heading into the military willing to die for their dictator. Hurtful propaganda and racial ideologies managed to brainwash thousands of impressionable minds into worshipping a merciless ruler. Another example of unwavering loyalism can be observed in Alfons Heck, a former Hitler Youth member who became an officer. Describing a rally, Heck