Hitler's Youth: The Hitler Youth Movement

The Hitler Youth Movement also played a major role in creating youth susceptible to believing the cruel actions taken during the Holocaust was best. In fact, at the time participation in the group was considered equally (if not more so) as important as the child’s education. This was mainly formed to create future adults who can not only tolerate pain, but are generally stealthy and tough, much like the requirements of a soldier. They were also led to believe a leader such as Adolf Hitler was to be seen as almost a demigod like figure. The initial concept was created in the 1920s, run and overseen by a man named Baldur von Schirach. Before the abolishment of all outer youth groups, in 1933, the membership stood at 100,000. Three years later,

The target audience for membership were boys aged as young as 6 or as old as 18. Males around 6 to 10 years old joined the Little Fellows, where they enjoyed outdoor activities such as camping, kayaking, and hiking. Once aged about 10 to 13, they would move on to join the German Young People. In this, they would practice marching, sporting activities, map reading, parading, as well as Nazi viewpoints, racial purity, and anti-Semitic ways. From about 14 to 18 years old, the boys would continue to the official Hitler Youth, where they’d initially prepare to become soldiers through practices of the like. The Hitler Youth Movement, however, was not limited to the male gender. Females in the group were taught how to care for their young and be a good housewife, hence taking care of their future soldiers. Girls between the ages of 10 and 14 were set in the Young Maidens, where they were taught decent health practices, the generalities of being a housewife, as well as previous mentioned viewpoints on racial purity and anti-Semitism. They’d then move on to the League of German