The Hitler Youth Movement

The Hitler Youth was a program for children that spanned to all places ruled by Hitler during WWII. The Hitler Youth was portrayed as an important, boy scout-like opportunity in Germany during World War II, but in reality it was a way to poison the minds of children. The groups were used to place Nazi ideas in the heads of children to build a future army. The Youth had an indoctrination, activities, and their own beliefs.

The Hitler Youth existed before the Nazi movement, but it wasn’t the same. Before the Nazi Party was founded, a strong youth movement already existed in Germany. It was called the Wandervögel. It began in the 1890s and resembled the boy scouts. The group tried to recreate memories of the old days of self sustaining farmers.

The Third Reich education gave them a national socialist view. Also, the Aryan race was glorified in the minds of the children, but the Jews and other “inferior races” were looked down upon. After 1933, the Nazi regime purged the public school system of teachers deemed to be Jews or to be “politically unreliable.” However, many teachers remained at their positions. In the classroom, teaching was aimed to produce race-conscious, obedient, self-sacrificing Germans who would be willing to die for their cause. The children were also taught to look up to Adolf Hitler. His birthday was a national holiday. Children had sworn allegiance to Hitler, the nation, and future leaders. The schooling played a pivotal role of spreading Nazi ideals in the Hitler Youth

When the members reached eighteen, they were required to enlist in the armed forces or the Reich Labor Service. The activities in the Youth had been preparing them for the day that they must enlist. The propaganda continued to grow in devotion to Nazi idealisms, yet the German military suffered defeat after defeat. In 1944, Allied Forces had crossed the border into Germany, and the Nazi regime required citizens under 16 and seniors over 60 to enlist in the military. This group of the military was called the Volkssturm, or People’s Assault. After the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces in May 1945, some German boys continued to fight in guerilla groups known as “Werewolves”. The following year, Allied occupation authorities required young German boys to undergo a process of “Denazification.” The process countered Nazi propaganda and ideals. The ideals of a racist leader could not save the