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Hitler

In my great educative work I am beginning with the young.  We older ones are used up … We are rotten to the marrow.  But my magnificent youngsters!  Are there finer ones in the world?  With them I can make a new world.
My teaching is hard.  Weakness has to be knocked out of them … A violently active, dominating, intrepid, brutal youth – that is what I am after … It must be indifferent to pain.  There must be no weakness or tenderness in it …
I will have no intellectual training.  Knowledge is ruin to my young men … One thing they must learn, self-command!​
A. Hitler, 1939

Interpretations

I remember with more pleasure the weekend outings, the hikes, sports, campfires and youth hostelling. Occasionally there would be field exercises with neighbouring groups. I began to play truant from school as work for the Hitler Youth took up more and more of my time and energy. I would often leave the house at 5.00am and only arrive at school for the second or third lesson.

From Account Rendered by Melita Maschmann (1964). Maschmann joined the League of German Girls in March 1933. She was arrested after the war as a Nazi Party member, and was sent to prison.
When I was older, I became a Hitler Youth leader. I found the need for absolute obedience unpleasant. The Nazis preferred people not to have a mind of their own. In our troop the activities consisted almost entirely of endless military drill. Even if sport or shooting practice or a singsong was planned, we always had to drill first.

​Adapted from an account by a young German, Arno Klönn, whose parents were teachers and had access to banned books. In his account he remembers his time in the Hitler Youth during 1940.
At the time, it was smashing. When we went on our marches the police stopped the traffic and passers-by had to give the Nazi salute. We were poor and suddenly had fine uniforms. I’d never been on holiday; now they were taking us to camp by lakes and mountains. I am ashamed to say now that, to us, Hitler was the greatest human being in the world. At rallies we couldn’t hear what he was saying – but we all screamed anyway. When war came I was so excited. I thought, ‘Now, I can show the Fuhrer what I’m made of'.
​
Henrik Metelmann in his book called ‘Through Hell for Hitler’, published in 1970. Metelmann was a member of the Hitler Youth in the 1930s and he is referring to his experiences in this extract.
We could not believe it. I remember that the leaders had told Hans that his songs were not allowed. Why should he be forbidden to sing those songs just because they had been created by other races? Then came the racial legislation and our Jewish classmates had to leave school. We were living in a society then, where hate and lies had become normal. No one was safe from arrest for the slightest unguarded remark, and some disappeared forever for no good reason. Unseen ears seemed to be listening to everything that was spoken in Germany.

​Inge Scholl in her book called ‘Students Against Tyranny’ published in 1952. Inge Scholl’s brother Hans and her sister Sophie were members of the White Rose group.

Hitler Youth Organisations

Background:
  • The Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend, HJ) was the youth wing of the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
  • It was established to indoctrinate young Germans with Nazi ideology and prepare them to serve the regime.
  • Became compulsory in 1936 (officially enforced from 1939).

Aims of the Hitler Youth:
  1. Loyalty to Hitler and the Nazi Party:
    • Cultivate total obedience to Adolf Hitler as the Führer.
    • Promote the idea of racial superiority (Aryan race).
  2. Prepare Boys for the Military:
    • Instill discipline and train boys for future roles in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces).
  3. Prepare Girls for Motherhood and Domestic Roles (via League of German Girls):
    • Girls were trained to be loyal wives and mothers to raise future Nazis.
  4. Replace Traditional Youth Organizations:
    • Disbanded all other youth groups (e.g., church, scouting) to eliminate rival influences.

Structure of the Hitler Youth:

For Boys:
  • Deutsches Jungvolk (DJ) – Boys aged 10–14
  • Hitlerjugend (HJ) – Boys aged 14–18

For Girls:
  • Jungmädelbund (JM) – Girls aged 10–14
  • Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM) – Girls aged 14–18

​All divisions followed strict military-like hierarchy and uniforms.

Activities in the Hitler Youth:Boys:
  • Physical Training: Camping, hiking, survival, shooting, and war games.
  • Military Drills: Marching, map reading, mock battles.
  • Ideological Education: Anti-Semitic propaganda, Nazi history, Führer worship.
  • Community Work: Collecting donations, assisting elderly, helping during wartime (messengers, air raid helpers).
Girls:
  • Physical Fitness: Hiking, swimming, gymnastics (to be healthy mothers).
  • Home Economics: Cooking, cleaning, childcare.
  • Ideology: Nazi views on race and role of women.
  • Volunteering: Caring for wounded soldiers, collecting for charities.

Impact of the Hitler Youth:
  • Total Indoctrination: Influenced an entire generation's worldview.
  • Decline of Traditional Values: Undermined church and family authority.
  • Wartime Use: By the late war years, many boys were sent to fight, including in the Volkssturm (militia).
  • Post-War Consequences: Many former members had to be denazified and re-educated.