ten were fighting on the front lines.
Because of the shortage of men, a draft
was conscripted. Any German male
between the ages of sixteen and sixty
were incorporated into the army. This
meant that there were very few older
leaders for the younger HJ. Fifteen
year-old boys would find themselves
commanding 500 troops, many of which
were significantly older.
HJ on the Eastern Front. Koch p. 228
The youth were valiant fighters; many times fighting until the division was no more.
Inadequate ammunition also took its toll on the young warriors. One group was told to
attack Soviet tanks with Anti-tank mines that were supposed to stick to the Soviet armor.
The mines did not stick so the youth ran along side the tanks, holding the mines to the tank,
until they were both blown apart. (xxvi)
Youth Activities after the War
The youth disbanded after the war. They no longer wore the showy costumes or
paraded through the streets. The days of playing war games and hiking in the woods were
over. The youth had to face the reality of what they had done. A quote from Rilke, a
World War II historian, sums up the feelings after the war, “Who talks of victory? To
endure is all”. (xxvii)
The youth lacked basic educational skills. In the Nazi schools they were taught Nazi
ideology. Reading, writing and grammar skills were not emphasized as much as being able
to understand strategies, anti-Semitism, or propaganda. The youth experienced things they
would only have read about in books, so they felt the idea of going back to school was kind
of ridiculous. Even though they felt this way they knew they had to learn. An American
professor visiting at Marburg University noticed the determination:
To me and my colleagues these young men and women displayed unusual intellectual
earnestness, characterized by a deep understanding of the problems of the time and by a
burning desire to acquire reliable knowledge and instruction and information about the
methods of scientific work. (xxviii)
A few members of the Nazi Youth gathered in 1946 to reminisce about the past and
former friends. They each knew of only a few other Nazi Youth, so they decided to invite
them all to their meeting place. The others met with them and there was a surprising air of
camaraderie. All differences were forgotten; they had all lived through the Nazi era. (xxix)
The idea of re-creating the youth was never brought up. The comrades figured that the
new generation could start up an organization if they wanted. The new generation
eventually did start their own organization, one that was just as fulfilling to them as the
previous movement had been for the Hitler Youth. This time a sinister man named Hitler
did not control their destinies, futures, or fears; the youth controlled their own lives.
Back to Top
Hitler Youth Links
German Boys giving a salute and Hither Youth throwing mock grenades
Hitler Youth Recruting Poster and German boys saluting
Hitler Youth in a Parade past Striecher
Another Paper on the HJ by John S. Massingill
Back to Top
Endnotes
(i) Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Vol. 1 ch 7 Means Used by the Nazi Conspirators in
Gaining Control of the German State,
http//www1.ca.Nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-07-means-45.html online 2/11/98.
(ii) Peter D. Stachura, The German Youth Movement 1900-1945, (New York: St. Martin?s
Press, 1981) Page 2.
(iii) Peter D. Stachura, Nazi Youth in the Weimar Republic, (Oxford: Clio Books, England:
1975), Page 2.
(iv) Ibid.
(v) Stachura, The German Youth Movement 1900-1945, 22.
(vi) Stachura, Nazi Youth in the Weimar Republic, 22-23.
(vii) Col. John R. Elting and William Sheridan Allen ed., The Third Reich: The New Order,
(Alexandria, Virginia: Time Life Books, 1989) Page 135.
(viii) Louis L. Snyder, ed., Hitler?s Third Reich: A Documentary History, (Chicago: Nelson
Hall, 1981) Page 46.
(ix) William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, (New York: Simon and Schuster,
1960) Page253.
(x) Lawrence D. Walker, Hitler Youth and Catholic Youth, (Washington D. C.: The Catholic
University of America Press, 1970) Page 160-161.
(xi) Shirer, 253.
(xii) Fritz Brennecke, comp. & Ed. The Nazi Primer, (New York: Harper and Brothers
Publishers,1966) Page 15.
(xiii) Ibid. 13-35.
(xiv) Klaus P. Fischer, Nazi Germany: Anew History, (New York: Continuum, 1995), Page
347.
(xv) Shirer, 253.
(xvi) Nazi Conspiracy and AggressionVol. 1, ch 7 Means Used by the Nazi Conspirators in
Gaining Control of the German State,
http://www1.ca.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-07-means-46.html. Online 2/11/98.
(xvii) Shirer, 253.
(xviii) Ibid.
(xix) Shirer, 254.
(xx) Detter J. K. Peukert, “Life in the Third Reich: Young People for or Against the Nazis?”
History Today, Oct. 1995. v. 35 page 18.
(xxi) Ibid. 22.
(xxii) Russel Miller, World War II: The Resistance (Alexandria, Virginia: Time Life Books,
1979) Page 94.
(xxiii) Gerald Simons, World War II: Victory in Europe, (Morristown, New Jersey: Time Life
Books, 1982) Page 38.
(xxiv) H. W. Koch, The Hitler Youth: Origins and Developments 1922-45, (New York: Stein
and Day, 1975) Page 233.
(xxv) Simons, 61.
(xxvi) Hans Dollinger, The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany, (New York: Bonanza Books,
1967) Page 78.
(xxvii) Walter Z. Laquer, Young Germany: A History of the German Youth Movement, (New
York: Basic Books Publishing Co. Inc., 1962) Page 216.
(xxviii) Koch, 255.
(xxix) Laquer, 216.
Works Consulted
Brennecke, Fritz, comp. & Ed. The Nazi Primer. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers
,1966.
Constable, George, ed. The Third Reich: The New Order. Time Life Books. Alexandria,
Virginia, 1989.
Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany. New York: Bonanza Books, 1967.
Fischer , Klaus P. Nazi Germany: A New History. New York: Continuum Publishing Company,
1995.
Koch, H. W. The Hitler Youth: Origins and Development 1922-45. New York: Stein and Day,
1975.
Laquer, Walter Z. Young Germany: A History of the German Youth Movement. New York:
Basic Books
Publishing Co. Inc., 162.
Miller, Russel. World War II: The Resistance. Time Life Books. Alexandria, Virginia, 1979.
Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Vol. 1 ch 7 Means Used by the Nazi Conspirators in Gaining
Control of
the German State, http//www1.ca.Nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-07-means-45.html
online 2/11/98.
Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Vol. 1, ch 7 Means Used by the Nazi Conspirators in Gaining
Control of
the German State, http://www1.ca.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-07-means-46.html.
Online 2/11/98.
Peukert, Detter J. K. “Life in the Third Reich: Young People for or Against the Nazis?” History
Today
October 1995. V. 35.
Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959.
Simons, Gerald. World War II: Victory in Europe,. Morristown, New Jersey: Time Life Books,
1982.
Snyder, Louis L., ed., Hitler?s Third Reich: A Documentary History. Chicago: Nelson Hall,
1981
Stachura, Peter D. The German Youth Movement 1900-1945. New York: St Martin?s Press,
1981.
Stachura, Peter D. Nazi Youth in the Weimar Republic. Oxford: Clio Books, 1975.
Walker, Lawrence D. Hitler Youth and Catholic Youth. Washington D.C.: The Catholic
University of
America Press, 1970.