nuts and Bolts
What exactly was the criteria and membership like in The Hitler Youth?
When Adolf Hitler came into power in 1933, he brought the Nazi party with him. The Nazi’s goal was to make the youth loyal to Hitler. This targeted group was any boy or girl between the ages of ten and eighteen. The Hitler Youth became very popular in the 1930s, just as the war was stirring. The students went through boot camp, school and helped the war effort. When Adolf Hitler became the German Chancellor in 1933, he created a youth club called The Hitler Youth.
When Adolf Hitler came into power in 1933, he brought the Nazi party with him. The Nazi’s goal was to make the youth loyal to Hitler. This targeted group was any boy or girl between the ages of ten and eighteen. The Hitler Youth became very popular in the 1930s, just as the war was stirring. The students went through boot camp, school and helped the war effort. When Adolf Hitler became the German Chancellor in 1933, he created a youth club called The Hitler Youth.
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was built to preserve the Aryan race and provide knowledge of the Nazi party. First, the NSDAP (The Hitler Youth) was founded in May of 1922, but it was renamed The Hitler Youth on July 4, 1926. Initially, joining the youth group was optional, until the spring of 1939 when it was mandatory for all boys of the ages ten to eighteen. To become a member of The Hitler Youth, boys must meet the four standards: racial purity, no Jewish ancestors, no hereditary disease and no “objective political attitude”. Most kids attended boot camp in order to think and fight like a soldier. In school, kids were educated with the philosophies of Nazi belief. Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, was a textbook in the classroom. “Regardless of whatever create or do, we shall pass away, but in you, Germany will live on,” (History Place, 1). This club enticed the youth to join the Nazi army to fight for Germany.
The League of German Girls
The Bund Deutscher Madel (BDM) was founded in 1930 as a female version of The Hitler Youth. Just like the boy’s youth club, the ages varied between ten to eighteen. This organization taught young ladies how to become a good wife, mother, and homemaker. However, the female version became more popular than boys. During the war, the girls collected money, salvaged old clothes, and accumulated newspapers to aid the world war. Also, they visited somber hospitals filled with wounded soldiers and sent care packages to the front lines. With the Allies approaching, some girls joined the last ditch defence to defend Berlin. According to Martha Todd in My Years in Germany, “young girls from the ages of ten onward were taken into organizations where they were taught two things: to take care of their bodies so they could bear as many children as the state needed and to be loyal to National Socialism,” (Todd). The BDM provided a different kind war effort like comforting the soldiers, cooking and collecting to have a stronger army.
Life After The Hitler Youth
The BDM and The Hitler Youth had two separate paths after they reached the age of eighteen. When a German boy was eighteen, he had to join the Nazi army. However, most of the boys in The Hitler Youth actually fought in the Battle for Berlin. As a result, the German army was enhanced with a larger number of soldiers to fight the Allies. While the boys joined the army, the German girls learned how to be a good wife and to have a healthy baby. According to the History Place, “They were now engaged in a desperate daily struggle for survival,” Both groups were in camps learning how to defend and serve Germany in different ways.
Reflections
After I’ve researched this topic, it made me realize how lucky kids are in America. In WWII, kids in Germany lived a different life. They were reluctantly forced to complete boot camp, study the Nazi belief, and continue to be physically fit. Adolf Hitler was a genius for brainwashing these groups of naive kids to be soldiers, believing in the Nazi ways, and becoming good wives.
Works Cited
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Keeley, Jennifer. Life in the Hitler Youth. San Diego: Lucent, 2000. Print.
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"Hitler Youth Prelude to War." The History Place. The History Place, 1999. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
"Indoctrinating Youth." United States Memorial Holocaust Museum. United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, 20 June 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007820>.
International News. "Hitler Youth." AP Images. AP Images, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 5 May 2015. <http://classic.apimages.com/OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=hitler%20youth&showact=results&sort=creationdatelower%3Aalphabetical&intv=None&sh=14&kw&adte=1430827794&pagez=20&cfas&rids=96f05c51fe084d1584034a2d9313c3fb&dbm=PY2000&page=1&xslt=1&media>.
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Keeley, Jennifer. Life in the Hitler Youth. San Diego: Lucent, 2000. Print.
Lisciotto, Carmelo. "Hitler Youth." Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team. Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team, 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/hitleryouth.html>.
Trueman, Chris. "Hitler Youth Movement." History Learning Site. History Learning Site, 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/hitler_youth.htm>.
Wikipedia. "Bund Deutscher Madel (the League of German Girls)." Jewish Virtual Library. American- Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/BDM.html>.