1) Why was it so popular?
2) What happened to education in Nazi Germany?
And how did it affect the German youth?
Cheering young women of the Hitler Youth, mid 1930s
These enthusiastic young women are members of the League of German Maidens. It is in
the mid-1930s and they are cheering Hitler wildly. The BDM was part of the Hitler Youth
Movement.
1.
2.
3.
What words would you use to describe the appearance and emotions of these young women?
They are cheering Hitler. Why might they feel so strongly and positively about him?
What would you like to know about this photography before deciding how valid it is as historical evidence?
Inge Scholl
remembers her days
in the Hitler Youth
1.
2.
Make a list of all the things the
Inge loved or was proud of.
Note Inge’s choice of words.
Which words referring to
gender would be criticised as
being ‘politically incorrect’
these days? Would it be fair to
accuse Inge of being
‘politically incorrect’ or is
there a reason for her use of
words?
For we loved our homeland very much – the woods, the great river, and the
old gray retaining walls that rose on the steep slopes between groves of
fruit trees and vineyards. We were reminded of the smell of moss, of
soft earth and spicy apples, when we thought of our homeland. And
every square foot of it was well known and very clear to us.
Fatherland – what else was it but the greatest homeland of all who spoke
the same language and belonged to the same people! … And Hitler, as
we heard everywhere, Hitler wanted to bring greatness, happiness, and
wellbeing to this Fatherland; he wanted to see to it that everyone had
work and bread; he would not rest or relax until every single German
was an independent, free and happy man in his Fatherland.
We found this good, and in whatever might come to pass we were
determined to help to the best of our ability. But there was yet one
more thing that attracted us with a mysterious force and pulled us
along – namely, the compact columns of marching youths with waving
flags, eyes looking straight ahead, and the beat of drums and singing.
Was it not overwhelming, this fellowship? Thus it was no wonder that
all of us – Hans and Sophie and the rest of us – joined the Hitler Youth.
Inge Scholl 1961, Die Weisse Rose
Hitler Addresses the Hitler Youth 1935
German Youth!
The ideal of manhood has not always been the same
even for our own people. There were times…when
the ideal of the young man was the chap who
could hold his beer and was good for a drink. But
now his day is past and we like to see not the man
who can hold his drink, but the young man who
can stand all weathers, the hardened young man.
Because what matters is not how many glasses of
beer he can drink, but how many blows he can
stand; not how many nights he can spend on the
spree, but how many kilometres he can march.
We no longer see in the boorish beer-drinker the
ideal of the German people: we find it in men and
girls who are sound to the core, and sturdy.
What we look for from our German youth is different
from what people wanted in the past. In our eyes
the German youth of the future must be slim and
slender, swift as the greyhound, tough as leather,
and hard as Krupp steel. We must educate a new
type of man so that our people is not ruined by the
symptoms of degeneracy of our day.
15 September 1935
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are the characteristics that Hitler
does not approve of?
What might he mean by ‘the symptoms
of degeneracy of our day’?
What are the qualities that Hitler
admires?
Why might Hitler want young people to
have the qualities he admires?
Hitler Youth
Posters
1.
2.
What words would
you use to describe
the young men in
these posters?
What do you think
these images suggest
to people about the
Hitler Youth?
Hitler Youth
Posters
What differences do
you notice between
the male youth
posters and the
female youth
posters?
2. Why do you think
these differences
have occurred?
1.
A typical day in a
Hitler Youth camp
Given the list of daily
activities, what seemed to
be the aims of camps like
these?
2. Why might many young
Germans have liked such a
daily program?
3. For what reasons might
some young German
people not have liked
going to a camp with such
a program?
1.
6am
6.05-6.20
6.20-6.40
6.40-6.55
7.00
7.30-2.30
2.30-3.00
3.00-4.00
4.00-5.00
5.00-6.00
6.00-7.00
7.00
8.00-9.00
10.00
Get up (5am in summer)
Exercises
Washing, bed making
Breakfast
Flag parade, speech by camp leader
March to work, six hours farm work
Mid day meal
Rest, on beds
Sport
Political instruction
Tasks for following day, general instructions
Supper
Recreation – songs, speeches, dancing
Lights out
R. Brady 1937, The Spirit and Structure of German Fascism
Education in Nazi Germany
Ilse McKee recalls her school life in Nazi Germany:
Every subject was now presented from the National Socialist point of view. Most of the old lecture books
were replaced by new ones which had been written, compiled, and censored by government officials.
Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf became the textbook for our history lessons. We read and discussed it
with our master, chapter by chapter, and when we had finished we started again from the beginning.
Even though we were supposed to know the contents of the book almost by heart, nothing much ever
stuck in my mind. I hated politics and distrusted politicians, but I thought, as most people did, that
Hitler was far above intrigue and treachery and would prove to be the saviour that Germany
needed…A new subject, the science of the races was introduced, and religious instruction became
optional.
Our school had always been run on very conservative lines and I am sure the situation was difficult for
our teachers. Most of them had been doubtful about Hitler, but unless they wanted to lose their jobs
they had to make a violent turn in his direction. Even if they sympathized with my attitude towards
politics, they could not afford to let me get away with it. The Government was probing into the past
history of every teacher, exploring his political background. Many were dismissed and it was
dangerous to act as anything but a National Socialist.
1.
2.
According to Ilse, what were some of the features of the school curriculum?
What problems did teachers encounter?
Education in Nazi Germany
Dr Rust tells teachers what to teach, January 1935:
Teachers are directed to instruct their pupils in ‘the nature, causes and effects of all racial and hereditary
problems’, to bring home to them the importance of race and heredity for the life and destiny of the
German people, and to awaken in them a sense of their responsibility toward ‘the community of the
nation’ (their ancestors, the present generation, and posterity), pride in their membership in the
German race as a foremost vehicle of hereditary Nordic values, and the will consciously to cooperate
in the racial purification of the German stock.
Racial instruction is to begin with the youngest pupils (six years of age) in accordance with the desire of
the Fuhrer that ‘no boy or girl should leave school without complete knowledge of the necessity and
meaning of blood purity’.
World history is to be portrayed as the history of racially-determined peoples. The racial idea leads to
the rejection of democracy or other ‘equalizing tendencies’ (specified as pan-Europa or international
civilisation) and strengthens understanding of the ‘leadership idea’.
1.
2.
What is the basic message being given to teachers by Dr Rust?
How valid do you think Hitler’s claim is that the German people possessed ‘blood purity’?
A German father describes a question his
child had to answer at school.
 ‘A plane on take off carries 12 bombs, each weighing ten
kilos. The aircraft makes for Warsaw , the centre of
international Jewry. It bombs the town. On take off with all
bombs on board and a fuel tank containing 1500 kilos of fuel
the aircraft weighed 8 tonnes. When it returned from the
crusade, there were still 230 tonnes of fuel left. What is the
weight of the aircraft when empty?’
 1. Do you think this is an effective Maths question?
Why/why not
 2. Are there any hidden messages in this maths question?
Here, a German newspaper (controlled by the
Nazis) describes the school curriculum in 1939.
 All subjects - German language, History, Geography,
Chemistry and Mathematics - must concentrate on
military subjects, the glorification of military service
and of German heroes and leaders and the strength of
a rebuilt Germany . Chemistry will develop a
knowledge of chemical warfare, explosives, etc, while
Mathematics will help the young to understand
artillery, calculations, ballistics.
1. How might this influence the way a student thinks?
Comparison
 What are the similarities and differences between
education in Germany during Hitler’s reign and
education in Australia today?
 What are some of the benefits of Australian
education?
 What are some of the negatives of German education?
 How did Hitler use education to his benefit?