Hitler Youth
By Vicki Sajak
Hitler youth, organized by the Nazi Party, was active from 1922 to 1945. Also known as Hilterjugend in
German (abbreviation HJ), the Hitler Youth groups were as followed: Hitlerjugend proper, for male
youth ages 14–18, Deutsches Jungvolk for ages 10–14, and the girls' section Bund Deutscher Mädel (The
League of German Girls, abbreviated BDM). Millions and millions of boys and girls had joined the Hitler
Youth and were molded into young Nazi’s, and even soldiers. The members of the Hitler Youth were
willing to sacrifice themselves for Hitler. After all, their motto was “Blood and Honor”.
Organization of the Hitler Youth:
The official Hitler youth ceremony began on Hitler’s birthday, April 20 th, in 1936. During
the ceremony, the boys and girls interested recited a Hitler oath and became trial members. “In
the presence of this Blood banner, which represents out Fuhrer, I swear to devote all my
energies and my strength to the savior of our country, Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to
give up my life for him, so help me, God.” After the oath and ceremony, the trail period began
for the boys and girls of Germany. During the trial period, every member had to pass a written
exam to insure they have learned all the Nazi’s ideas about race and politics. They also had to
prove their racial background by having an “Ahnenpass”, a stamped and signed document
proving their racial heritage. Each member had to prove they were healthy and fit. Physical
fitness tests were performed and consisted of running races, throwing baseballs, swimming,
gymnastics, and hiking. Some physically disabled were allowed to join a special branch called
the “Disabled and Infirm Hitler Youth” as long as they pass the racial background tests. Deaf
and blind youth could also join, as along as the “disability”, as they called it, was not inherited.
Mentally handicapped were not allowed to join, and Jewish children were also prohibited (even
if they were half-Jewish). Hermann Rosenau, a half-Jewish boy, had said, “Being an outcast, not
being able to participate when my good friends had become leaders, was depressing.”
The meetings, also known as “Home Evenings: were held in cellars, barns, or empty
buildings. During the meetings, members sang songs, played games, learned slogans, listened
to readings, and read propaganda leaflets. The members were organized as an army, so
commanders did not tolerate originality. Every member had to think and act as one. Boys
trained for military life and girls trained for being good wives and mothers. Every single
member craved action and attention.
At age 14, boys advanced to Hitlerjugend which they would stay in until age 18. In the
Hitlerjugend, military training continued, and merit badges were earned. Girls at the age of 14
advanced to the BDM until the age of 21. Here they participated in sports, nursing, household
training, social work, and air raid training. At the age of 17, girls could choose to join the Faith
and Beauty Hitler youth group. One of Hitler’s mottos was, “The German woman does not
smoke, does not drink, and does not paint herself with makeup.” Here they participated in
dancing, hygiene, and charm. The group was intended to make the girls strong, beautiful, and
independent. Some parents liked the discipline, fitness, pursuit of excellence, and sense of
purpose in their children. Other thought this meant war and some were angry because they
could not afford the group uniforms and dues. The Catholic Church also forbade their young
members to join the Hitler youth. Kenneth Roberts, a visiting American, had said, “Children and
young men no longer loaf on street corners. They no longer roam through towns, hunting for
mischief. They are in uniform, marching with the Hitler Youth. They have no time for cigarettes,
dancing, flasks, lipstick, automobiles, or movies.”
When the Enabling Act was passed by the Nazi-controlled Reichstag, Hitler decided he
wanted to eliminate all other Youth Groups in Germany. He turned to Baldur van Schirach, the
26 year old leader of the Hitler Youth. Schirach got 50 youth members to raid the Berlin
Headquarters of the Committee of German Youth Association on April 3 rd, 1933. The young
members ransacked offices and confiscated rival groups’ personal files. More than 400 political
and/or religious Youth Groups vanished. The Catholic Church then agreed that Catholics could
practice the Nazi’s faith, but forbade certain activities such as wearing uniforms and distributing
journals. Although, if the priest criticized the Nazi party, he would be sent to prison, to a camp,
or even murdered. Throughout the year things got worse and worse. Even Jehovah Witnesses
were rounded up, taken to camps, and killed. Also, if Germans had Jewish friends, Hitler
threatened to take their children away. Then suddenly, on December 1st, 1936, Hitler passed a
mandatory law that every young German aged 10-18 is to join the Hitler Youth. 3 years later,
parents who prevented kids from joining had them taken away. Once again Kenneth Roberts
said, “German youth is Hitler youth. Wherever you go in Germany, you see their mustard
colored uniforms and hear their heavy boots pounding on the cobbles. Clop, clop, clop, clop.”
The Nazi Education:
Germany had many mottos, for example, “German girls wear braids.” Nazi teachers did not
tolerate disagreement or discussion. If one didn’t participate or show enthusiasm for National
Socialism, they might have not graduated. It was important to Hitler that all Germans shared
the same view point of the world. His purpose was to mold children into good Nazi’s. As soon as
the Nazi’s took control of Germany, they took control of public schools. They threw out old
books and gave new ones and also rewrote the curriculum so they only taught Nazi-approved
ideas. The Nazi flag and Hitler’s portrait hung in every classroom, and every class was started by
saying, “Heil Hitler!” Teachers had no choice but to accept the changes. They could either join
the National Socialist Teacher Alliance or leave the school district. At Catholic and Protestant
schools, Nazi’s took down the crucifix and put up Hitler’s portraits. They made the Catholic and
Protestant students pray in a different way, “Adolf Hitler guide us into the new Reich.”
The new Nazi-approved curriculum consisted of racial studies and eugenics. In racial
studies, children were taught that Aryans were a superior master race intended to rule Europe.
In eugenics, children were taught that Aryans should marry only healthy Aryans and were also
taught how to identify Jews by the physical traits. In April 1933, the Nazi law against
overcrowding of German schools was passed. This placed a limit on the number of students
allowed to attend schools. Later, Nazi’s forbade Jews from going to any schools at all. In school,
each Hitler youth boy had a “Party Record Book” where performance and progress was
recorded such as growth, weight, speed, strength, and grades. At age 12, if members held
exemplary books, they were selected to attend one of the three Nazi schools. At ‘Adolf Hitler
Schools’, boys trained in physical exercise, racial science, and loyalty to the Fuhrer. At the
‘National Political Training Institute’ or ‘Napola’, boys got additional military training
emphasizing spirit and duty. After graduating from the Hitler schools or Napola, chosen
students continued training at the ‘Order Castles.’ In the Castles, there was an hour of required
physical training. In 1936, the required hour was changed to three hours. In 1938, it was
changed to 5 hours.
The Nazi’s censored every newspaper, radio broadcast, movie, sermon, and classroom
lesson. Anyone who criticized Hitler or the Nazi Party faced prison or death. Telephone
operators listened to phone conversations and looked over personal letters. Nazi’s forbade
American swing and jazz music, as well as any “un-German” music. Even “un-German” books
were banned and burned, for example on May 10th, 1933, university students and Storm
troopers burned trucks full of banned books. Hitler himself said, “A violently active, dominating,
intrepid, brutal youth – that is what I am after. Youth must be indifferent to pain. There must
be no weakness and tenderness in it.”
Hitler Youth Resistance:
People involved with the Hitler Youth Resistance wanted the right to make their own
decisions and lead their own lives. In 1936 (the same year the youth membership law was
formed) some members got bored and formed outlawed youth groups and gangs. Some gang
names include the Edelweiss Pirates, the Navajos, the Black Gang, and the Lechler Landsturm.
People involved in these groups used nicknames to hide their true identities and met in cafes
and pubs or secret meeting places in the countryside and forests. The members hiked and
camped out on their own, built hideouts, and sang forbidden songs using lyrics and melodies of
their old Hitler Youth songs. The gangs provoked and teased the Hitler youth by stealing their
flags and playing practical jokes on them. They attacked members of “HJ-Steifendiest” during
air raids and blackouts. The gangs often painted anti-Nazi slogans on ruined walls like, “Down
with Hitler!”, “The High Command Lies!”, and “Down with the Nazi Beast!”
A patrol force helped the Gestapo track the outlawed groups by marking large maps
with flags indicating where the groups were. Nazi’s believed gang members deserved brutal
interrogations and jail time. In 1940, a special concentration camp for boys in these gangs
opened in central Germany. That year, 150 resisters were sent to the camp. In 1942, 640
resisters were sent away to the camp. A girl’s camp opened in 1942 in northeaster Germany as
well. The inmates were guarded by police officers, soldiers, and recruited Hitler youth leaders.
They all imposed harsh discipline and compulsory physical exercise, denial of meals, and
corporal punishments. Repeat offenders were often sterilized and homosexuals were usually
executed at these camps. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Gestapo, told police to look out for
rebellious young people who brawled, made mischief, or violated police orders. He warned the
police about youth who ignored German culture and preferred jazz music and swing dance (the
Swing Youth groups). Heinrich ordered the police to put the Swing Youth to concentration
camps and parents who allowed it were to go to the camps as well as get their property
confiscated.
Many Germans listened to foreign radio broadcasts and to avoid getting caught they
would use earphones. These would be only bought from storeowners whom they trusted. The
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was aware and broadcasted news in the German
language. They also reminded German listeners to change the dial to avoid getting caught.
After listening to illegal radio broadcasts and communicating with other parts of Europe, many
resisters would create propaganda leaflets against the Nazi’s and pass them out publically to
the German citizens. In many cases, this resulted in immediate execution.
Hitler’s Boy Soldiers:
After heavy losses in Russia, Nazis realized they needed more power. To accomplish this,
they created an elite teenage division of the Waffen-SS called the 12th SS Panzer Grenadier
Hilterjugend Division (abbreviated SS-HJ). This was composed of Hitler youth members who
were born in 1926 and who met the requirements for height and fitness. Most members held
the Hitler Youth Achievement Medal which was earned because of outstanding performance
during their Hitler Youth days. To recruit Hitler youth boys, they visited the Reich Labor Service
camps. There they picked from among thousands of boys and told them about the joy and
excitement of combat. They promised them they could advance through the ranks and become
officers. The Nazis also recruited boys during Hitler Youth meetings and roll calls, often without
the parents’ consent. SS-HJ were supposed to be volunteers, and most joined willingly, but
others were tricked. Sometimes, SS told boys to sign papers to verify personal info. The naïve
boys then discovered they had signed themselves to the SS. Some boys who refused to join
were threatened with accusation of treason or even execution. In spring of 1943 the SS sent
10,000 recruiters to a training camp near Beverloo, Belgium. The boys trained for 5 months
every day from dawn to midnight. They did many physical activities such as calisthenics, rifle
practice, and fire-coordination drills. The also studied camouflage techniques, lights and heavy
weapons, and basic military tactical problems involved with tank warfare. After training, they
fought stimulation battles with live ammunition.
The commanders in the camps were highly experienced soldiers. Commanders didn’t
allow smoking, drinking, or dating and punishment for leaving the camps was execution. In April
1944 the division had 20,540 teenagers involved and in training to become soldiers. On June 1,
1944, Hitler and the commanders felt the division was ready for action. Germans constructed
reinforced concrete pillboxes that housed machine guns, antiaircraft weapons, and light
artillery all along the English Channel over to the Atlantic Ocean. Under sand and below the surf
they laid minefields. They were confident and thought no allies would dare to go on the
Normandy beaches, but after midnight on June 6th, 1944, Germans received word that allies
were on the Normandy beaches. D-Day had begun and General Witt ordered the SS-HJ to get
ready. Soldiers couldn’t contain their excitement and hurried into their uniforms, gathered
weapons and loaded vehicles with speed and precision much like they did in training. “The
magnificent young grenadiers look at us with laughter in their eyes. They have no fear. They
are confident. They have faith in their strength and the will to fight,” said Commander Kurt
Meyer. The SS-HJ was ordered to march 70 miles to the city of Caen, France. As they marched,
British planes attacked the boys. So much of their time was spent diving for cover. The boy
soldiers fired machine guns at planes but their guns were no match for the allies’ bombers. The
young men reached Caen at 11 at night. They were exhausted but wasted no time. Even when it
meant sacrifice, the boys fought hand to hand, down to the last man. Kurt Meyer commented
on the Battle, “I know every single one of these young grenadiers. The oldest is barely 18. The
boys have not yet learned how to live, but by God they know how to die.”
The allies had the superior number of equipment and after 12 weeks of fighting,
Germany paid a heavy toll. The casualty total was 8,626. 1,951 of those were confirmed dead
and 4,312 were wounded. The rest were either captured of missing. That fall SS-HJ reorganized
their division and was sent to the Ardennes forest in France. On December 16th, 1944, more
than 200,000 soldiers waded through snow and took the American army by surprise during the
“Battle of the Bulge”. By the end of January, 1945, Americans had driven Germans back to their
border. The SS-HJ reorganized once again and was sent to Hungary to slow the Russian army as
it went toward Germany from the east.
To protect home front Hitler created a home land militia called “Volkssturm” or
“People’s Army”. Every available male aged 16 to 60 was drafted so the groups were out of
shape, undisciplined and less than enthusiastic. There was a small group of Hitler youth
engaged in sabotage behind allied lines called “Werewolves”. The werewolves sabotaged army
vehicles, deactivated land mines, and used bombs to blow up vehicles. As Russians closed in,
Hitler’s vowed this would be their worst defeat in Berlin. He rounded up every available man
and boy they could find, even the sick and wounded from hospitals. The next day the massive
Russian army reached Berlin’s northern suburbs. 5 days later Russians surrounded the inner
city. Berlin inhabitants crowded into cellars, subways, or underground bunkers but the Hitler
Youth kept fighting. At around dawn on April 28 the Russian tanks approached. The fighting
lasted two days and two nights. Around 4,500 boys were pronounced dead or wounded and
even Berlin was engulfed in flames. Tens of thousands of people fled the city. War was over and
Hitler knew it. Even his teenage soldier’s couldn’t help him fight off any longer.
After World War II:
On April 30th, 1945, as the Russians advanced to within a few hundred yards of his bunker,
Hitler shot himself. Over the radio the Germans were told Hitler was killed by the head of his
troops in the heroic ‘Battle of Berlin.’ On May 7th, one week after Hitler’s suicide, Germany
surrendered unconditionally to the Americans. Before the last light on May 8 th, Germany’s most
fanatical boy soldiers were prisoners of war.
The Hitler Youth banned by Allies as part of the de-Nazification process. Some Hitler
Youth members were suspected of war crimes but since they were only children, nothing
serious went on to giving them any sentence. The Hitler Youth was never declared a criminal
organization, but its adult leadership was “tainted for corrupting the young minds of young
Germans.” As a result, adult leaders of Hitler Youth were put on trial by the allied authorities.
Baldur von Schirach, the official Hitler Youth leader was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was
convicted of crimes against humanity though, his leadership of the Hitler Youth. German
children born in the 1920s and 1930s became adults during the Cold War. Since membership
was compulsory after 1936, it was neither surprising nor uncommon that many senior leaders
of West and East Germany had been in the Hitler Youth. Many did not get any sentence
because many did not have a choice of joining the group anyway.