Inside the Disturbing Reality of Life in the Hitler Youth

When the National Socialist German Workers Party assumed control of Germany, it immediately set out to spread its influence into every aspect of German society. And the lives of German children were no exception. And what better way to get kids excited about fascism than by turning it into a fun summer camp? So today, we're going to take a look at what it was like to be in the Hitler youth. OK, get ready for the worst after-school program in history. In 1933, hundreds of thousands of German children were already enrolled in youth organizations like the Boy Scouts. In fact, German society under the Weimar Republic had a rich tradition of youth groups, both religious and political in nature, dating back to before World War I. The Youth League of the Nazi Party was actually founded as early as 1922. It was allegedly disbanded after Hitler's failed 1922 coup, known as the Beer Hall Putsch, presumably sung to the tune of Ballroom Blitz. But in reality, the organization had just gone underground, which is the best place to go if you don't want anyone to know what you're up to. Rebranded with a super catchy name, Hitler Youth League of German Worker Youth in July of 1926, the group boasted 25,000 members by 1930. Hey, that's a lot of German worker youth. These members were boys aged 14 to 18, but eventually a separate section with the equally catchy name German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth was added for boys aged 10 to 14. Also looking to leave their mark on young girls, the Young Girls League for girls aged 10 to 14 was created, as well as the similarly named the League of German Girls for girls aged 14 to 18. Still with me? Good. Apparently, the strategy of appealing to kids by making everything as confusing as possible is a tale as old as time. In 1931, Hitler placed a guy named Baldur von Schirach in charge of the whole youth program. By the time Hitler came to power in January of 1933, Schirach had swelled the membership to around 100,000 children. By the end of that year, the Hitler Youth would include over 2 million members. A full 30% of German youths aged 10 to 18. Like Whitney Houston, Hitler believed that children were the future. So the purpose of the Hitler Youth was to indoctrinate those children into fascist ideology before they had a chance to learn anything else. As future party members, parents, and soldiers, German children were considered essential to the survival of the Volksgemeinschaft, or people's community. When it came to these youth groups, the name of the game was conformity. Members of the Hitler Youth were all taught the same songs, outfitted in the same uniforms, and forced to participate in the same activities. Members had to attend all sorts of meetings and events that were specifically designed to overwhelm other cultural priorities, like attending school or even church. Most importantly, the busy schedule also kept children away from the influence of their parents, many of whom were not down with Germany's new agenda. And when you're a kid of a certain age, a secret club your parents aren't allowed to know about would be appealing, even if it were run by actual spiders. Which wasn't that far from the truth in this case. Hitler himself placed a great deal of importance on the youth programs. As a result, the Hitler Youth were often in attendance at party rallies and marches, including the famous annual Nuremberg rallies. In fact, Leni Riefenstahl's famous propaganda film, Triumph of the Will, contains footage of Hitler speaking with members of the youth programs during a 1934 rally at Nuremberg. And in September of 1935, he addressed 50,000 Hitler Youth members at Nuremberg, telling them his ideal Hitler Youth subject would be swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as cropped steel, a description taken directly from his 1925 manifesto, Mein Kampf, also a ringing endorsement for a cropped steel. Membership in a youth group was purely voluntary. That is, until 1936, when all children in Germany were required by law to join up. Not coincidentally, that was the same year the government banned all other competing youth organizations, including the Boy Scouts. In the absence of competition, the Hitler Youth was easily able to co-opt many pre-existing scouting traditions and activities. Most units met once during the week and again on the weekends. The boys participated in hikes, arts and crafts, sing-alongs, and camping trips, where they would tell stories around a fire. One former member recalled enjoying a test of courage in which the boys had to jump from a high diving board. Those that completed the test were awarded a dagger inscribed with the words blood and honor, which is a bit intense for what essentially was a high dive merit badge. But Hitler wasn't exactly known for his chill. Meanwhile, the girls groups taught young women how to take care of their homes and families through activities including sewing, farming, cooking, nursing, and singing, as well as things like winter coat drives and gymnastics. The girls were also encouraged to keep their bodies in good shape so they could attract a mate and eventually bear racially pure children to be the next generation of Germany. It sounds pretty bleak, but it was all so normalized that the children didn't realize the group's insidious purpose. They would later recall their time in the Hitler Youth fondly, just like a class trip to Disney World chaperoned by Dracula. As the war went on, members of the Hitler Youth were fed increasing amounts of propaganda glorifying Hitler. And the boys group became increasingly militaristic. According to a 1941 report in Time magazine, mathematics is taught in terms of bullet trajectories, range finding, sextant reading, aerodynamics. Members of the youth group were increasingly used to aid stormtroopers as they carried out their atrocities. There were no more camping trips and singalongs. Instead, the Hitler Youth were used for activities like raiding Jewish synagogues, destroying holy texts, and forcing Jews to clean pavement with toothbrushes. In other words, things escalated quickly. There was a ton of pressure on youngsters to join the Hitler Youth. But some still refused for a variety of reasons, including politics, religion, or just good old fashioned teenage rebellion. Those rebels took their own groups underground, and some even fought back. Many of these illegal groups included both boys and girls and allowed for different gender roles than the Hitler Youth did. Each of these rebel groups had their own personalities. For example, the Edelweiss Pirates wrote anti-Nazi graffiti on walls, helped facilitate the black market, and sometimes even directly attacked the Hitler Youth, working to sabotage their activities. Meanwhile, the Leipzig Mojten rooted their rebellious activities in deeply held communist beliefs. And the Swing Kids, who were the subjects of a 1993 film starring Christian Bale, wore their hair long, dressed in American and British styles, listened to jazz, and, of course, engaged in swing dancing. Teens would revisit this form of rebellion in the late 90s, only to discover that the cherry-popping daddies weren't as edgy without the looming threat of Nazi occupation. Scout groups outside of Germany fought back as well. In France, a troop of Boy Scouts saved 40 Jewish children from deportation. And in Poland, a group of Scouts resisted the Germans in Auschwitz and ultimately escaped the camp. All of these rebel youth groups, both in Germany and other countries, faced the very real risk of arrest and imprisonment in concentration camps. Many were even executed. Over time, it became increasingly clear the goal of the Hitler Youth was to create more soldiers for the Third Reich. Starting in 1943, all boys were forced to serve in the military starting at 17. Having spent their childhood absorbing the Führer's ideology, these kids made for some wildly fanatical and highly obedient soldiers. Around this time, the SS formed a special division from Hitler Youth members born in the year 1926. This division of teenagers was first sent to France, where it was instrumental in events like the Ardennes Abbey Massacre of Canadian POWs and the Ask elimination of French resistance fighters. Others directly fought Allied troops in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. By 1945, when it was becoming apparent that the war was a lost cause for Germany, they began pulling even younger Hitler Youth members out of school and sending boys as young as 15 to the front. These boys were asked to carry out suicide missions. And anyone who refused was immediately eliminated. It turns out Hitler did not accept notes from anyone's parents excusing their absence. Despite this treatment, Hitler continued to tout the great importance of the youth. On April 20, 1945, he was filmed in front of a bunker with 19 members of the Hitler Youth. The boys proudly displayed iron crosses pinned to their chests as the Fuhrer told them, despite the gravity of these times, I remain firmly convinced that we will achieve victory in this battle, and above all for Germany's youth and you, my boys. 10 days later, he would off himself inside that very bunker. Wonder if he gave himself a merit badge. After the war was over, the SS was declared a criminal organization, and its members were targeted for arrest. Former Hitler Youth leader, Baldur von Schirach, was among the first Reich leaders tried at Nuremberg for crimes against peace, humanity, and defenseless civilians. He served 20 years at Spandau Prison, was released in 1966, and passed away in 1974. The Hitler Youth themselves were treated with kid gloves, pun intended. Whether or not it was true, the Allies thought of the Hitler Youth as misled youngsters, so members weren't prosecuted. That being said, Allied soldiers made a habit of taking captured members of the Hitler Youth to see the liberated camps in the aftermath of the atrocities that had been committed within. Those who weren't near the camps were made to watch disturbing footage of them, and some members were even forced to bury the remains of the camp's victims, which sounds pretty harsh, because it was. But it was important to try and replace their happy memories of their time in the Hitler Youth with the reality of what had occurred in the camps. Others used the skills they learned to scavenge and survive in the battle-torn landscape of post-war Germany. In 1945, school attendance was declared compulsory, in part just to get the former Hitler Youth off the streets. After Germany was divided, East Germany fell under the control of Soviet Russia. Remnants of the Hitler Youth were rebranded as the Free German Youth and began marching under Soviet Unity Party banners and pictures of Joseph Stalin. Did those guys not learn a lesson? Eh, maybe they just said a thing for father figures with mustaches. The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls were outlawed, but the damage had already been done. Millions of German children had already spent their formative years being shaped by Hitler's youth organizations. The groups are widely considered one of the most chilling aspects of the era, but their legacy still has an outsized impact on 20th century Germany. In fact, during the Cold War era, many senior leaders of both East and West Germany were former members of the Hitler Youth. It wouldn't be until after the reunification of Germany in 1990 that the era of mandatory participation in state-sponsored political youth groups would finally come to an end.