'The film Swing Kids provides many indications as to the reasons that the Youth in Germany both feared and revered the Nazis.'
The film Swing Kids, directed by Thomas Carter, is set in Germany just before the outbreak of World War II. The story focuses on a group of friends, Peter, Thomas, and Arvid, all who share a passion for the underground movement of swing music. Swing music was seen as symbol of rebellion among the youth of Germany at the time because it was heavily frowned upon by the Nazis. The Nazis believed that German people who listened to a type of music created by African Americans and widely played by Jewish people were traitors to their country. This was due to the Nazis adoption of the Aryan ideal of the ‘super race’ which meant you must have had at least three generations free of non Aryan heritage. Those who opposed the ideal and those who did not fit in with it were considered impure and detrimental to the rise of Germany. The Aryan ideal was tied into the extreme anti semitism shown to the Jewish people, who were used as scapegoats by the Nazis for Germany’s problems and their downfall after after World War I. The Nazis hold over Germany relied on people obeying them unquestioningly, whether through fear or reverence. Many people simply followed the Nazi policies to stay out of trouble and avoid persecution, whether the agreed with the policies they were following or not because the need for security was more important to people. The film Swing Kids indicates examples of how the youth in Germany both worshipped the Nazis and feared them. Those searching for power admired them and wanted to be part of the movement, and those who were possible targets of the Nazis lived in fear of them.
The Aryan ideal was th...
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...suicide, unable to deal with the fear of punishment from the Nazis.
I feel the unprecedented rise of the Nazi party was partially due to the circumstances in Germany after the collapse of the Weimar Republic. Many people in Germany were living in crippling poverty and the strain of the and the country was trying to find stability after World War. Moreover, many people were still angry about the way Germany was treated by the allies in the treaty of Versailles. Hitler and his Nazis seized the opportunity and presented a united and organised front that promised to make Germany a great and powerful nation once more. By blaming Jewish people and other sections of society as for all the country’s problems Hitler united the Germans by giving them someone to blame. This lead to the youth of Germany being caught in the middle of following the Nazi cause or opposing it.
The life of a child in the 1930-1940 was not an easy life not if you were a Nazi, not if you were Jewish. These Children lost their childhood because of a war. Their shattered childhood creates stories that seem horrific to us today. Life as a child growing up in a Nazi family is probably easier than dealing with the problems that the Jewish children have. However, every Nazi child had to sign up for the Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth was an organization to discipline young minds and preach to them about anti semitism. Hitler Youth was one of the largest youth groups in Europe at the time if parents did not have their children in it they would face fines or have charges of imprisonment. The Nazi regime brainwashed the kids, they made them aggressive and intolerable. In the group there was even a small ‘Gestapo’ that would make sure all the children were doing the correct task if not the ‘Gestapo’ would report this. This shows how much power the children were given. During the 1940s more boys were recruited to join the army or guard concentration camps and ghettos. When the allied forces surrounded Germany the Nazi’s decided everyone of he age of fifteen and above would have to fight the war. They would be given rigorous training,
The Youth was an important asset to Hitler’s as they would complete his 1,000 year and help the Nazis last forever. Kids were taught what Hitler wanted them to know and not what he wanted them to know so once after a few generations,
From these films it has become clear to me that the 1960’s was a time of massive political and social upheaval, from the Hippie movement in the USA, to the student protests and the formation of the RAF in Germany. With the wave of young educated people that the baby boom created and the anger they held against their parents for racism, sexism, oppression, and a refusal to talk about the past it is no surprise to me that, there was a call for change. As Ulrike Meinhof said “I really don’t see the difference between the terrorism of the police that we have already experienced in Berlin and are threatened with now and the storm trooper terror of the Thirties” I think this quote sums up the feelings of the youth in Germany in the 60’s and this feeling of terror is carried well throughout the film The Baader Me...
Karin Lipson “The Young Germans Who Stood Up to the Nazis” The New York Times March 29 2013. April 11 2014.
In Swing Kids, one follows the lives of a few so called “Swing-Boys,” as they dance to a type of music (i.e. Swing) banned by the Nazi’s. Later on one sees these boys join the Hilterjugend, which is an academy where young boys are trained to be a police force and to follow the polices set by the Führer. This trained paramilitary force exhibits the characteristic excessive use of force when they raid a popular dancing club in the ending. In this scene, the members of ...
"The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel.( Hitler)” Adolf Hitler is an iconic figure for World War II, his influence and power were for reading and best be seen through the youth of Germany who he so effectively influenced. Growing up, Hitler had many trials and tribulations, and influenced how he saw the importance of youth . The Hitler youth movement was seen as important as a child going to school. Because Hitler believed that the future of Nazi Germany was its children, he sought to shape the minds of German children through propaganda, education, and youth groups.
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. "The Bloody Handprint." Introduction. Hitler Youth Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction, 2005. 9-15. Print.
These ideas all correlate with how we view World War II history and how Inglourious Basterds muddles our previous thoughts on how these events occurred. Many Americans have watered down the depiction of Jewish oppression during Nazi reign to swiftly round up concentration camps. What Quentin Tarantino and the Jewish film community wanted to illustrate through this film is how this is an incorrect overgeneralization. Inglourious Basterds illustrates more realistic Jewish life during Nazi reign and the constant terror they faced. This oppression was far more personal, intimate, and cordial yet brutal altercations invoked through self-defense and hatred.
another factor possibly could be the economic collapse of germany during the great depression and the lack of support the Weimar republic showed. It was unable to deal with Germanys problems and this set Hitler in an ideal position to rise to power. The nazi party became more and more popular and by 1932 they had 230 seats in the Reichstag. Hitler's opportunity to do a political deal came about during the great depression when there was a collapse of trade and the death of stresseman. The people of germany were desperate due to the increasing rate of unemployment and the increasing political instability: they were desperate and needed a strong government.
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Hitler Youth [growing up in Hitler's Shadow]. New York: Random House/Listening Library, 2006. Print.
Director Mark Herman presents a narrative film that attests to the brutal, thought-provoking Nazi regime, in war-torn Europe. It is obvious that with Herman’s relatively clean representation of this era, he felt it was most important to resonate with the audience in a profound and philosophical manner rather than in a ruthlessness infuriating way. Despite scenes that are more graphic than others, the films objective was not to recap on the awful brutality that took place in camps such as the one in the movie. The audience’s focus was meant to be on the experience and life of a fun-loving German boy named Bruno. Surrounding this eight-year-old boy was conspicuous Nazi influences. Bruno is just an example of a young child among many others oblivious of buildings draped in flags, and Jewis...
“We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started” (Henry Ward Beecher). Peter Muller, the main character in the film Swing Kids, directed by Thomas Carter, is an exemplary human by this measure. Swing Kids explores how the Nazi powers in World War II Germany force teenagers to make decisions between right and easy. Three friends whose hobbies include listening to swing music and practicing American slang are torn apart over the Hitler Youth Group (HJ’s). While debating over the morality of his father, Peter changes from a gentle caring friend and son to facing internal conflict about whether or not to obey the Nazis, until he has epiphanies about the actions of
The failure of the Weimar republic and the rise of Nazism in Germany is more readily explained by World War 1 and its aftermath. After the war, Germany endured severe hyperinflation then unemployment. This, combined with the population’s anger against the government for Germany’s defeat in World War 1 and the reparation payments that followed, created conditions conducive to ultranationalist forces to enter the government. Promises of a fight against the harsh conditions of the Treaty of Versailles and a return to prewar glory would certainly prove enticing for voters. After gaining entry into the government, it was not difficult for the Nazis to take over a republic saddled with economic issues and popular discontent.
The Nazis were these common men, the functionaries as described by Primo Levi, blindly following and believing without thinking for themselves. This blind obedience was a large factor in making the holocaust possible. Both Louis Lowry and Mark Herman explore the theme of Jewish persecution in their stories. However, Number The Stars and Boy in Striped Pyjamas take different approaches towards this theme.
As time goes on, history has a way of getting distorted from its most truthful form. Time causes people to drift away from accuracy and become more interested in what they want to remember. Hollywood has a reputation of creating films that cater more to the average viewer, rather than the history buff. Inglorious Basterds, by Quentin Taratino, take very liberal liberty with a history story, and creates a story that will sell to the crowd. This may seem dubious, but it is often not such a bad thing. Hollywood can take a story that may have one connotation, may it be serious or dreary, and turn it into something that evokes different emotions, will still addressing historical issues or topics. Taratino chooses to film a movie of this type because of the way he can portray a very serious topic in way that no one has before. He picks the topic of World War II and the Nazi’s, but does not take the generic portrayal of it. Many previous movies of this subject have been released either show heroic American that battle insurmountable odds, or forsaken Jews that fight threw the worst. While it may seem dark to make a movie that takes a serious subject so lightly, it is part of the process of history. As it becomes more and more distant in time, there is less and less truth and seriousness put into it. It is seen in many other Hollywood movies, such as The Patriot (2000), 300 (2007), Braveheart (1995), and Django Unchained (2012). The interesting thing in many of the movies like these, is the enemy is often portrayed in an extremely negative, almost so extreme, they could be compared to the Nazis. Hollywood uses that Nazis as the level setter for enemies, it does not get worse than them. It is interesting to see how Taratino portrays the ...