How Did Hitler Dominate German Youth

Youth are a crucial force in any society. German Youth of the 1930s were a new generation that would share the vision of a new and prosperous Germany. A group seen as ready for change and therefore vulnerable to the visions and ideology of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. An inquiry into how Hitler and the Nazi Party gained power over youth will investigate the reasons why Hitler sought to control his chosen German youth, the methods used to control the youth and the effects of the Hitler Youth program. An assessment of this youth program will reveal that Hitler and the Nazi Party targeted German youth, for their future plans and through saturation, suggestion and separation; the majority of German youth adopted not only Hitler, but the Nazi

ideology and views. This would be so effective, that the majority of youth would actively obey without question.

Evidence would suggest that Adolf Hitler had many reasons to gain control of the German youth. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, youth groups were already set up, however Hitler and the Nazi Party quickly gained control over the youth organizations except for those connected to the Catholic Church. (Whitfield and Waller, 2009) By controlling the youth groups, Hitler could control majority of the German youth and instill the Nazi ideology into them. As stated by Adolf Hitler, "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”. (cited by history educator Chris Trueman, 2000) This can be corroborated by a primary source showing young boys participating in strenuous activities as part of their daily physical training enforced by Adolf Hitler. (See appendix, figure D) The Nazi Youth groups included the Little Fellows, the German Young People, the Hitler Youth, the Young Maidens and the League of German Maidens. (Wheeler, 2000) “In short, the Nazis aimed at nothing less than the creation of a new German man and a new German woman. The starting point for this experiment in social engineering was Germany’s youth.” (Whitfield and Waller, 2009) This can be corroborated by Histclo.com, 1998 which states “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the Future!” – Adolf Hitler. Clare, 2015 can also corroborate with a quote from Adolf Hitler, “When an opponent declares, ‘I will not come over to your side,’ I calmly say, ‘Your child belongs to us already…What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.” This quote implies how important the youth were to Hitler’s plans for Germany as the youth were a whole generation that was easily influenced. Adolf Hitler had many plans for the German youth, which included creating a ‘master race’ and an army of dedicated Nazi soldiers that were obedient, loyal and ready to fight for their country.

Hitler and the Nazi Party used methods such as saturation, suggestion and separation to gain control over the German youth. Education in particular, both at school and at “Hitler Youth” in its various forms, was used to teach the youth: activism (involvement), physical training, Nazi ideology, especially nationalism (devotion to Germany) and racial concepts also absolute obedience to Hitler and the Nazi Party. (Histclo.com, 1998) The school curriculum was adapted under the Nazis, saturated with Nazi ideology. The youth were taught that Aryans were superior to other races i.e. Jews. As recounted in ‘Nazi Germany, 1930-1939’, “Boys and girls were taught how to measure each others skulls to determine their race.” (Waugh, 2007) Textbooks written for youth, were biased in Nazi ideology and psychology. Elevating Nazi ideas and suggesting inferiority of others. To substantiate this conclusion, Steve Waugh who was a history teacher for over 35 years and has also written many history textbooks, cites examples such as these in “Nazi Germany, 1930-1939”. “The Jews are aliens in Germany. In 1933 there were 66,060,000 inhabitants of the German Reich of whom 499,862 were Jews. What is the percentage of aliens in Germany?” (Waugh, 2007; p.86) Hitler and the Nazi Party drilled all of the Nazi concepts into the German youth until it became their way of thinking, this was done through saturation of Nazi ideology, separation from family and suggestion. Historian John Clare can corroborate this as he states, “The key here is to understand that the Nazi state affected different people in different ways. For the majority of people, in fact, life was good - that is why they turned a blind eye to the fact that - for groups which were not accepted by the Nazi state - life was horrific.” (Johndclare.net, 2015) Education saturation and suggestion were key methods used in gaining control of the majority of youth.

The youth were effected in many different ways as a result of the methods Adolf Hitler used to control them. As evidenced, “Hitler believed tough physical training would instill confidence and that ‘this self-confidence must be instilled from childhood into every German. His entire education and training must be designed to convince him of his absolute superiority over others.’ Hitler viewed education as a means of raising nationalist enthusiasm in German boys while teaching them to be ready to sacrifice themselves for the Fatherland.” (Historyplace.com, 1999) The previous statement can be supported by a propaganda poster (See Appendix Figure A) The poster depicts a young Aryan boy looking up to Adolf Hitler with pride and devotion. It encourages young boys to join and serve Hitler and the Nazi Party. Hitler believed that loyalty should be fostered in the youth at a young age. The Aryan boy is looking up to Adolf Hitler like he is a god-like figure. The poster shows Hitler’s control over the youth. In 1945 during the Battle of Berlin, the obedience of the Nazi youth was tested as they were sent to war, despite all of them being killed as a consequence. (Master of Education Degree Guide, 2012) This confirms that for so many involved in the program, that the methods used resulted in loyalty and obedience amongst the youth. According to a Hitler Youth Leader who exclaims, “What I liked about the Hitler Youth was the comradeship. I was full of enthusiasm when I joined the Young People at the age of ten. I can still remember how deeply moved I was when I heard the club mottoes: ‘Young People are hard. They can keep a secret. They are loyal. They are comrades.’ And then there were the trips! Is anything nicer than enjoying the splendors of the homeland in the company of one’s comrades?” (Cited in Waugh, 2007) This is representative of the Hilter youth experience and can be corroborated by a picture taken at a Hitler Youth Camp showing a group of boys smiling and having a good time. This picture represents the comradeship between the youth. (See appendix, Figure C) Some youth embraced the Hitler Youth Program where as others despised it because of the saturation.

The outcomes for the youth depended on whether they supported Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party or not. The methods used were extremely effective for the majority, but not for all youth. Incentives were used to encourage the youth to be loyal and obedient. Those who improved their ideological and physical performance were awarded with a Hitler Youth Proficiency Badge. 15 year old boys were awarded with an iron badge, 16 year old boys were awarded with a bronze badge and 17 year old boys were awarded with a silver badge. (Quanonline.com, 1997) (See appendix, figure B for images of Hitler Youth Proficiency Badges) However there were some youth that rebelled from the Nazi Party. One particular group called themselves the Edelweiss Pirates, they wore check shirts, dark short trousers and white socks, they also listened to forbidden music and spread anti-Nazi graffiti throughout Germany. (Waugh, 2007) Rebels were not considered a threat to the Nazi Party but were kept under constant serveillance until they finally were seen to be a threat when Germany went to war. The “7th of Decmeber, 1942 saw the arrest of 739 Pirates and sent to ‘re-education’ camps, then in November 1944, the leaders were publically hanged as a deterrent.” (Menmaatre, 2015) This can be seen as another method of control, for those who did not submit.

Many historians and psychologists have accessed the control that Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party had over the youth.

Historian Eileen Hayes states, “The Hitler Youth was such a group, with its own departments of culture, schools, press, propaganda, and so on. All this early organizing was done because Hitler realized that, if and when he finally managed to overthrow the Weimar government, he would need to have something ready to take its place immediately.” (Hayes 1993, p. 15 as cited in Frabotta, 2004) The University of Michigan can corroborate this evaluation, “Without the complete dedication of the Germans that was eventually established through the Hitler Youth, Nazi Germany would not have been as successful as it was. These people made it possible for Hitler to impose his views on the masses and for his ideas to be turned into reality. Hitler attempted to eliminate any opposition in his people by making his ideologies part of everyday life, even for children, and for many years he was very successful.” (Youth Under Fascism: The German Case, 2015) Due to the control Adolf Hitler had over the youth, he had a whole generation that was dedicated to the Nazi Party and the Fatherland, Germany. The youth were desensitized to what was right and wrong and acted without hesitation when ordered

to.

In conclusion, Hitler and the Nazi Party targeted German youth, for their future plans and through saturation, suggestion and separation; the majority of German youth adopted not only Hitler, but the Nazi ideology and views. This would be so effective, that the majority of youth would actively obey without question. The youth were ‘brainwashed’ so that they would be completely obedient and loyal to Hitler and the Nazi Party, which in the end, benefited Adolf Hitler as he had a whole army of dedicated soldiers ready to sacrifice themselves for the ‘Fatherland’.