The Hitler Youth
“He who owns the youth gains the future.”
-Adolf Hitler (Keeley 10) The Hitler Youth was an organization, formed in 1922 by the Nazi Party, whose main purpose was to train and educate boys and girls, from ages 10 to 18, to become loyal followers of the Nazi Party as well as future members of the German military. The Youth accomplished this mainly by means of indoctrinating nationalism, pride, and devotion to the Nazi Party, Germany, and Adolf Hitler, into Germany’s Aryan youth. Not all German children were allowed in the elite group that was the Hitler Youth. There were very strict requirements that the children had to meet before being accepted for a trial period. To be accepted, four standards had to be met: 1. Racial purity, in other words, only pure Aryan blood, meaning Nordic or Caucasian people with no mixture of Jewish ancestry; blond hair and blue eyes distinguished the purest Aryans, teaching the children segregation. Since not everyone in Germany was Aryan, not everyone could join. 2. A child could not have any hereditary diseases in their family. For example, for a child to be considered eligible, they could not have any prostitutes in their family, or epileptics, or schizophrenics (shown by moodiness or temper tantrums in young children, indifferent housekeeping in women, and irregular work patterns in men), or any homosexuals. However, some boys and girls were allowed to join a special section of the Youth, The Disabled and Infirm Hitler Youth, as long as they passed racial tests and did not have any mentally handicaps 3. Children could not have any ‘objectionable’ political views, they had to show excitement about Nazi ideals, and finally, 4. All eligible children had to be physically fit (Keeley 14). If all four of these requirements were met, the child was eligible for a trial period with the Hitler Youth. During the trial period, children had to pass physical as well as mental tests: “We were required to dive off the three-meter board
-Adolf Hitler (Keeley 10) The Hitler Youth was an organization, formed in 1922 by the Nazi Party, whose main purpose was to train and educate boys and girls, from ages 10 to 18, to become loyal followers of the Nazi Party as well as future members of the German military. The Youth accomplished this mainly by means of indoctrinating nationalism, pride, and devotion to the Nazi Party, Germany, and Adolf Hitler, into Germany’s Aryan youth. Not all German children were allowed in the elite group that was the Hitler Youth. There were very strict requirements that the children had to meet before being accepted for a trial period. To be accepted, four standards had to be met: 1. Racial purity, in other words, only pure Aryan blood, meaning Nordic or Caucasian people with no mixture of Jewish ancestry; blond hair and blue eyes distinguished the purest Aryans, teaching the children segregation. Since not everyone in Germany was Aryan, not everyone could join. 2. A child could not have any hereditary diseases in their family. For example, for a child to be considered eligible, they could not have any prostitutes in their family, or epileptics, or schizophrenics (shown by moodiness or temper tantrums in young children, indifferent housekeeping in women, and irregular work patterns in men), or any homosexuals. However, some boys and girls were allowed to join a special section of the Youth, The Disabled and Infirm Hitler Youth, as long as they passed racial tests and did not have any mentally handicaps 3. Children could not have any ‘objectionable’ political views, they had to show excitement about Nazi ideals, and finally, 4. All eligible children had to be physically fit (Keeley 14). If all four of these requirements were met, the child was eligible for a trial period with the Hitler Youth. During the trial period, children had to pass physical as well as mental tests: “We were required to dive off the three-meter board
Cited: Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2005. Print. Keeley, Jennifer. Life in the Hitler Youth. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2000. Print. “Sophie Scholl.” U*X*L Biographies. Detroit: U*X*L, 2003. Gale Student Resources in Context. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. Trueman, Chris. “The Hitler Youth.” History Learning Site. 2012. Web. 24 March 2012. Van Ells, Mark D. “Americans for Hitler.” America in WWII. 2007. Web. 11 April 2012. Zapotoczny, Jr., Walter S. “Hitler Youth.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.