Figure 1.--We know that the HJ organized a range of trips for the children. We do not have any details at this time on the nature of these trips. Here we see DJ boys at a zoo, perhaps the Berlin Zoo. |
The HJ conducted a wide range of activities to achieve its primary objectives. Here there were a lot of similarities with the Scouting program. Both heavily emphasized outdoor activities, especially hiking and camping.. Major difference was fund raising and religion. There were also differences in emphasis, such as para-miltary training and pagentry. To a large extent, however, the two programs pursued many of the same activities. This of course was it part determined by the activities which interested boys. The difference between the HJ and Scouting were more with how the program was run and family involvement.
We see quite a few HJ boys involved in biking expeditions.
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We know that the HJ organized a range of trips for the children. We do not have any details at this time on the nature of these trips. The photographic record provides some information about the trips. DJ boys may have taken field trips just like Cubs. Here we think that there was mostly DJ bos involved. We do not have much information on these trips such as what the popular destinations were. We know from cubbing that trips were commonly made to museums and zoos. This appears to have also been the case for the DJ. We do have one portrait of an unidentified DJ boy at the Berlin Zoo in the 1930s. The age range of the DJ was different than Cubs, thus field trips may not have been as common as was the case for Cubs. We are less sure about the older HJ boys.
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Military descipline was an activity involved in a wide range of HJ activities. One purpose of the HJ was to begin to instill military descipline. We see children involved in all kinds of activities lining up in military formations. Boys involved in pagentary or camp activities would line up in formations. This would also be the case at meetings and a range of other activities. We are not always entirely sure just what is involved in the various formations we see.
The Hitler Youth boys and girls were extensively used to collect funds. This began befor the NAZIs seized power, but was greatly expanded after the NAZI take over in 1933. The children were a common site on street corners shaking cans toreceive coins. The funds were not to support the Hitler Youth program, but for he NAZI Party. Often some charity was promoyed, but as the funds went to the NAZI Party, no reliable piblic accounting was ever made. he use of the children to collect funds was quite different to the Enlish Scouts which Baden Powell never let be used to solicit charitable donations.
Hiking was an important activity in the HJ. This seem to have been an activity that the HJ was especially noted for organizing. The Germans have a traditional love of their countryside which was clearly seen in Wondervogel. This tradition was continued in the HJ. A range of benefits were seen in hiking, not only did it help build physical stamina and discipline, but also a variety of useful military skills like map reading. Hikes might be an outing into the countryside meerly for fresh air and exercise. Or the units might hike to see various landmarks of historical or geographic interest. The length and pace would vary depending in the age of the boys involved. While marching the boys would sing approved HJ songs. This seems to have been a more common activity for the HJ than the BDM. Normally the hikes would be organized by the older boys acting as leadrs without adult supervision. Often hikes would be organized on sundays to draw boys away from church attendance and other churc-related activities. Availavle images suggest that the boys always dressed up in their uniforms for these outings. There may have even been an inspection before they started out, although I do not yet have details.
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Music was a HK activity is that drum and bugle corps wee often associated with HJ pagentry. We do not notice larger orchestras and bands. But we see HJ boys with drums and buggles. Drums seem to have been a special favorite with the HJ. Boys began to lear to master these instrumnts in the DJ. The music activities were an area in which boys not atletically inclined could excell. Such boys might be subjected to hazing when they had trouble keeping up with other boys in physical activities. The music activities not only provided them an area in which they could persue an interest in music, but provided a way of avoiding some of the activities in which some found it difficult to compete.
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One of the main functions of the Hitler Youth was to participate in the parades, pagents and public events the NAZIs were so fond of. The HJ organization gave the youth the chance to find their place in life. The colorful banners, parades, uniforms, status and sense of purpose were all aspects of the organization that the youth bought into and encouraged them to join. The HJ was the youth’s way of making their voice heard and acknowledged. The Hitler Youth drum and buggle corps was an important part of the pagentry in which the units participated.
Physical training and calesthetics to an extent is associated with the sports program. The sports program to an extent, however, was voluntary. Boys did not have to participate in the important competions, although sporting activities might be a part of weekly meetings and camp activities. Pysical training and calesthetics on the other hand was required part of the program. While sport attracted many boys to the HJ, the constant drill and calesthetics alienated others. And the HJ persued it to a degree beyond any other youth group which we are familiar. Strengtening the bodies of future soldiers was surely a factor. But the HJ appears to have essentially evolved a system of juvenile basic military training. Military recruits in basic training are subjected to extrene physical demands. The point appears to be to make the recruits MORE maleable and thus more subject to miltary discipline. Boys were made to run for extended perios are do large numbers of pushups or other exercises. [Ringlet, p. 78.]
Our information about HJ school activities is very limited at this time. We believe that such avtivities were limited, in part because the HJ did not fully trust the schools. When the NAZIs seized control (1933), there were many reachers who were not sympthetic to the NAZIs or actually hostile. While open defiance was quickly eliminated, covert resistnce was more of a problem. It took several years to gain full control over the schools and curiculum. Another factor was that a good report from their HJ unit was important to persue one's education. We do not note HJ boys and girld wearing their uniforms to school very commonly. We think there my have been some special celebrations at school where the children wore their uniforms such as, for example, Hitler's birthday. We do not in school portraits that occassional a boy or two are wearing their uniforms. There may have been some after school activities.
Shooting was a required activity from the time boys entered the HJ at age 10 years. This was an activity many boys found to be fun. The younger DJ boys began to hine their markesmenship with air rifles. The older HJ boys were introduced to small caliber rifles. We should stress that rifles, unlike in America, were not common in Germany, especially in urban areas. Not only was the shootong popular with the boys, but the culture of the HJ made it even more popular. [Kaufmann, p. 329.] Shooting matches were expanded once the war broke out, authorized by an ordinance (October 15, 1939). During the War, hand guns were issued to some older HJ boys. There were incidents of accidents which occurred as a reult of the boys playing with these weapons. [Amtsgericht München]
We have no details about skiing as a Hitler Youth activity. I am not sure how common skiing was in Germany. It does snow a great deal during the Winter. How common it was for German boys in the 1930s to have skis. Surely it was common in some rural areas, especially the southern alpine region. I think it was less common for city boys ynless they came from affluent families. We note HJ activities combining skiing with military activities such as rifelry, although we have few details at this time.
We notoice HJ boys involved in sports, especially athletics. Boxing seems to have been especially important, presumably because of the element of combat involved. Various HJ accounts describe just about all sports including fencing, skiing, and swimming. There were also team sports like soccer, the most popular sport in Germany. Sport never was a major school activity in Germany as it was in America. Sports clubs had been very important. After the NAZI seizure of power, the Party achieved a monopoly over German sport. The NAZIs and Hitler Youth interest in sport was not because of its recreational benefits, but rather the fitness and health benefits. A healty fit Volk was seen as necessary for Hitler's New Order. And there were obvious military implications, not only to a healty pool of recruits, but also specisalized skills that could be used by the military services, such as skiing. Thus this assignment was given to the Hitlet Youth, the only German youth organization to organize a national sports program. [Möller, p. 92.] As soon as taking power in 1933 the HJ began organizing sports competitions and both the regional and national level. This also had the advantage of drawing sports minded boys into the HJ. The HJ sporting events were given considerable publicity. We can clearly see HJ sporting events because he boys are wearing HJ singlets.
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An important part of the Hitler Youth program was the summer camps. The camps were designed to toughen boys most physically and mentally. There were a lot of exercizes of a militay natue suchbas laing communications cable. Older boys might do actual fire arms training. HBU does not yet have any actual accounts from any of the boys. One interesting account comes from Richard Windmark, the American movie actor. He had just graduated from college in 1937 and as student of political science wanted to see what was happening in NAZI Germany. He and a friend spent the summer in Germany. They asked to see the Dachau Concentration Camp which was believed to be a intetnment camp for political discedents. The NAZI official they asked laughed at them and told them they didn't want to go there. Instead they were sent to a Hitler Youth camp. He took color movies there. The boys wore the standard Hitler Youth uniform of brown shirts and black short pants. As it was summer they often didn't wear their shirts. Windmark says that the boys were constantly being lined up in military ranks by "bullies"--but the boys loved it. He said some of the boys were as young as 6 years, I think he may have been wrong about that.
HJ boys had to participate in forced tests of courage. Many were compeled and others complied because of the group dynamics, afraid of being stimatized as cowards. Here I am unsure to what extent this was mandated by HJ headquarters or more the product of local HJ leaders, both the adult staff and senior HJ leaders. This was a product of the Social Darwinism which became part of NAZI docrine and taught in the schools. We note a range of actual tests employed by the HJ. Here an element of hazing by the older boys was also involved. Hazing such as fratenrnity hazing is often controlled by the larger community such as the university. In the HJ this kind of activity was often promoted as a useful toughening up exercize. Some of the tests were relatively mild, such as jumping off high boards into water. Sometimes boys who could not swim were made to do this. More dangerous was climbing sessions where boys had to scale cliffs without any safety equipment. There were injuries and mortalities. [Metelmann, p. 129.] As far as I know, however, the HJ never compiled statistics on this.
Hitler Youth boys engaged in a wide range of other activities. Many activities like hiking and singing were staples of any uniformed groups. The Hitler Youth borrowed liberally from other youth groups like the Scouts. Some activities, however, were rather surprising--like sewing.
Amtsgericht München. Judgement against Rudolf Stimmel, May 16, 1941. ARL, Lü 6.1.2. Munich. This was a Munich court case dealing with an incident involving a Hitler Youth boy and a gun incident.
Kaufmann, Günter. "Die deutsche Jugend im Zeltlager, Das Junge Deutschland (1937).
Metelmann, Henry. A Hitler Youth: Growing up in Germany in the 1930s (London, 1977).
Möller, Albrecht. Wir werden dad Folk: Wesen und Forederung der Kitlerjugend (Breslau, 1935).
Ringlet, Ralf Roland. Illusion einer Jugend: Lieder, Fahnen und das bittere Ende: Hitlerjugend in Osterreich: EinErlebnisbericht (St Pölten, 1977).
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