Figure 1.--Here General von Stenglin reviews a group of uniformed boys in Berlin just before or during World War I. We have no idea who Gen. von Stenglin was, perhaps our readers will know. The American news service called the boys Boy Scouts, presumably bcause they were the only youth otganization known at the time. There were German Boy Scouts (Pfadfinderverbände), but they were a relatively small group. We are not positive what the group was. Source: Bain News Service

European countries began to organize youth groups in the late-19th century. The first was the Boy's Brigade in Britain with a religious foundation. The first German youth group was the Wandervogel which was coed had a aesthetic ethos. Just before the War, Baden Powell organized the Boy Scouts (1906). It had a strong patriotic ethos. Baden Powell was thinking about military preparadness, but this quickly shifted to personal charater formtion and public service. The Scouts very rapidly spread to other European countries and America. It was slower to grow in Germany than other countries, primarily because it was seen as having a British imprint. The Girl Guides (Scouts) soon followed, much to the trepedation of some conservative parents. There was also a Red Cross auxillery in some countries. These organizations all mobilized to assist the War effort and performed a wide range of useful activities home the home front. The various groups bult a substantial positive image in part because of their War work. The only exception was Wandervogel in Germany.

Groups

The overiding event during the 1910s was World War I (1914-18). It was the greatest war in histotry and dominted the decade. With the surge of patriotism surrounding the War effort, support and membership in the Scouts grew in most countries. World War I was the first major war since the founding of youth groups and the first opportunity for these groups to organize young people on the home front to support the war effort. World war I was totl waras never before expereienced In Europe. And the Hme Front became an important part of the War. The Boy Scouts and other youth groups in combatent countries were mobilized during World War I to suport the war effort. This varied from country to country. The British Scout and Guide movement was esoeciallyactive. The couts were less important in Germany. France had a very ctive Scouting movement. We do not yet extensive information on the effort in individual countries. The United States finally entered the War (April 1917). The Boy Scouts of America after the entry of America in World War I, began home-front service in 1917 with the "Help win the war". The Scout motto, "Be prepared" was put into action. The Scouts persued many home-front activities. Scouts planted "war gardens" with the slogan, "Every Scout to feed a soldier". They sold over 2 million war bonds. Another project was to collect peach pits which were used to make charcoal for gas masks. These patriotic prjects helped to make the Boy Scouts enormously popular.

Countries

America

American youth groups were quite new when World War I began in Europe. Some groups were organized even in the late-19th century, but they were realtively small. The first major group was the Boy Scouts, followed closely by the Camp Fire Girls and Girl Scouts. All of the major groups (Boy Scouts (1910), Girl Scouts, and Camp Fire) organized programs to assist the war and relif efforts. There was also a Junior Red Cross. The Junior Red Cross even enduced boys to join in the knitting campaign (figure 1). These groups began working on relief efforts even before America entered the War (1917). Some of this effort began even before America entered the War. We note Camp Fire Girls making bandages for wounded French soldiers. The Boy Scouts were involved in a wide range of efforts. This included agricultural labor and vegetable gardens to help produce food.

England

France

Germany

We do not know much about youth groups in Germany during World War I. We know that the Hitler Youth played an important role in World War II. We know much less about World war I. This is an ininteresting topic on which we have not yet succeeded in acquiring information. We see many images of Boys Scouts in Britain, France, America, and other countries. We see nothing comparable in Germany. The Wangervogel was the primary German youth group, but we just do not know much about their World War I activities. The Boy Scouts were not as important in Germany as they were in the rest of Germany. The popularity of Scouting was probably impaired by their association wuth the British. There were many different youth groups active in Germany after the War in the 1920s. The number of groups we believe was much more limited during the War. Why so many groups appeared after the War, we are not yet sure. Groups were organized along both religious and political lines after the War.

Created: 12:18 AM 10/14/2017
Last updated: 12:18 AM 10/14/2017