Figure 1.--But it is seems also true that many boys formed close friendships and had very enjoyavle experiences in the HJ. The album here is not a propagannda piece. It is one boy's expeience. The images to us show boys that were enjoying each pther's company and having enjoyable healthy experiences. The boys here are viewing Helgoland. They are on a sea excursion from Hamburg to the Baltic.

One can see from these photographs many of the boys would have greatly enjoyed their HJ experience. We welcome reades who view these pages to tell us what impressions they leave. All these trips must have been very exciting. Boys from working class families at the time would have had very little opportunity to travel or organized activities. Not only do the trips and excursions look interesting, but the HJ program provided the opportunity to form many close personal friendships. The HJ hs been justifably criticised for helping to prepar a generation of German youth for war and genocide. The HJ was extremely effective in doing this, in part by helping to separate German youth from their parents. Unlike Scouting, parents were not involve in the HJ movement. Often loss in the condemnation of the HJ is just how effective it was. One study suggests that many boys had trouble in the HJ because of the hypermascline atompshere. [Kater] I am sure that this was true. But it is seems also true that many boys formed close friendships and had very enjoyavle experiences in the HJ. The album here is not a propagannda piece. It is one boy's expeience. The images to us show boys that were enjoying each pther's company and having enjoyable healthy experiences. Even this was, however, perverted by the NAZIs. The camraderie we see here was a factor in why the Wehrmact proved to be such a formidable fighting force. One more positive achievement of the HJ was helping to break down class barriers that one affected German soceity.

Sources

Kater, Michael H. Hitler Youth (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 2004).