Hitler Youth: Usefulness to the NAZIs



Figure 1.--Hitler considered the NAZI youth movement to be very important. He liked to be photographed with childre, including HJ members. Unlike many politicans who give lip service to children asnf youth organizations--Hitler believed that the Hitler Youth was a key element in his remaking of Germany. Here we see Hitler informally meeting with a group of DJ boys in 1936.

Hitler considered the NAZI youth movement to be very important. Politicans are known to give lip service to children's programs, but their priorities were elsewhere. Hitler was very serious about the Hitler Youth program. It was a very important part of the Third Reich because it was so useful for the regime. There are several reasons Hitler gave considerable attention to youth. Hitler was a politican. He was a very astute politican, but ironically hated the give and take of politics. He was kneenly aware of the difficulties he had to over come to seize power and even in the tainted March 1933 election that he failed to obtain a majority vote. He realized that he would never be able to convert many Germans to NationaL Sociaslism. He converted many, but many others saw through the official propaganda. The younger generation was a different matter. They came to the Hitler Youth as more of a clean slate which were much more vulnerable to ideological manipulation. He was sceptical about the schools, especially the schools he inherited in 1933. The Hitler Youth was a program that the NAZIs could completely control. Not only did the Hitler Youth provide the vehicle which the future geneation of Germans could be shaped, but the youth could be used in many other ways by Hitler and the NAZIs.

The NAZI Party

Hitler attracted support among conservative elements in German society, especially groups concerned about the Socialists and Communists. Hitler was babkrolled by German industrialists after convincing them that he was a conservative nationalist. What was not fully understood at the time and still not today is that the NAZIs were a revolutionary movement. Hitler and his associates wanted to fubdamentally remake German society. Different elements in the Party had different ideas about how Germany should be rmade, but Hitler and his assocites were in no way conservastives.

Hitler the Politican

Hitler was a politican. He was a very astute politican, but ironically hated the give and take of politics, the need to compromise and accomodate. German politicans consistently undersestimated him and eventually pid the connsequences. Hitler after seizing power was kneenly aware of the difficulties he had to over come to seize power and even in the tainted March 1933 election that he failed to obtain a majority vote. He converted many, but many others saw through the official propaganda. It was a great relief to Hitler after seizing power that he no longer had to play the politican. This was symbolized by adopting the title Führer after Hindenburg's death. He proved to also be very adept at international politics which in only a few years allowed him to rearm, annex Austria and dismantle Czechoslovakia without any real response from the Allies. This of course eventually led to the fall of France and German mastery of much of Europe. Ironically after the NAZI victory in France, Hitler seems to have concluded that he could abandon international politics, much as he had abandoned domestic politics after he seized power. He finally could be what he had always wanted to be, a military leader. This proved to be a disasterous decession. While Hitler was a very astute politican, he proved to be a very poor military commander. THere is a sharp dividing line in Hitler's career which occurred during World War II. While Hitler in the years leading up to victory went from success to success, his decessions after the fall of France were a series of almost succesive disasters. This brought Germany from the dominant world military power to a wasteland of wrecked cities and starving people.

Usefulness of the Hitler Youth

Hitler considered the NAZI youth movement to be very important. Politicans are known to give lip service to children's programs, but their priorities were elsewhere. Hitler was very serious about the Hitler Youth program. It was a very important part of the Third Reich because it was so useful for the regime. There are several reasons Hitler gave considerable attention to youth. Hitler was a politican and he realized that he would never be able to convert many Germans to NationaL Sociaslism. The younger generation was a different matter. They came to the Hitler Youth as more of a clean slate which were much more vulnerable to ideological manipulation. He was sceptical about the schools, especially the schools he inherited in 1933. The Hitler Youth was a program that the NAZIs could completely control. Not only did the Hitler Youth provide the vehicle which the future geneation of Germans could be shaped, but the Hitler Youth organization could be used in many other ways by Hitler and the NAZIs.

Ideological molding

Hitler was a politican and he realized that he would never be able to convert many Germans to NationaL Sociaslism. The younger generation was a different matter. They came to the Hitler Youth as more of a clean slate which were much more vulnerable to ideological manipulation. He was sceptical about the schools, especially the schools he inherited in 1933. The Hitler Youth was a program that the NAZIs could completely control. Not only did the Hitler Youth provide the vehicle which the future geneation of Germans could be shaped. Hitler was convinced that if could not convince parents that he could win over their children and here he was largely correct. The HJ began as a party youth movement. Even after Hitler seized power it continued to be the Party youth movement, only now he could compel membership and shape an entire generation of Germany in the Party ideology.

Imagery

The HJ was also useful in building Hitler's image. He sought to protay himself as the politican of the future during the political campaigns leading to his seizure of power. He was the first Germn politican to appreciate the full value of radio. He flew from city to city and had himself photographed on these trips. The enthusisam of the HJ helped to create this image of youth amd modernity as well as to build enthusiam for his candidacy. After the seizure of power the image of youth and enthusism also proved useful. The HJ provided a ready accompasniment to Party demostrations and ceremonies. The NAZIs appreciated pagentryand here the HJ was a source of willing partipants for Party pagents.

Fund raising

The HJ also proved useful for Party find raising. Uniformed HJ members seemed to be at every corner with cans emblazined with swasticas. This was especially true for the annuasl winter fund drive.

Military preparation

The HJ was useful in preparing German youth for the war Hitler was planning. Younger children leaned military discipline. Older children received actual military training. As a result new recruits entering the military by 1939 had acquired many basic military skills. Here is was not just military skills the HJ worked on, but attitudes toward the military. Boys were instilled with the military outlook and the idea that the great honor for a German man was to serve in the military. At HJ summer camps there would be mock funerals acting out the hinorable sacrifice of dieing in battle.

Political recruitment

After seizing power many Germans rushed to join the Party, especially after the March 1933 election. This was referred to as Märzgefallene (March windfall). It ptoved difficult to process all the applications. The Parrty as a result declared a windfall on new members (May 1). An eception was made for the Hitler Youth and other Party organizations. The Party open applications again (1939) in an effort to expand Party member ship to 10 percent of the population, but was again closed (1941). The Party decided that beginning in 1942 that Party members be exclusively recruited from the HJ. [Overy, pp. 137-139.] In addition special Party schools were established to train future Party leaders.

Military recruitment

The HJ was structured so that boys completing the HJ program were chnelled into the military services. The specialized HJ units such as the Marine and Air HJ chnneled their members into those respective services.

Sources

Overy, Richard. The Dictators: Hitler's Germany: Stalin's Russia (W.W. Norton: New York, 2004), 849p.






HBU






Navigate the Historic Boys' Uniform Chronology Pages:
[Return to the Main chronologies page]
[The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Uniform Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biography] [Chronologies] [Countries] [Essays] [Garments] [Organizations] [Other]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Questions] [Unknown images]
[Boys' Uniform Home]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Uniform Web organization pages:
[Return to the Main Hitler Youth page]
[Boys' Brigade] [Camp Fire] [National] [Pioneers] [Royal Rangers] [Scout]



Created: 6:09 AM 6/13/2006
Last updated: 6:09 AM 6/13/2006