Explain the nature and purpose of the Hitler Youth Movement

Alanna Fraser

Explain the nature and purpose of the Hitler Youth Movement.

There were many purposes for the Hitler Youth Movement and the nature of it was strict and disciplined so that the youth of the time became accustomed to it as part of their everyday life.

One of the main purposes of the Hitler Youth Movement was to turn the young people of Germany into loyal Nazis. By starting them off at a young age (6), these children would be so indoctrinated by the Nazi regime and beliefs that being a loyal Nazi would be the only option, any other would be unthinkable. From a young age the youth were lectured to be loyal Nazis, so much so that pre-school children were taught to love their Fuhrer Hitler and from the moment a 10 year old boy was enrolled into the Hitler Youth, their life belonged to the Fuhrer. This was all part of Hitler’s ideal – the ‘Cradle to Grave’ indoctrination.

Part of being a loyal Nazi would be going on parade marches and carrying the Nazi flag. Carrying the flag was very important for the Youth because it symbolized a new era which was part of what these youngsters were. Also any other German person, irrespective of their age, was expected to salute when the Hitler Youth flag passed them. The children became so accustomed to these ideals that any other behaviour would be looked upon as unusual; by indoctrinating them in this way, it made sure they became loyal Nazis quite naturally.

As well as having lectures on the importance of Germany and being a loyal Nazi, they were also given political and cultural studies to really understand the importance of these things. In such classes, the older children were taught messages such as “The Jews are our misfortune.” And they believed it. Indoctrination in this way was just a regular occurrence so the children really did believe all they were being told and taught whilst being in the Hitler Youth Movement.

As indoctrination was the Nazis main aim, they made sure the Hitler Youth Movement became compulsory by closing down all other youth organizations in 1939. By doing this, all of the children’s leisure time was devoted to the Movement, by doing things such as going on hikes, route marches and camping. Hitler also regularly held rallies to speak to his young people. He was known to have an effect on them so that they all truly believed that he was talking directly to each of them. From this, the young people believed that Hitler was dedicated and committed to them and their future so much so that they felt it was just their duty to obey and devote themselves to him. They believed everything they did was right; the ‘Cradle to Grave’ indoctrination was so forceful and effective that it really did ensure that members of the Hitler Youth Movement were and would be loyal Nazis.

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Another purpose of the Hitler Youth Movement was to prepare boys for the Army. Boys would be trained to such a high level that when they were at the age of joining up, 18, they would be perfect candidates for the German army which is exactly what Hitler was aiming for. Hitler stated when he first came into power that his plans were to re-build Germany and the army so that they would be ready for war again; this is why young men and even children as young as six were given military type training so that it would be almost natural to them when they were at the age of joining the army. Many of the boy’s activities included cross country running and exercises so that their fitness would be at the highest level for the army. Boxing and wrestling would be other popular activities, not only to build up fitness but also to encourage aggression which was another necessary requirement for being in the army. Other activities included crawling underneath barbed wire; once this had been practiced enough, it would be second nature for the boys. Club throwing was also practiced frequently, because the weight and size of the club was the same as that of a potato masher hand grenade, so by practicing this with a club at a young age, when the boys were in the army, this sort of activity would again be familiar to them. Other activities included map-reading, camping, hiking expeditions – all of these were character building, and got the boys used to working in a team, both of which were highly important uses for the army. Included to this already busy schedule were also activities in learning discipline, marching in ranks, doing drills in toughness and blind obedience, pistol shooting and military tactics, signalling, trench digging and dug-outs, bayonet drills, gas defense, weapon cleaning and leadership skills; this numerous list of activities have obvious similarities to activities in a typical Army regime – Hitler wanted his army to be the best in the world so by getting the young men and boys to become accustomed to this regime – also a continuity of the ‘Cradle to Grave’ philosophy – then the boys would be as highly prepared as they possibly could be for the army and therefore be a dedicated Nazi soldier when the time for them to make that decision came.

Another purpose of the Hitler Youth Movement was to help the Nazis keep an eye on society. Young people were so indoctrinated to the Nazi rules and regime that if they saw something or heard things being said that were anti-Nazi, they would report it back to the Nazi. The youngster’s duty of doing this was taken so seriously that they would even keep watch of their own families. If their mother or father were heard to say something against their Fuhrer, Hitler or anything not favouring the Nazis then it would most certainly be reported back to someone from the Nazi party. The punishment for doing this would be anything from paying a small fine to the most drastic penalty of being sent to a concentration camp which ultimately led in death. The extent of the punishment would result from how many times the crime had been committed, so obviously being sent to a concentration camp would be a result from committing a crime too many times. This keeping an eye on society – boys reporting misdemeanors and getting people punished for it – was all part pf making sure Hitler’s Youth were being loyal Nazis. By keeping an eye on society, the Nazi party and Hitler could be sure that any enemies were kept at bay. Also according to the Fuhreprinzip, every order had to be obeyed because it carried the full authority of Hitler, so because of this reason, any order that a member of the Hitler Youth gave would have to be taken seriously, irrespective of who they were talking to. Again this was all part of keeping an eye on society. By being so indoctrinated into making an effort to do all that they could do to be a loyal Nazi, the Hitler Youth Movement felt it their duty to keep an eye on society. The most extreme conformists would join the SRD, the Hitler Youth Movement’s very own military police, who were in close cooperated with the SS, who were Hitler’s private bodyguard. These youngsters were the most fanatical about keeping the Nazi discipline to the highest level. By indoctrinating these children so much into being loyal Nazis, the Hitler Youth Movement kept an eye on society with Hitler and the Nazis.

A final aim for the Hitler Youth Movement was to turn the girls into good mothers. They were taught to have three main worries, known as the three K’s: ‘Kirche, Kinder and Kuche.’ Or in English: ‘Church, Children and Kitchen.’ Ideally a German woman would marry and have children with Hitler’s ideal Aryan German, but it wasn’t frowned upon if their German husband was not blonde haired and blue eyed.

The women were discouraged from wearing make-up and cutting their hair short; fashions which were becoming prevalent in America. Basically, they were encouraged to look as plain as possible. They were taught to go to church often; because Hitler had actually taken over the Church while he was in power, he wanted people to go to church to hear the ministers preach about the importance of being a Nazi and about Hitler which is why the girls were encouraged to go to church.

They were taught to have children at a young age (early 20’s) while they were still fertile so they could bear many children – a new generation of loyal Nazis. They achieved this by giving the girls child bearing lessons while they in the Hitler Youth Movement.

They were also to be good in the kitchen; they were taught this by being able to cook and most importantly by being able to cook well on frugal amounts of money. All of these teachings were purposeful in the aim of encouraging the girls to be good mothers and faithful housewives.

In the Hitler Youth Movement the girls also did cross country running, dancing and gymnastics which kept them fit and helped prepare their bodies for the burden of having children – an ideal figure for a girl to have would be a pair of wide hips, perfect for child bearing!

So with these explanations for each of the five aims for Hitler’s Youth Movement, it is easier to understand what Hitler wanted to achieve with Germany. He understood that the youth of Germany would be the future for him. By indoctrinating them and growing them up to be loyal Nazis and making sure they kept an eye on society, the Hitler Youth Movement was developing a new generation of Nazis who would carry on teaching the Nazi customs and ideals by learning from the “cradle to grave” philosophy. It was also preparing boys for the army; this was one of Hitler’s main worries. He wanted to prepare an army which would be big and strong enough to win any wars that they might encounter, and he was achieving this by starting them off young. Also the Hitler Youth Movement was making sure young women were having children – the new generation of Nazis – by encouraging them to do so.

So with the strictness of it becoming compulsory, the Hitler Youth Movement was overall a great success in the eyes of Hitler and the Nazis.