Why Do Sources a To E Give Different Views On the Success of Nazi Youth Policy Between 1933 and 1939?  Explain Your Answer Using Sources a To E and Knowlegde From Your Own Studies.

        One of the main reasons why some sources talk of success is because the youth movements brought new opportunities which were previously not available.  It was a national movement and the youth of Germany felt that they were being patriotic by joining the youth movements.  It was embracing as everyone was involved.  Source D shows togetherness among the children.  However the reliability of the source is questionable.  This could easily have been arranged for propaganda purposes.  But in defence of the source, I do know that events such as group singing did occur to boost morale and increase group spirit.

        However, not everyone enjoyed the Hitler youth.  Enthusiasm surrounding the youth movements began to decline.  The major reason why the enthusiasm declined was because of the constant changing of leaders, which consequently brought changes in the policies of the Hitler youth, which disjointed and disrupted the youth movements and the enthusiasm which once surrounded it.  

        Kurt Gruber formed the first group of young members in 1926.  Later that year the leadership of the movement transferred to Franz von Pfeffer.  Pfeffer’s main intention was to train young men to fight against members of left-wing youth groups.  The Hitler Youth was then taken over by Ernest Roehm in 1930.  However Roehm was murdered during the ‘Night of the Long Knives’.  The youth movement then came under the control of Baldur von Schirach.  Schirach asked Adolf Hitler to allow him to create an independent youth movement.  Hitler agreed and Schirach now made several important changes to the way it was organised.  In 1936, membership of the Hitler youth was made compulsory.  This was a huge decision, because it decreased the popularity of the youth movements.  The attention of the youth movements began to turn more towards the physical side and focused on war, arms-drill, long distance hikes and general fitness exercises were carried out more often.  The young boys began to dislike this more and more.  Jazz music was banned and many resented decisions like these because the youth felt as if they were being totally controlled.  Rebel groups such as the ‘Edelweiss Piarates’ formed  who opposed Hitler and disliked many cultural decisions that were made on their behalf.

        Sources C and E further back up the point of the declining enthusiasm.  Source C says ‘‘many young people appear to have resented the strict discipline that was required in these organisations’’.  Source E is a private letter written by a Hitler youth member.  He is extremely critical and objective towards Hitler and his youth movements.

        ‘‘They tell you things you’ve heard hundreds of times, about the ‘genius and greatness of the Fuhrer’…And we have only one wish: sleep, sleep.’’  The source suggests that the brainwashing and indoctrinating isn’t working. The boys are getting sick of the harsh military regime.  But the fact that the source is very opinionated, means that there could be bias and the majority view may not be expressed.

        To conclude, the sources have different views, mainly because they have been written at different times, by different people with different experiences for different purposes.  Also the sources differ because of the decline in the general enthusiasm for Hitler’s youth movements are great, but as it went on, more and more people became disillusioned, like the ‘Edelweiss Pirates’ and the ‘White Roses’.