Parents of the Youths also played a pivotal part in their child’s participation in Hitler Youth Groups. Hitler was aware of this, which is why he introduced payments and reward for parents who encouraged parents to make their children join. An action likes this also suggests that Hitler lacked confidence with his own persuasive skills and that not all youths joint by their own choice. This also provides evidence that Hitler failed to win over the hearts and minds of youths, despite the large numbers of children who joined.
Hitler tried to impose his ideology on the rest of the Country; one of his targets was to achieve a Pure Aryan race. In order for this Hitler needed co-operation from Germany people, including youths, as they were the future. Hitler adapted school curriculums so girls would be taught subjects similar to home economics and boys would be taught more physical subjects such as PE to prepare them for their ‘future roles’. This was not as successful as Hitler had hoped for because between 1933-39 financial incentives such as marriage loans and birth grants were introduced. If Hitler’s campaign had showed some success Hitler might not have felt it necessary to produce such schemes. Initially, women and girls were taught that they should ‘only marry for love’ however, the Lebensborn programme contradicted this concept by encouraging births outside wedlock. On these grounds it is viable to say that Hitler did not win, or control the minds of older members of the German Youth because if he did a clear growth in child rate would be seen.
In areas such as employment Hitler intended for females to stay at home and the males to provide for their families or to join the army. Several bans were put on women in work, for example in 1933 women in top civil service jobs were dismissed and in 1936 banned from being judges or lawyers. Here Hitler did not win over the hearts of the Youths who had had goals in life because they were being turned down before they had a chance to try. A young girl who wanted to become a judge would appear to be happy as a housewife but her heart would not be with her duties.
It could be interpreted that Hitler did not win over the hearts and minds of German youths, but a better description could be that he controlled them instead. With a series of indoctrination, reforms to the education system and propaganda Hitler was able to control their minds. As Hitler managed to control some of their minds, this led to the control of some of the hearts because they were vulnerable to Hitler’s persuasive powers.
Despite evidence, demonstrating how Hitler did not win over the heart or minds of German Youths, there are some sources, which display a contrast. Hitler had to target the minds of youth before he could successfully accomplish their hearts, which is why intellectual learning was scorned. The Nazis scorned intellectual learning such as English or Maths because they did not think it was important for the future, so they placed emphasis on physical strength and obedience. By doing this, children would be taught things at school and due to their vulnerability would not know any different, and so grow to believe and love what they’re being told. The Nazis sought to indoctrinate the young from the age of four, using Youth movements and the school system to impose their values. This method benefited Hitler as firstly children were thinking with their minds and loving with their hearts and Hitler was using his power to manipulate both.
Changes to the school curriculum also meant that Hitler was able to promote Germany and adapt subjects so they complimented Nazi ideas. Hitler used subjects such as history to portray Germany better and change facts on the First World War to benefit the Germans. With this Hitler hoped that in the hearts of young boys would be to follow their old German heroes, especially after the embarrassment of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
Teachers were also targeted and an organisation called The National Teachers League (NSLB) was set up as an extra influence to try to win over the minds of pupils as well as indoctrinating textbooks. Nazi officials were ordered to intervene with the education system to ensure maximum impact was made. By reading textbooks, the minds of youths were re-educated and by being taught Nazi ideology by their teachers, helped win over their hearts.
Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls initially received high membership numbers and support. Members of the groups wore uniforms displaying swastikas; this gave them a sense of purpose as though they were working for ‘their saviour’. Hitler was successful in the ways that he promoted the Nazi’s and made people grow up absorbing Nazi propaganda. Hitler won over hearts by emphasising flags, posters and slogans on streets, and even portraits of himself in homes. From an early age children and youths were being taught to worship ‘Hitler the Seducer’, and some grew up knowing no different than to love and worship Hitler.
It is important to understand that not all youths thought and believed in the same things and are each individual. Therefore in some respects Hitler succeeded in winning the heart or the mind of youths or both, and with other youths he did not. He mostly won over the heart or the mind for a short period, until youths felt suffocated by his rule and created their own groups that promoted anti- Nazi beliefs, despite the high risk of getting caught.
As in other aspects of the Third Reich, it is difficult to assess to feelings of the youth as many children were scared to speak up or were silenced by their parents. However, it appears that at the beginning of Hitler’s rule he was successful in winning over the minds from children of the age of four. Although as they grew up they began to rebel with Swing Groups that resisted Hitler’s rule. In schools it can be said that Hitler won over minds by manipulating school subjects to comply with his ideology, but the hearts were not won because as they grew, youths did not all want to become housewives or military men. Hitler had not successfully installed in them his own beliefs. In some cases Hitler only controlled the heart and minds of the youths, this was done through indoctrinating what pupils were taught into Nazi ideology. The establishment of the rebellious youth organisations such as the Edelweiss Pirates and the White Rose provides evidence that Hitler did not control he hearts or minds of all German youths.
