Why was the youth so important to Hitler?The youth were very important to Hitler, as he believed they would be the young people who would stick closely to the principles of Nazism in the future and were an easy target for him to prevail upon. They youth were indoctrinated from a young age to focus on disliking the “enemies” such as the Jews and communists as a means of enhancing their pride of being part of the elite German race. Hitler was able to easily manipulate the youths’ vulnerable, unsuspicious idealism to believe and obey anything he said or ordered. He appealed to the youth and German citizens as he placed huge emphasis on the significance of young people and never disregarded children or their political value. He also used them as spies by creating a law that all youth members must report back to Hitler about anything their parents or teachers said in relation to the Nazi party or Hitler himself.
In 1933 Hitler wrote and circulated a Nazi policy stating: “My program for educating youth is hard … weakness must be hammered away. In my castles of the Teutonic Order, a new youth will grow up, before which the world will tremble. I want a brutal, domineering, fearless and cruel youth. Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak and gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes…That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication…That is how I will create the New Order.” – Hitler 1933 (Alpha history , 2014) |
How did Hitler treat the girls and boys differently?German boys were trained up by Hitler to be leaders, soldiers and strong men who would fight for Germany and for all that Hitler stood for. The girls however, were to be taught how to run a household and be mothers who were racial progenitors and the nurturers of Aryan children (Alpha history , 2014). All children belonging to Hitler’s Youth were to be racially pure, free of disease, intelligent and strong enough to participate in all physical activities. All youth members were expected to recite a bastardised form of the Lord’s prayer to Hitler as a sign of loyalty and respect.
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A Hitler Youth poses for a photograph in the Rhineland city of Bruehl, 1934. In 1939, membership in Nazi youth groups became mandatory for all boys and girls between the ages of ten and eighteen.
— Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz |