Prince Harry, drink in hand proudly wearing the Swastika. January ‘2005

The Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (Hitler-Jugend, HJ) was established by the Nazi party in 1926 to create a new youth-training system for young Germans to gain militarized training and develop their understanding of and obedience to Nazi ideology.Nazi party1926

Youth serve the leader (master) (All 10 year olds to join)

Officer of Tomorrow Auch Du (also you)

This was the membership card for the Hitler Youth

In the 1920’s the Germany’s youth were involved in many organizations. The most popular was the Wandervogel, which engaged in sports. But in 1926, the Youth Group organization leaders were invited to attended a convention held by the Nazi Party on July 4th. They agreed to form a Nazi sponsored youth group called "The Hitler Youth" or "HJ." HJ Member practicing throwing grenades

The basic motivation of the Hitler Youth was to train future 'Aryan supermen' and future soldiers who would serve the Third Reich faithfully when they grew up. Physical and military training took precedence over academic and scientific learning in all Hitler Youth organizations.

Youths in HJ camps learned to use weapons, built up their physical strength, learned war strategies, and were indoctrinated into anti-Semitism. They typically wore uniforms composed of light brown shirts and brown shorts, similar to children in a military camp, with some high-ranking boys wearing black shirts Hitler Youth award

--This Deutsche Jungvolk boys wears the winter uniform with the blue or black jacket. Older boys might wear long pants.

--This Hitler Youth wears the summer uniform with black lederhosen, a popular choice for boys involved in outdoor activities.

--This Deutsche Jungvolk file leader wears the summer uniform without the blue or black jacket. Notice the lanyard leading to a whistle in his pocket. That indicated he was a DJ youth leader. Boys of all ages wore short pants with the summer uniform.

--Many of the older DJ members wore long pants with the winter uniform.

--Hitler Youth boys from the very beginning learned military drill and as they got older more and more military training was added to the program, including handling fire arms.

--These boys are wearing the uniform caps common in the early 1930s. Campaign caps became more common as the War approached.

--This young boy in an early Deutsche Jugend uniform makes a presentation to Hitler himself at the annual Nurreburg NAZI Party ralley. The movement had a mesmerizing impact on hundreds of thousands of German boys, many of which identified personally with Hitler's leadership.

In her book, "A History of the Holocaust: From Ideology to Annihilation", author Rita Botwinick claims that "...the greatest influence on the development of German youngsters was not the parents, not the schools, but the Hitler Jugend."

THE HITLER YOUTH (HJ) The Hitler Youth were to Hitler and the Nazi Party the future of Germany. Hitler’s dream of "A Thousand-Year Reich" could only be made possible through its youth. "The future of the German nation depends on its youth, and the German youth shall have to be prepared for its future duties," Hitler said. "The future of the German nation depends on its youth, and the German youth shall have to be prepared for its future duties," Hitler said.

Hitler knew that young people wanted recognition. They were energetic, full of life, and had a strong love for Germany. Hitler recognized these qualities and made it part of his plan to control the future world. He planned to mold Germany’s youth into a force that he controlled. Hitler’s direct and personal involvement became a great inspiration for the German youth. HJ being instructed in class (From the Movie: "Swing Kids")

Membership in the HJ was required by all young people by March of Children were torn away from parents and sent to houses and orphanages. If parents tried to keep their children out of the HJ, they had to go to prison. Membership in the HJ was required by all young people by March of Children were torn away from parents and sent to houses and orphanages. If parents tried to keep their children out of the HJ, they had to go to prison.

The boys learned to respect the Nazi Party and to live by the Nazi Primer (the official handbook of the HJ). They were taught that the Aryan race was superior to all others. In the Nazi Primer, it said "when considering bodily form, the HJ have to take into account above all things, size and shape of body, skull, color of hair, the eyes and the skin, as well as the texture of the hair." to determine how they were superior.

He alone, who owns the youth, gains the Future! -- Adolf Hitler, speech at the Reichsparteitag, 1935 In 1932, just under 107,956 youths were enrolled in the HJ. By the end of 1939, over 8,000,000 were enrolled. In 1932, just under 107,956 youths were enrolled in the HJ. By the end of 1939, over 8,000,000 were enrolled. Flag of the Hitler Youth

Hitler said, "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!" Children could join this program as young as 6 years of age. At 10 years, they graduated into the Jungvolk. They had to swear an oath saying that they will give their lives to Hitler and Germany. At 15 they were in the HJ. Hitler said, "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!" Children could join this program as young as 6 years of age. At 10 years, they graduated into the Jungvolk. They had to swear an oath saying that they will give their lives to Hitler and Germany. At 15 they were in the HJ.

Hitler Youth Snowman Hitler Youth build a snowman with Jewish features and a star. Photo Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz Date: 1938 – 1939 Place: Locale: Berlin Region: Berlin Country: Germany

--Knives, compasses, and other gear were made for the Hitler Youth, including this board game. Note the swastika arm band with the white stripe, the official symbol of the Movement.

Der Pimpf was the “monthly” for young boys in the Hitler Youth organization. The first issue appeared in 1935 under the title Morgen. The title changed to Der Pimpf with the April 1937 issue.

The Hitler Youth was a logical extension of Hitler's belief that the future of Nazi Germany was its children. The Hitler Youth was seen as being as important to a child as school was. In the early years of the Nazi government, Hitler had made it clear as to what he expected German children to be like:Hitler'sNazi GermanyschoolHitler "The weak must be chiselled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel.“ Nazi education schemes part fitted in with this but Hitler wanted to occupy the minds of the young in Nazi Germany even more.education

Translation - "Fight the Danger! Harm Prevention is a Duty!" Movements for youngsters were part of German culture and the Hitler Youth had been created in the 1920's. By 1933 its membership stood at 100,000. After Hitler came to power, all other youth movements were abolished and as a result the Hitler Youth grew quickly. In 1936, the figure stood at 4 million members. In 1936, it became all but compulsory to join the Hitler Youth. Youths could avoid doing any active service if they paid their subscription but this became all but impossible after 1939.

Indoctrination of youth began early in the Third Reich.

Boys at 10, joined the Deutsches Jungvolk (German Young People) until the age of 13 when they transferred to the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) until the age of 18. In 1936, the writer J R Tunus wrote about the activities of the Hitler Jugend. He stated that part of their "military athletics" (Wehrsport) included marching, bayonet drill, grenade throwing, trench digging, map reading, gas defense, use of dugouts, how to get under barbed wire and pistol shooting.

The compulsory training and conditioning of Germany boys into an army of unfeeling Hitler youth demanded the sacrifice of any vestige of personal identity Hitler youth

--The Hitler Youth Movement succeeded in mesmerizing an entire generation of idealistic German boys with the NAZI ideology of racial and national superiority. These boys were the ones who carried out without question the barbarities of the Holocaust.

Above -- Hitler Youth perform in the Hour of Commemoration in front of the town hall in Tomaszow, Poland in Their flags bear the ancient Germanic Sig-Rune 'S' symbolic of victory.

Girls in the Hitler Youth --The Hitler Youth movement included girls, but they were enrolled in separate units--Bund Deutscher Maedchen. The goal was to prepare them for home and motherhood, quite different then the training provided the boys. This legend reads, "All 10 years olds ???". "Every girl belongs to us" states this League of German Maidens poster

IMAGE: 'Build youth hostels and camps' IMAGE: 'Build youth hostels and camps' (lithograph), circa (lithograph), circa publisher unknown, printed by Offesetdruck Langebartels and Jung, artist: Witte, Hamburg. Shirley Smith Family Trust Collection

Girls, at the age of 10, joined the Jungmadelbund (League of Young Girls) and at the age of 14 transferred to the Bund Deutscher Madel (League of German Girls). Girls had to be able to run 60 meters in 14 seconds, throw a ball 12 meters, complete a 2 hour march, swim 100 meters and know how to make a bed.

The Nazi League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel), a branch of the Hitler Youth, trained girls as physically fit future mothers and homemakers. The Nazi League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel), a branch of the Hitler Youth, trained girls as physically fit future mothers and homemakers. Poster, September 1934, Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany

The League of German Girls was a compulsory youth organization for German girls formed in the early 1930s. The purpose of the organization, along with the Hitler Youth for boys, was to indoctrinate young people into the politics and culture of the Nazi Party. Shown here, girls waving swastika flags wait to greet Adolf Hitler on the Wilhelmplatz in Berlin on August 13, 1938.

The girls spent two thirds of their time playing sports and one third of their time learning the Nazi youth ideology. The main goal for which the German girls were trained was to become mothers of genetically healthy children, whom they would in turn educate in the spirit of Nazism. The girls spent two thirds of their time playing sports and one third of their time learning the Nazi youth ideology. The main goal for which the German girls were trained was to become mothers of genetically healthy children, whom they would in turn educate in the spirit of Nazism. The member of the German Girls League were taught to shun any contact with the Jews, this a belief that they would later pass on to their future children. Cover of League of German Girls publication, "The German Girl"

‘Youth serves the Führer’ propaganda for HJ propaganda for HJ

Being in the Hitler Jugend gave children a sense of comradely, and a sense of belonging. Children entered into the Jugend as young as six years old as a 'Pimpf'. Right from the start political indoctrination was a main agenda of the Hitler Jugend making the young pledge their allegiance and lives to Hitler himself, rather than Germany. By the time a Jugend was 18, he was ready to enter into the military as a brown shirt, or depending if they were hard working, the elite SA forces.

At left, the Youth sing songs of Praise to Hitler and Germany. Hitler stated many times that the future of Germany lie not with the old, who were incapable of furthering Germany any more, but in the hands of the illustrious and infinitely capable young. Whether or not the Hitler Jugend was to succeed, it is clear that they were essential to Hitler's plans and in the unification of the German ideologies. Planting the seeds of Nazi thought at a young age made for a fanatic group of Germans who at the drop of a dime were willing to die for Hitler and his beliefs.

"The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel." - Adolf Hitler.

"one people, one government, one leader!" Hitler understood propaganda well. He said simplification and repetition were the key to persuading the masses. In German propaganda you see complex ideas turned into simple easily remembered slogans which were repeated again and again until they entered the unconscious of the German people.

The End a quote from Hitler regarding his Youth and The New Order “My program for educating youth is hard. Weakness must be hammered away. ….I want a brutal, domineering, fearless, 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.” -- Adolf Hitler, 1933.