germankidsinww2



"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 trough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel." - Hitler **The Hitler Youth** How did Hitler Youth come about?

- Created in the 1920's - By 1933 it had 100,000 members -When Hitler came into power, he discontinued all other youth groups and movements - By 1936 Hitler Youth had four million members -Before 1939- Youths could avoid doing any active service if they paid their subscription - After 1939- This was practically impossible

Who was in Hitler Youth?

-10-18 year olds -Separate organizations for boys and girls

What was the main goal of Hitler Youth?

-To prepare boys for military service -To prepare girls for motherhood -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. -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.

Near the end of the war, Germany was out of soilders. They began to draft young boys to fight. Almost all perished.