How did young people react to the Nazi Regime

• Education and Youth in Nazi Germany - Summary


  Hitler and the Nazi Party made many changes which affected Germany’s young people. Nazi policies targeted both the establishment of youth groups as well as children’s education. These organisations aimed to indoctrinate young people with radical, Nazi ideas.
• Education and Youth in Nazi Germany - Summary


  By 1933, boys+girls in Germany were only allowed to join 1 of the available Nazi youth groups. For male teenagers, membership in the Hitler Youth was focused on physical+military training. Hitler wanted to create an army for the future to ensure protection of Nazi Germany. Teenage girls were encouraged to join the League of German Maidens, where they’d develop skills such as cooking+needlework. While they were also expected to take part in physical activities, this was more to ensure they would be capable mothers
• Education and Youth in Nazi Germany - Summary


  Education in schools was also directed towards Nazi beliefs. The Nazis created lessons in eugenics. There was a focus on PE, especially for the boys. Girls would learn about the importance of marrying ‘pure’ German men. The curriculum was tightly controlled and all teachers were expected to join the Nazi Teachers' League.
• Nazi Beliefs Towards the Young

  • Hitler and the Nazis wanted to create a Third Reich (Third Empire- Germany had previously had 2 empires) that would last a thousand years
  • Hitler was aware that adults in Nazi Germany had mixed opinions of the Nazi Party
  • Adults were more difficult to influence and change than the young
  • Control of the youth and future generations would ensure that the Nazi Party would always have public support
• Nazis’ key beliefs towards the young 


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• Changes made by Nazis during 1930s to boost membership numbers of Nazi Youth groups 


  1932:

  • Nazi Youth groups were far smaller vs other non-nazi groups

  1933:

  • Almost all Non-Nazi youth groups were banned

  1936:

  • Young people wanting to use sport facilities had to join a Nazi Youth group

  1939:

  • From aged 10, all young Germans had to join a nazi youth group
• Types of Nazi Youth Groups


  Pimpfe:

  • Male group
  • aged 6-10

  German Young People:

  • Male group
  • aged 10-14

  Hitler Youth:

  • Male group
  • aged 14-18

  Young Maidens:

  • Female group
  • aged 10-14

  League of German Maidens

  • Female group
  • aged 14-18
• The Hitler Youth

  • von Schirach was its leader 
  • At age 18, boys became members of the Nazi Party+worked or joined the armed forces

  Training areas:

  • Military Training- preparation for amy
  • Character Training- ruthless+loyalty to Hitler
  • Physical Training- expeditions+sports events
  • Political training- loyalty to the Nazis
• League of German Maidens (BDM_


  Female equivalent of the Hitler Youth

  emphasis was on training girls to be good wives+mothers

  • Activities focused on the ‘three Ks
  • Kinder (Children)
  • Kirche (Church)
  • Küche (Cooking)
  • Girls were taught about ‘racial hygiene’
• The Impact of Youth Groups


  Popularity of youth Groups

  • many were enthusiastic and enjoyed activities
  • many felt a sense of belonging in the groups
  • many felt they were creating a stronger Germany

  Unpopularity of youth groups

  • many disliked factors on physical+military training
  • many disliked strict rules
  • parents felt their own authority was undermined by youth groups
• Education in Nazi Germany- background

  • Alongside attendance of one of the Nazi youth groups, children were still required to attend school for education
  • Hitler knew that control of children’s education would allow him to create a generation of Nazis loyal to him 
  • Bernhard Rust was made Education Minister in 1934 and made several changes to teachers and schools
• Education in Nazi Germany- teachers

  • Those not loyal to the Nazi regime were sacked
  • They swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler+joined the Nazi Teachers’ League
  • Membership of the Nazi Party was compulsory
  • They attended political education courses outlining key Nazi ideas
  • Teachers had responsibilities at school to:
  • Teach students Nazi salute
  • Begin+end each lesson with ‘Heil Hitler’
  • Place posters, Nazi flags+a picture of Hitler in each classroom
• Education in Nazi Germany- Curriculum 


  Boys and girls were educated separately

  Nazis took control of curriculum so they could influence children’s beliefs

  subjects:

  • History- blamed Jewish people for Germany’s problems
  • PE- number of lessons doubled to create strong children
  • Eugenics- classified races and learned about Aryan superiority
  • Domestic science- girls learned to cook, sew and housework
• Education in Nazi Germany- curriculum

  • After 1935, the Nazis had to approve all textbooks
  • All books contained pictures of Hitler
  • Mein Kampf became a compulsory text
  • Events like the First World War were reworded to blame Jewish people and the November Criminals
  • Napolas were schools for the most ‘gifted’ and racially pure children:
  • SS members replaced the traditional teachers
  • The emphasis was on sport and physical training
  • Students went on to join the SS or police services
  • By 1939, there were 16 Napolas schools