Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany

In the early 20th century, Germany had for many years a history of youth organizations, some linked to a particular church or political party, while others were staunchly non-sectarian.

Most of these groups held a common theme of friendship and healthy social engagement, and while many of these organizations united and flourished based on the strength of their leadership, by far the most predominant and lasting of these organizations was the Hitler Youth. The Nazi party had its roots in the infant German Worker’s Party, which Adolph Hitler reluctantly joined in 1919.

The NSDAP

By 1921, the organization had morphed into the National Socialists German Worker’s Party or NSDAP, with Hitler as its leader. In the summer of 1921, an 18-year-old former National German Youth leader, Gustav Adolph Link, applied for membership with the NSDAP, but was denied due to his age.

Link persisted in his bid to join the organization, and in 1922, the Youth League of the NSDAP had been formed under his leadership. Membership was for Aryan German males only between the ages of 14 and 18 years, while foreigners and Jews were vehemently disallowed. When Link was ousted in 1926 for financial improprieties, the paramilitary group was renamed The Hitler Youth, roughly one year after the formation of the Nazi Party.

Members of the Hitler Youth were seen by most Germans as a way to ensure the future of Nazi ideology, including anti-semitic racism and the belief in Aryan supremacy among the races of men.

Hitler Youth Training Camps

Training included hiking and camping, as well as weapons training, assault course circuits and basic military boot camp preparation.

The aim was to instill in German youth the motivation that would enable its members to fight faithfully for Nazi cause, should Germany ever see the need to go to war. Emphasizing physical fitness and military training over academic pursuit, the principles of self-sacrifice were instilled in each and every member.

Emphasizing the Nazi Party over secular practices, Hitler Youth were used to break up church youth groups, while interfering with church attendance. While the educational and training goals of the Hitler Youth attempted to undermine the values of the traditional elitist structures of German society, their training also aimed at obliterating the distinctions between the classes, replacing class stratification with the political goals of Hitler’s totalitarian dictatorship.