Youth in Nazi GermanyImpact on Education & Creation of

Youth Groups

“I want an athletic youth. This is the first and most important thing. I do not want any intellectual education. With knowledge my youth will be spoiled”

Adolf Hitler

Education• The Nazi’s saw education simply as

a tool to indoctrinate young people to follow Nazi beliefs

• In February 1933, Bernard Rust began the Nazification of Education

• After 1934, the whole German education system was changed to support the Nazi state and Nazi beliefs were taught at all levels

Nazification of Schools

• Teachers were the largest singles professional group within Nazi party (32%)

• Teachers had to join the National Socialist Teachers Alliance or be sacked

• The alliance indoctrinated teachers in Nazi ideology

• All Jewish teachers lost their jobs. • Jewish children were not allowed to

attend schools after 1938

Nazification of schools

By 1939, church-controlled (or denominational) schools had been abolished

National Political Training Institutes were elite military academies.

Adolf Hitler schools were highly selective schools that taught racial and political studies

Castles of Order were set up to train the next generation of Nazi leaders

The Nazification of Universities

German universities had to change their focus towards science and technology

All students had to attend physical and ideological training sessions at least twice a week

Jewish academics and those who challenged the government lost their jobs

All academics had to sign ‘The Declaration in Support of Hitler and the National Socialist State’

Also had to become members of the Nazi Lecturers’ Association

The Nazification of Universities

All new lecturers had to attend a compulsory six-week training camp for ideological and physical training

Nazi racial and political ideas were included in various courses

Many of Germany’s finest academics left the country.

By 1940, some leaders realised that this approach was causing Germany to fall behind in scientific and technological research

The Nazi Curriculum

Sport was emphasised› By 1936, two hours per day was spent on physical

exercise History was emphasised as a way of

communicating the Nazi ideal of the glorious German past

Religious studies dropped from curriculum in 1935 Biology was changed to become the study of race Racist and militaristic messages were

communicated in textbooks for other subjects like maths

Source – Girls School Timetable

8:00 German (every day)

8:50 Geography; History or Singing (alternate days)

9:40 Race Studies and Ideology (every day)

10:25 Recess, Sports and Special Announcements (every day)

11:00 Domestic Science or Maths (alternate days)

12:10 Eugenics or Health Biology (alternate days)

1:00 – 6:00

Sport

Evenings Sex education, Ideology or Domestic Science (one evening each)

Source – Timetable Labour Camp for 18-25 year olds

6:00 Get up (5:00 in summer)

3:00-4:00

Rest

6:05-6:20

Exercises 4:00-5:00

Sport

6:20-6:40

Washing; bed making

5:00-6:00

Political Studies

6:40-6:55

Breakfast 6:00-7:00

Allocation of jobs for the next day

7:00-7:30

Flag parade; speech by camp leader

7:00-8:00

Supper

7:30-2:30

March to work; six hours’ farm work

8:00-9:00

Songs and dancing; speeches

2:30-3:00

Midday meal 10:00 Lights out

Maths problem

The Jews are aliens in Germany. In 1933 there were 66,060,000 inhabitants of the

German Reich of whom 499,862 were Jews. What is the percentage of aliens in

Germany?

Nazi Youth Groups

“When an opponent says to me: ‘I will not come over to your side’ I calmly say ‘Your child belongs to us already” (Adolf Hitler)

Nazi Youth Groups were organised to ensure a new generation of committed Nazis

Founded in 1922 and grew to about 100,000 members in 1932

1936 – groups made compulsory and grew to 9 million members by 1939

Nazi Youth Groups

The Nazi Youth movement was highly structured and was made up of different stages:

For boys:› Little Fellows (Pimpf): Boys between the ages

of 6 and 10› Young Folk (Jungvolk): aged between 10 and 14› Hitler Youth (Hitler Jugend): aged between 14

and 18› At 18 joined the Labour Front for 6 months’

compulsory work.

Nazi Youth Groups

For Girls:› League of German Girls (Jung-Madelbund):

ages 10 to 14› The League of German Maidens (Bund

Deutscher Madel): ages 14 to 18› At 18, could then join Faith and Beauty to

prepare them for their role as wives and mothers

Nazi Youth Groups

These groups reflected Nazi ideas about the different roles of men and women.

Girls’ and boys’ groups were treated separately, and were given gender-specific training.› Hitler Youth – physical fitness and military skills

Motto – “Live Faithfully, Fight Bravely and Die Willingly!”

› League of German Maidens – encouraged to be fit and learn the skills of homemaking Motto – “Be Faithful, Be Pure, Be German!”

Lebensborn

Translates to ‘wellspring of life’ or ‘fountain of life’

The purpose was to offer young girls who were deemed ‘racially pure’ the possibility to give birth to a child in secret.

Aiming to create a super-race In order to participate you had to pass a

‘racial purity’ test Blonde hair and blue eyes were preferred, and

family lineage had to be traced back at least three generations