nazi policies towards the youth

Learning Objectives:

Explain how the Nazis attempted to control the youth of German?

How did Nazi Ideas and Propaganda affect education within German Schools?

Nazi Policies towards the Youth

“In my great educative work I am beginning

with the young. We older ones are used

up…We are cowardly and sentimental…I

intend to have an athletic youth…In this way

I shall eradicate the thousands of years of

human domestication. Then I shall have in

front of me the pure and noble natural

material. With that I can create the new

order.” - Hitler

Starter:What are your first impressions of teenagers during the Nazi era?

LO: Explain how the Nazis attempted to control the youth of German?

Hitler’s Youth

• Hitler pretended that he

loved children;

• Children were, after all, the

future of the nation;

• In reality they were simply another tool to ensure his

long-term support in

Germany.

• All young people were

supposed to join a Nazi

Youth Movement.

• Other youth movements, such as the Scouts and Girl

Guides, were banned.


Hitler’s Youth

• 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.

• 1936, the figure stood at

4 million members;

• 1936, it became all but

compulsory to join the

Hitler Youth.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/hitler-youth-indoctrination-of-the-young/3281.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/hitler-youth-indoctrination-of-the-young/3281.html

Hitler’s YouthLO: Explain how the Nazis attempted to control the youth of German?

Hitler’s Youth For Girls

• The Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM or League of German Maidens)

taught young girls of their future roles in society: to mother more

Germans;

• They emphasized values of obedience, self-control, and discipline.

• They taught women how to be “good” Nazi wives and mothers

and how to raise children that will also embody these ideals.


Hitler’s Youth

• Read Pages 130-131 in

your text book. Make

bullet point notes on what

life was like in Hitler’s Youth

Organisation as a boy.

• Complete the Activity A

on page 132 by discussing

each source with a

partner.

• What was the difference

between boys and girls

youth groups?


What is indoctrination?

Indoctrination is the

process of teaching a

certain set of beliefs as

fact. An indoctrinated

person is expected not

to question or critically

examine the beliefs

they are being taught.

IndoctrinationLO: Explain how the Nazis attempted to control the youth of German?

Age

Boys

Led by Baldur von Schirach

“He who serves our Fuhrer,

Adolf Hitler, serves Germany

and he who serves Germany,

serves God”

Girls

Led by Gertrud Scholz-Klink

"Though our weapon be but a

wooden spoon, it must

become as powerful as other

weapons"

14-18

Hitler Youth

The Hitlerjugend (HJ)

The League of German

Maidens(Bund Deutscher Mädchen -

BDM)

10-14German Young Folk

(Deutsches Jungvolk - DJ)

Young Girls

(The Jungmädel - JM)

6-10Little Fellows

(Pimpfen)

-

Youth OrganisationsLO: Explain how the Nazis attempted to control the youth of German?

Successes and Failures of Hitler’s Youth

General Reasons Boys Girls

Popular

features

• Sharp new

uniform

• Free badges, gifts• Chance to

socialise

• War games

• Camping trips• Mountain

climbing

• Shooting practice

• Sports

• Aerobics

• Cookery classes

Unpopular

features

• Attendance

became

compulsory

when war broke

out in 1939

• Annoying for

those with other

outside interests

• Too much stress

on creating

soldiers: 12 mile

marches were

common

• Only 25% of boys

joined up

voluntarily before

1939

• Too much stress

on making good

mothers.

• Some people said

that BDM stood

for Bund

Deutsche

Milkkühe (League

of German Milk

Cows!)


Successes and Failures of Hitler’s Youth

• Construct a dialogue between two 16 year olds set in

1940 – one a young man, the other a young woman.

• The man should start by explaining to the woman the

different youth organisations he has been in since the

age of 6. He should then move on to explain what he

liked about those organisations, and then end by

saying why he now getting fed up with them.

• The woman should then reply following the same

format.

• Conduct extra research and break the dialogue up

more naturally if you wish to do a really good job, and

highlight key words in bold.


Were children indoctrinated at school?

The Nazi Minister of Education was

Bernhard Rust. He focused on

controlling the education of Germany’s

young people through three key areas:

Control of the curriculum, Control of

teachers, and establishing specialist

schools. In 1938, Bernhard Rust stated

that “The whole function of education is

to create Nazis”.

Read the following extracts from Nazi textbooks. Note down

the school subject it relates to from this list: Biology | Physical

Education | Religious Education | Geography | History|

Math’s



“Fuehrer, my Fuehrer given me

by God, / Protect and

preserve my life for long. / You

rescued / Germany from its

deepest need. / I thank you

for my daily bread. / Stay for a

long time with me, leave me

not. / Fuehrer, my Fuehrer, my

faith, my light / Hail my

Fuehrer.”

1. Biology

2. Religious

Education

3. Geography

4. History

5. Math’s

6. Physical

Education



“The Aryans (Nordic people)

were tall, light-skinned, light-

eyed, blond people…

Everywhere Nordic creative

power has built up mighty

empires with noble ideas”

1. Biology

2. Religious

Education

3. Geography

4. History

5. Math’s

6. Physical

Education



“The Jews are aliens in

Germany. In 1933 there were

6,606,000 inhabitants of the

German Reich of whom

499,862 were Jews. What is the

percentage of aliens in

Germany?”

1. Biology

2. Religious

Education

3. Geography

4. History

5. Math’s

6. Physical

Education



“Sport exists to make a person

strong, agile and bold…a

young German must be swift

as a greyhound, as tough as

leather, and as hard as Krupps

steel to help create the Master

Race”

1. Biology

2. Religious

Education

3. Geography

4. History

5. Math’s

6. Physical

Education



“On the day of National

Socialist victory, the

Communists… attempted to

organize armed resistance by

subhumans in Germany. The

burning of the Reichstag was

supposed to be the torch that

brought forth bloody

insurrection…they failed”

1. Biology

2. Religious

Education

3. Geography

4. History

5. Math’s

6. Physical

Education



“Despite the great decrease

in birth rate, the German

people, with a population

density of 133.5 for square

kilometer, remain a crowded

people…we need lebensraum

if we do not again want to see

large amounts of German

blood emigrating to other

nations”

1. Biology

2. Religious

Education

3. Geography

4. History

5. Math’s

6. Physical

Education


http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/indoctrination-in-nazi-germany/3282.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/indoctrination-in-nazi-germany/3282.html

This picture is taken from an anti-Semitic children's book published in 1936— the sign

reads "Jews are not wanted here".

Illustration from a children’s book

published in Germany in 1936. The

signs say—”The Jews are our

misfortune” and “How the Jews cheat”.

Illustration from an anti-Semitic German children’s book the caption says: “The Jewish nose is crooked, it

looks like a 6”.

Education was controlled by the Nazis

• Children were taught about the greatness of Hitler e.g.. on his birthday

they had to place flowers behind the pictures of Hitler at home and at

school.

Primary Schools

• Children were taught fairy stories of Nazi knights who saved maidens from

bad Russian gnomes. In maths the young child had to count the number

of SS guards.

• From birth children were told that the Germans were the master race.

Secondary school

• Teachers had to be Nazi members.

• The secondary curriculum included biology, which emphasised the

supremacy of the German race. In History Germans were taught how the

Treaty of Versailles was unfair. In Maths questions included the area of a

swastika.

What was school life like for children?


A visit to a Nazi girls’ school, recorded in ‘Education for

Death’ by Gregor Ziemer in 1942.

‘The school bell called the girls…before I visited the

classes I spoke to the head teacher. She told me that

every class in the school was built around a course called

‘Activities of women’. This course was divided into

handwork, domestic science, cooking, house and

garden work – and the most section – breeding and

hygiene. This section dealt with sex education, birth,

childcare…’

What does this source tell us about the lessons taken by

girls?

What was school life like for girls?


What was school life like for girls?

Period Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

1 German German German German German German

2 Geog History Singing Geog History Singing

3 Race Study

Race Study

Race Study

Race Study

Party Beliefs

Party Beliefs

4 Break - Sports with Special Announcements

5 Domestic Science with Mathematics

6 Eugenics, Health Biology and Sport

A typical timetable followed at a girls’ school.


An official statement on the purpose of education for

boys

‘German Language, History, Geography, Chemistry and

Mathematics must concentrate on military subjects – the

glorification of military service and of German

heroes…15% of time was given to Physical Education and

boxing was compulsory”

Why do you think that the Nazis wished to influence the

boys curriculum in this way?

What was school life like for boys?


• Many teachers were pro Nazi as they had been poorly paid

during the Weimar period.

• The Nazi’s were nevertheless keen to keep control of the

teaching profession.

• Membership of the Nazi Teachers’ Association became

compulsory after 1933. This made the process of

indoctrination much easier for the Nazi Party, with teacher’s

being only too willing to pass on Nazi Ideas within the

classroom.

• Those teacher’s who were thought to be lacking in loyalty

and not willing to ‘defend without reservation the National-

Socialist state’ were sacked.

Teacher in Nazi GermanyLO: Explain how the Nazis attempted to control the youth of German?

Leadership SchoolsLO: Explain how the Nazis attempted to control the youth of German?

The Nazi’s introduced two types of special

boarding schools

Napolas (National, Political

and Educational Institutions)Adolf Hitler Schools

No. of schools

37 10

Age of

Students

10 and over Teenagers

Purpose To create professional soldiers

and SS

To create professional

civil servants and administrators

Methods Hard military training Training in Nazi Ideology

Explain the methods used by Hitler to develop a

youth that would be devoted to the Nazi Party?

(8 marks)

Answer this question using P-E-E-L.1)Write a brief introduction setting the scene.2)Choose 3 methods you think are the most important to Hitler’s developing a youth devoted to the Nazi Party?3)Write a paragraph about each one, making sure you explain how each method attempted to control the youth of German.Use the information on these slides and in your text book (pg.130-135) to help you answer this question.

Hitler's control of the Youth


Bun - Point

Salad - Evidence

Meat - Explanation

Bun - Link

*History Skills Builder* Burger/PEEL Paragraphs

nazi policies towards the youth

Education

youth of german

youth movements

hitlers youth organisation

nazi youth movement

girls youth groups

german schools

hitlers youthhitler

hitlers youth1933