How far did Hitler succeed in

creating a ‘Volksgemeinschaft?’

(A New German Nation)

Did the Nazis succeed in winning the hearts and minds of German youth?

Nazi aims for boys and girls:• Be obedient• Idolize the Fuhrer• Be physically fit• Sacrifice self for the national

good• Do everything possible to

strengthen the health and racial purity of the German nation

BOYS: Be a strong fighter

GIRLS: Bear many children

How did the Nazis use youth movements to instill their values?

• Virtually from birth, German children were to be brought up as good National Socialists and loyal followers of Hitler.

• The Nazis used two major institutions to achieve their aims: the school system and youth groups.

• Once youngsters left education and youth movements, they would join other Nazi organizations, such as RAD (Reich Labour Service) and DAF (German Labour Front), to ensure they did not escape control.

• The Nazis hoped that these institutions would predominate over traditional and possible hostile influences of parents and churches.

• Hitler Youth institutions focused on offering fun and action to the young (camps, sports and military training), but this was backed up by intimidation to persuade members to conform to all the state’s demands.

• By 1936, all youth organizations were banned unless they were run by the Nazis.

• Although Hitler Youth became compulsory, many managed to avoid it, especially after they left school, which many did at fourteen.

Examples of what Hitler Youth members would sing:

The Fahnenlied (Banner Song) written by Hitler Youth Leader Baldurvon Schirach, is sung here by Berlin Hitler Youth members, ending withthe final refrain...

Unsere Fahne flattert uns voran(Our banner flutters before us)Unsere Fahne ist die neue Zeit(Our banner represents the new era)Und die Fahne führt uns in die Ewigkeit!(And our banner leads us to eternity!)Ja, die Fahne ist mehr als der Tod(Yes, our banner means more to us than death)

A nursery rhyme from the 1930s:What puffs and patters?What clicks and clatters?I know, oh what fun!It’s a lovely Gatling-gun.

Membership of the Hitler Youth:1932: 107,9561934: 3,500,0001936: 6,000,000+

Education…

• Bernhard Rust, Nazi Education Minister, stated in ‘Education and Instruction’, the official manual for teachers, the chief purpose of the school is to train human beings to realize that the State is more important than the individual, that individuals must be willing and ready to sacrifice themselves for the Nation and the Fuhrer.

• The Nazi strategy on education had a number of strands, which were initially concerned with exercising greater control over the schools.

• Teachers were pressured into joining the National Socialist Teachers’ League (NSLB).

• Members had to attend one month training courses, stressing Nazi ideology and physical education.

• Those teachers who failed to join the league and attend the training course were dismissed.

• Greater stress was put on physical exercise, which took up to two hours a day.

• Nazi ideas were incorporated in subjects such as history and biology.

• Religion was downgraded and eventually replaced

• From 1935 onwards, all textbooks had to be pre-approved and new textbooks were produced reflecting Nazi values.

• There was also a move away from co-educational schools to ensure the different sexes received their appropriate education.

• Girls took needlework, music then language and home-crafts to become good homemakers and mothers.

• In 1933, the Education Minister announced the formation of National political institutes of Education (NAPOLAs) for boys aged 10-18, to develop future leaders of Germany.

• In 1936, the NAPOLAs were taken over by the SS, who provided a military style boarding education, with classes called ‘platoons’ and with the atmosphere of a military camp.

• There was even more stress on physical education, compulsory manual labour and further political training.

• In 1937, Youth leaders set up special leadership schools, the Adolf Hitler Schools.

• These were free boarding schools for 12-18 year old boys, selected mainly on grounds of physical appearance and leadership potential.

Alternative Youth

• The growing political and ideological bias of the Hitler Youth diminished its attraction for many young people.

• The Edelweiss Pirates, a group mainly of boys between 14-17 and some girls, were partly just rebellious youths trying to escape the intrusive Nazi system, joining in particular pastimes such as weekend camps, hikes, singing songs about sex and food.

The Impact of Nazism on German Women

Cook using left-overs

Look after herfamily

Full skirt/flatshoes

Clothes made from home-produced

substances

Broad hips forChild bearing

Blonde/Blue Eyes

The Nazi IdealWoman

FashionConscious

ProfessionalCareer

Slim

Smokes

Make-up

Dyed/PermedHair

The Modern(1930) Woman

American/French

The Nazi View of a German woman compared to the modern woman

How did the Nazis implement their ideas?

• Soon after the Nazis came to power, women who had experienced new freedoms under the Republic began to feel the Nazi backlash.

• In 1933, the Law for the Reduction of Unemployment linked the fight to reduce unemployment with the introduction of Nazi policies towards women.

• Marriage grants were given to women who gave up their jobs.

• This was soon followed by restrictions on women’s employment in the Civil Service.

• In October 1933, the official guidelines for recruiting civil servants and teachers stated: “in the event of males and females being equally qualified for employment in public service, the male applicant should be given preference”.

• Marriage also became increasingly influenced by legal changes that both threatened and encouraged German married couples to produce the right racial stock and plenty of it.

• Loans were offered to couples to encourage them to get married (they received 1000 marks or half a year’s pay).

• The more children they had, the less they had to pay back.

• Divorce also became easier but this was not inspired by concern for women’s rights. It was in order to boost the birth rate by ending unproductive marriages that were deemed ‘worthless’ to the state.

• Medals were awarded for having children: gold for eight; silver for six; bronze for four.

• However, not everyone was encouraged or allowed to have children. It was made compulsory for women with inherited diseases, or weaknesses such as colour-blindness, to be sterilized.

From a Nazi leaflet issued to young German women

1. Remember that you are a German!

2. If you are healthy, do not stay single!

3. Keep your body pure!

4. Keep your mind and spirit pure!

5. Marry only for love!

6. As a German, choose only a husband of the same blood!

7. In choosing a husband, ask about his forebears (ancestors)!

8. Health is essential to beauty!

9. Don’t look for a playmate but for a companion!

10. You should want to have as many children as possible!

Nazi Organizations for Women

Ages…• 10-14 Jung Madel (young

girls)• 14-18 BDM (League of

German Girls)• 18-21 Glaube und Schonheit

(Faith and Beauty)• NSF (National Socialist

Women’s Organization)• DFW (German Women’s

Enterprise)• RAD and DAF women’s

sections• NSV (Nationalist Socialist

People’s Welfare)

Effectiveness of Nazi policies for women

• The Nazis’ policies towards women suffered from several contradictions; for example, over their attitude towards marriage and family.

• The main burden of their propaganda was to encourage the healthy Aryan family, as a small unit of Volksgemeinschaft. However, several of their policies undermined family.

• The demands of Hitler Youth took youngsters away from their family and encouraged them to challenge any non-Nazi attitudes of their parents.

• The quest for a genetically pure race led to the encouragement of divorce and sterilization for those ‘unworthy’ of marriage.

• In many ways this account of Nazi policies towards women illustrates some of the limitations on the totalitarian nature of the regime.