ndnuafricashannon: October 2010

My freshman year here at NDNU I took the Holocaust class with Professor Zimmerman. We learned all about the Holocaust and about back ground of the extinction of Jews. For the end of the term, I wrote a paper on the Hitler youth. Since we talked about the child soldiers in Uganda, I thought everyone might be interested the comparison between these two gruesome groups of children in history.

The Child Soldiers

It is taught today that the Holocaust was not only genocide, but also a completely atrocious event. All over the world, the Holocaust is studied with close analysis of the concentration camps, Nazi ideology, and the life of Hitler. But what is usually over looked is the child participation of the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, Hitler successfully trained and brainwashed German youth to become some of his fiercest, and youngest, fighters. Adolf Hitler is quoted saying:

“My program for educating youth is hard. Weakness must be hammered away. In my castles of the Teutonic Order a youth will grow up before which the world will tremble. I want a brutal, domineering, fearless, cruel youth. Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak or gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes… That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication… That is how I will create the New Order.” –Adolf Hitler 1933

These absurdly harsh conditions, requirements, and ideologies were a prevalent and driving force behind the Nazi youth movements. With these plans and methods, Adolf Hitler has succeeded in creating one of the most brutal youth fighting forces the world has ever seen.

I. Road to Power (1923-1933)

When Hitler was released from prison in December of 1924, he re-founded the Nazi Party and placed a twenty-one year old law student name Kurt Gruber in charge of the German youth movement. Under Gruber, the Greater German Youth Movement because the sole official youth organization of the Nazi Party. It was even allowed to retain a degree of independence from the NSDAP leadership. On July 4, 1926, Gruber’s Greater German Youth Movement was renamed the Hitler Jugend, or Hitler Youth (Holocaust Research Project).

Kurt Gruber became the first officially proclaimed leader of the Hitler Youth. He right away began to establish various departments and procedures. Among the fourteen separate departments, there were ones for sports, propaganda, and education. “New guidelines stipulated: that all Hitler Youth members over age eighteen had to be Nazi Party members; appointments to high ranking positions required Party approval; Hitler Youths must obey all commands issued by a Nazi Party leader; pay a membership fee of four Pfennigs per month; an wear standardized uniforms designed to avoid confusion with storm trooper uniforms” (The History Place). Additionally by the end of 1927, all Hitler Youths turning eighteen had to join the storm troopers.

The Nuremberg Party rally in 1927 was the first appearance made by the Hitler Youth to the annual rallies. From there the Hitler Youth began to grow. At the end of 1928 Gruber decided it was necessary for the Hitler Youth leadership to meet and streamline the organization. This meeting resulted in a new department for boys ages ten to fourteen that later became known as the Jungvolk (Rempel, Gerhard). A separate branch was also added for girls that was called Bund Deutscher Madel (BDM) or the League of German Girls. “Gruber also reaffirmed the unique identity of the Hitler Youth as a new youth movement of young social-revolutionary minded Germans trained to risk their own lives if necessary to free Germany from the shackles of Capitalists and the enemies of the German race” (The History Place).

Although Gruber was enjoying immense success with his organization, competition for his position soon arose from an ambitious young man named Baldur von Schirach. Baldur von Schirach was the son of a wealthy Prussian army captain. He was educated in the best German schools and after joining the Nazi Party at age eighteen, he quickly caught the attention of Hitler. After some prompting from Hitler, he attended the University of Munich to study German folklore and art history. He joined the storm troopers and the local Nazi Student Association. In July 1928, Baldur von Schirach was appointed the leader of the Nazi Student Association and from there was made the advisor for student affairs at Nazi Party headquarters.

In April 1929, the Hitler Youth was declared the only official youth organization of the Nazi Party. That September, the Hitler Youth made a showing of about 2,000 members at the annual Nuremberg rally. By 1929 the Hitler Youth had grown to include 450 branches and 13,000 members. It is understood that this drastic growth in the youth movement was in part the result of the economic catastrophe brought on by the Great Depression.

Despite the success of the Hitler Youth, Gruber’s position as a leader became shaky. Unceasing behind-the-scenes manipulations by Baldur von Schirach were occurring. Additionally, Ernst Rohm returned from South America to assume command of the SA. Hitler named himself the Supreme Commander of the SA and gave Rohm the position of the Chief of Staff (The History Place). Upon Rohm’s request in April of 1931, Hitler issued an order placing Gruber directly under the control of the SA Chief of Staff. From there that Hitler Youth headquarters was moved to the main Nazi headquarters in Munich. If that wasn’t bad enough, Gruber was under the criticism of Baldur von Schirach due to the heavy financial losses of the Hitler Youth (The Holocaust Research Project). Baldur von Schirach used these financial problems to illustrate that he was the man who could successfully lead a reorganized and revitalized Hitler Youth, not Gruber. Baldur von Schirach claimed that Gruber had a complete lack of vision and organizational ability that would further hinder the Hitler Youth (The History Place). In October 1931, the Nazi Party headquarters in Munich announced it had accepted Gruber’s resignation. In reality though, Gruber never actually submitted any such resignation (The Holocaust Research Project). After three years of working to advance the Hitler Youth, Baldur von Schirach replaced Gruber.

On October 30, 1931 Baldur von Schirach was appointed to the new office of Reichsjugendfuhrer, or Reich Youth Leader. He was directly responsible to the chief of SA (Rempel, Gerhard). The Hitler Youth and two other Nazi student organizations were placed under the control of Baldur von Schirach. Immediately after he was appointed, Baldur von Schirach began to weed out any leaders that were not completely devoted to Hitler (Wikipedia).

In 1932 due to much political campaigning by the Nazi Party, the Hitler Youth essentially went broke. Even so, the organization still continued to attract new members. During overnight camping trips, the new boys would get to relax around a camp fire while they learned new Nazi slogans and sing-a-longs of the Hitler Youth and Nazi anthems. Political instruction took place in the weekly house meetings of the Hitler Youth. Per these meetings, the Hitler Youth Leaders of the area were give specific instructions on how they were to be conducted. During these weekly house meetings, propaganda activities for the following weeks were also planned (The History Place).

To the average German, their elected democratic leaders seemed unable to cope with the enormous daily sufferings that were brought about by the Great Depression. As the democratic government in Berlin slowly unraveled under this pressure, the Nazis and other rival political groups, especially the Communists, positioned themselves to seize power. Uniformed Hitler Youth were a visible force in the streets during this time period. They roamed campaigning for Hitler and conducting propaganda marches. This lead to a lot of violence and fighting among the different political parties and their youth organizations. In April 1932, the German democratic government banned the SA and the Hitler Youth in an attempt to halt the widespread political violence. A few months later though, Hitler was able to raise this ban by using behind-the-scenes political manipulations. Hitler and the Nazis were now close to achieving power, which was much in part to the tireless propaganda efforts of the Hitler Youth (The History Place).

II. Prelude to War (1933-1938)

On January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. After only two months, Hitler acquired major dictatorial powers. This meant that the Hitler Youth and all other Nazi organizations now had the benefit of having the state on their side. From here the Nazi Gleichschaltung began which had all German institutions either Nazified or disbanded. On April 3, 1933 Baldur von Schirach sent fifty Hitler Youth into the Berlin offices of the Reich Committee of German Youth Associations, where they then instructed the staff members to continue working and that they were now under the control of the Hitler Youth (The History Place). Due to these actions, the majority of Germany’s youth organizations were instantly placed under the control of Baldur von Schirach. On June 17, 1933 Hitler promoted Baldur von Schirach to Jugendfuhrer des Deustchen, or the Youth Leader of Germany (Wikipedia).

Baldur von Schirach introduced a new structure to the Hitler Youth that was based solely on age. Boys aged six to ten were allowed to participate informally, boys from ten to fourteen belonged to the Jungvolk, and boys from fourteen to eighteen belonged to the Hitler Youth (Jewish Virtual Library). Additionally, girls from the ages of ten to fourteen joined the Jungmadel and from ages fourteen to eighteen belonged to the Bund Deutcher Madel (BDM) or League of German Girls (Rempel, Gerhard).

By the end of 1933 the Hitler Youth included an extra twenty German youth Leagues and had over 3.5 million members (Wikipedia). It was though a tough transition for the new non-Nazi you groups to adapt to the strict discipline and regimentation of the Hitler Youth. This also brought along new, very poor group leaders in the Hitler Youth. In order to fix this problem, Reichsfuhrer, or leadership, schools were established. These offered three-week courses on Nazi racial principles and German history. These courses also included practical leadership training, rifle shooting, and severe physical activity (The History Place).

Another new development in the Hitler Youth was the Hitler Jugend-Streifendienst, or patrol force. They were also known as Junior Gestapo agents. Their job as unit functioning under internal political police included: maintaining order at meetings, flushing out disloyal members, and disapproving of anyone who criticized Hitler or his Nazism. This close relationship between the junior Gestapo agents and the Gestapo grabbed the notice of SS Reichsfuhrer, Heinrich Himmler. From the junior Gestapo, he found many valuable recruits for the SS officer training schools or the Death’s Head Brigades (The Holocaust Research Project).

By this time, Hitler had completely taken over the classroom. A picture of Hitler was hung in every classroom. In the curriculum, there was much focus on Nazi themes and mythology, Hitler’s struggle to power, and Germany’s liberation (by Hitler) from the international Jewish world conspiracy. Racial indoctrination in the classroom included teaching young children how to spot a Jew. This was accomplished by describing physical traits that Nazis believed were associated with inferior peoples. “In some classrooms, a Jewish child would be brought to the front of the class as an example” (The History Place). Additionally, these schools focused a lot of physical activity and competition. Hitler felt that this would bring about aggressiveness and confidence in young boys. By the end of schooling, “students emerging from the elite Adolf Hitler Schools were in superb physical condition and thoroughly drilled in Nazi ideology, but lacked basic skills in math and science” (The History Place).

Baldur von Schirach’s goal in 1936 was to enroll the entire population of ten to eighteen year olds into the Hitler Youth as a present to Hitler for his birthday (The Holocaust Research Project). There was a lot of pressure put on young children to join the organization. In their own schools, Nazi-affiliated teachers pressured them. During their free time, they were pressured by other Hitler Youths and additionally through neighborhood propaganda marches, meetings for parents, and special children’s’ sing-a-longs (Wikipedia).

On December 1, 1936, Hitler decreed “The Law concerning the Hitler Youth”. This mandated that all young Germans, except for Jews, were to be educated through the Hitler Youth. It was threatened that any parents who prevented their children from joining the Hitler Youth were to be sent to prison (The Holocaust Research Project). Upon joining the group, the boys were subject to a number of tests through which they proved their courage, dedication, knowledge of the Nazi ideology, and physical fitness. “By 1939, about eighty-two percent of eligible youths within the Reich belonged to the Hitler Youth, making it the largest youth organization in the world” (The History Place).

III. Hitler’s Boy Soldiers (1939-1945)

At the beginning of the war, there were 8.8 million Hitler Youth members, but the war brought major changes in the leadership. This was due in part to the fact that many of the regional adult leaders and Hitler Youth leaders within draft age were summoned to the armed services. To fix this dilemma of a lack of leaders, the age of local Hitler Youth leaders was simply lowered from twenty-four to sixteen (The History Place). Additionally, the division of ages between the Jungvolk and the actual Hitler Youth was eliminated. Baldur von Schirach left his role in order to volunteer for the army. A man named Artur Axmann, who was the previous head of the Hitler Youth Social Affairs Department, replaced him (The Holocaust Research Project).

Victory in the war became the new main mission of Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth, including the girls, quickly joined the action. The boy’s served as postmen who delivered drat notices and ration cards. They also collected scrap metals and other needed materials. The BDM girls had the “primary role of young females in Germany, which was to give birth to healthy racially pure boys” (The History Place). Some of their less important roles though included: caring for wounded soldiers in hospitals, helping in kindergartens, assisting in households of large families, and offering encouragement and beverages to departing army troops (Wikipedia).

In December 1941, the same month of America’s entry into the war, Wehrertuchtigungslager (WELS) defense strengthening camps were put into effect (Rempel, Gerhard). This provided three weeks of war training, which became mandatory for all boys from sixteen to eighteen. At these camps the boys learned to handle weapons like: pistols, machine-guns, hand grenades, and bazookas (The Holocaust Research Project).

In 1943 when Hitler’s armies began to feel the stress of the prolonged war and its opposition from multiple countries. At this time, almost all able-bodied German men were in the armed services. Due to this, in 1943 Hitler Youth boys officially operated all antiaircraft batteries. The younger boys were left the task of operating searchlights and assisting with simple communications. Additionally, after any bombing raid, Hitler Youths helped with the clean up and the relocation of bombed our civilians (The History Place).

When the Allied forces increased their bombing raids, the Hitler Youth was relocated to camps in rural regions known as, Hitler Youth Kinderlandverschickung (KLV). Between 1940 and 1945 over 2.8 million Hitler Youth were sent to around 5,000 of these camps (The History Place). Each of the camps were under the control of a Nazi approved teacher and a Hitler Youth leader, and they replaced grammar schools. In these camps though, schoolwork was neglected. The camp life was harsh and was composed of a dreary, daily routine. This routine included: roll calls, Para-military field exercises, hikes, recitation of Nazi slogans, and singing of Hitler Youth songs and Nazi anthems (Wikipedia). Additionally, “isolated in these camps and without any counter-balancing influences from a home life, the boys descended into a primitive, survival of the fittest mentality. Weakness was despised. Civilized notions of generosity and sympathy for those in need faded. Rigid pecking orders arose in which the youngest and most vulnerable boys were bullied, humiliated, and otherwise made to suffer, including sexual abuse” (The History Place).

Due to lack of manpower during the ‘Total War’, and the Hitler Youth’s eagerness to join the fighting, the 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was created. They aimed to recruit seventeen-year-old volunteers, but they did not turn away younger volunteers. By August 1943 10,000 recruits arrived at training camp (The Holocaust Research Project).

The 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend needed many new leaders. In order to fill these positions officers were formed from: Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler, former Hitler Youth leaders, and Hitler Youth members who had demonstrated leadership aptitude. This division was placed under the command of Major General Fritz Witt (Wikipedia). The morale was high among the troops and this was in part due to the more informal relationship between officers and young soldiers. Their lessons in training emphasized the realistic battlefield conditions and included at times live ammunition (The History Place). By the spring of 1944, the training of the 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was complete.

From camp the 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was transferred to Belgium in anticipation of D-Day. They were sent to Caen at the beaches of Normandy. Here they came into contact with the Allied troops. The 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend full of Hitler Youth were now at odds with an enemy that had air superiority and unlimited artillery support.

The British and Canadians who encountered the Hitler Youth at Caen were shocked. They claimed that the Hitler Youth “sprang like wolves against the tanks” (The History Place). Additionally they said that even if a Hitler Youth was encircled or out numbered, they would fight on until one way or another, there was no survivors. Hitler finally accomplished his dream of a fearless, cruel, and domineering youth. This though also became the downfall of the Hitler Youth and the 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. By the end of the first month in battle, twenty percent of were killed and up to forty percent were wounded or missing (Wikipedia). When Major General Fritz Witt was killed, the command was padded to Kurt Meyer. After Caen fell to the Allied forces, the 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was withdrawn from the Normandy front (The History Place).

By the time September rolled around in 1944, the 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend had only six hundred surviving soldiers and no guns or ammunition (Rempel, Gerhard). Over 9,000 troops of the Hitler Youth had been lost in the battles at Normandy. But due to Hitler’s ‘Total War’ initiative, the division still continued to fight. By May 1945 though, the 12^th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, the official troops of the Hitler Youth surrendered to the American 7^th Army. The unit had only 455 soldiers and one tank (The History Place).

The boys of the Hitler Youth though were not discouraged. They still continued to fight for the war. In the Ruhr area of Germany, they practiced guerilla warfare against the invading U.S. troops. The boys would hide in the forest waiting for the foot soldiers. Once they had arrived, the Hitler Youth would attack with open fire and grenades, then retreat back into the forest (Wikipedia). If the boys were to be founded by the American troops, they would fight until their death instead of surrendering. American’s claimed that the Hitler Youth kept getting younger throughout the fighting. It was reported that American troops had “captured armed eight-year-olds in Aachen and knocked out artillery units operated entirely by twelve-year-olds” (The History Place).

On April 23, battalions made up entirely of Hitler Youths were holding the Pivhelsdorf bridges for Hitler’s ‘Last Stand’. The group consisted of 5,000 boys with only rifles. Within five days the battle was finished and over 4,500 Hitler Youth were wounded or killed (The History Place). Most of the remaining survivors of the Hitler Youth committed suicide instead of surrendering to the Allied troops and Red Army. On April 30, 1945 Hitler committed suicide. Shortly after on May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered and the war was over (Wikipedia).

It would be assumed by the educated person that since the Holocaust has been declared a genocide, and is studied around the world, that these atrocities have been put to rest. This unfortunately though is not the case. Even today there are adults who take advantage of young minds and inhumanly destroy innocence. If a child goes missing in the United States, the police are notified and they issue an Amber Alert involving broadcasting on: radio stations, televised news stations, and flashing billboards along roads. In another part of the world, on the other side of this globe, in the northern districts of Uganda, 30,000 children have been abducted in the past 20 some years. “The war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today” (Invisible Children). For the past 23 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda have been waging a war that has left nearly two million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The Government of Uganda’s attempt to protect its citizens from this rebel militia has largely failed, resulting in an entire generation of youth that has never known peace (Wikipedia). “This war is hellish in that the Joseph Kony’s army recruits its soldiers from the villages and schools of northern Uganda through abductions. Thousands of children have been robbed of childhood and, in many cases, of life itself. Boys and girls are turned into ruthless killers who no longer feel, but are numbed within, and their souls have become seared by the atrocities they have seen and in which they have forced to participate” (Nyekorach- Matsanga, David). Tragic cases such as these Invisible Children in Uganda are still surfacing around the globe today. Let a lesson be taken from the sick ideologies of Adolf Hitler, and have the world put an end to such child atrocities.

Works Cited

Hein, Avi. "Hitler Youth." Jewish Virtual Library. AICE, 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2009. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitleryouth.html>.

The History Place, comp. "Hitler Youth." The History Place. 4 Jan. 1996. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/index.html>.

"Hitler Youth -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 2 Dec. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth>.

Lisciotto, Carmelo. "The Hitler Youth: Jungsturm Adolf Hitler." Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. 2008. Web. 1 Nov. 2009. <http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/toc.html>.

"Lord's Resistance Army -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord's_Resistance_Army>.

Nyekorach- Matsanga, David. "Uganda's Child Soldiers (Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army)." Out of Africa - Too. 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. <http://kabiza.com/Lira-Children-Kony-Rebels.htm>.

Rempel, Gerhard. Hitler's Children The Hitler Youth and the SS. New York: The University of North Carolina, 1990. Print.

ndnuafricashannon

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

CSI Las Vegas

Child Soldiers Around the World