Nazi Policies Towards the Youth

1. 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

2. Starter:
What are your first impressions of
teenagers during the Nazi era?
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

3. 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.
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

4. 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.
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

5. Hitler’s Youth
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

6. 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.
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

7. 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?
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

8. 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.
Indoctrination
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

9. 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)
10-14
German Young Folk
(Deutsches Jungvolk - DJ)
Young Girls
(The Jungmädel - JM)
6-10
Little Fellows
(Pimpfen)
-
Youth Organisations
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

10. 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!)
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

11. 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.
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

12. 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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

13. Were children
indoctrinated at school?
“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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

14. Were children
indoctrinated at school?
“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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

15. Were children
indoctrinated at school?
“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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

16. Were children
indoctrinated at school?
“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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

17. Were children
indoctrinated at school?
“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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

18. Were children
indoctrinated at school?
“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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

20. This picture is taken from an anti-Semitic
children's book published in 1936— the sign
reads "Jews are not wanted here".

21. Illustration from a children’s book
published in Germany in 1936. The
signs say—”The Jews are our
misfortune” and “How the Jews cheat”.

22. Illustration from an anti-Semitic
German children’s book the caption
says: “The Jewish nose is crooked, it
looks like a 6”.

24. 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?
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

25. 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?
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

26. 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.
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

27. 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?
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

28. • 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 Germany
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

29. Leadership Schools
LO: 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

30. 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
LO: Explain how
the Nazis
attempted to
control the youth
of German?

31. Bun - Point
Salad - Evidence
Meat - Explanation
Bun - Link
*History Skills
Builder* Burger/PEEL Paragraphs