Young People

Question 1

(FTS) Schools played a critical part in…

Answer 1

developing a loyal following for Hitler.

Question 2

(FTS) Use of ___________ and ___________ became common practice

Answer 2

Propaganda

Indoctrination

Question 3

List some examples of propaganda or manipulation directed towards young people in schools

Answer 3

There was a picture of Hitler and a Nazi flag in every room

Textbooks were changed to conform to nazi ideas

Students were given problems that conformed to Nazi ideas, e.g “how much fuel would it take to fly an airship from Berlin to Warsaw”

Question 4

What was the NSLB

Answer 4

Nationalist Socialist Teachers League:

Teachers were encouraged to join, and by 1939 97% had done so.

They could not get a promotion if they didn’t join the Nazi Party.

They had to be careful about what they said as children were told to inform the authorities if a teacher taught something that wasn’t on the curriculum.

Question 5

How did Nazis change the History Topic.

Answer 5

Children were taught about:

Great German Military Victories and Heroes of the past.
How Jews had always been enemies of Germany.
The German defeat in 1918 was caused by “the work of Jewish and Marxist spies.”

Question 6

How did Nazis change the Geography topic.

Answer 6

Children were taught that the German borders should extend to take in the lands that had been lost under the treaty of Versailles and about the need for living space for the growing German population.

Question 7

How did Nazis change the maths topic.

Answer 7

Children were given problems that also taught Nazi Ideals, e.g “how much fuel would it take to fly a bomber to Warsaw”

Question 8

How did Nazis change the RE topic.

Answer 8

It was dropped to downgrade the importance of Christianity

Question 9

How did Nazis change the PE topic.

Answer 9

A greater emphasis was placed on PE (15% of time allocated to it). This was to fit in with the Nazi Aryan ideal.

Question 10

How did Nazis change the German language and literature topic.

Answer 10

Studied more deeply to create a nationalist spirit of how great Germans and Germany were

Question 11

How did Nazis change the Biology topic.

Answer 11

Nazi racial theory - ethnic classification - master race to Jews. Population policy and racial genetics.

Question 12

Who controlled education?

Answer 12

The Reich Ministry of Education, Culture and Science under Reich minister Bernard Rust (a failed teacher)

Question 13

What was the ‘Reich of a thousand years’?

How would it be achieved?

Answer 13

The youth should be brainwashed into believing the Nazi way of life, so that the principles of Nazism would be passed through generations. This is to be achieved through:

Education and its existing structure
Nazi youth movement.

Question 14

How did the Nazis change teachers?

Answer 14

They were ‘Nazified’

Politically unreliable teachers, along with Jews were removed.

Many female teachers were encouraged to conform to Nazi Values by returning to the home.

Special training courses were arranged for teachers who were unconvinced about new arrangements.

Question 15

How did the Nazis change domestic science?

Answer 15

Preparing young girls to be perfect mothers and wives. They were taught cookery, needlework, and housekeeping.

Question 16

What were Elite schools?

Answer 16

Created to prepare the best of Hitlers youth for future political leadership. Modelled on principles of Hitler Youth and focused on Physical training, paramilitary activities and political education.

The very best went to Order Castles which used war games with live ammunition.

Question 17

What percentage did Hitler youth represent of total youth organisation membership in 1933?

Answer 17

1%

Question 18

What youth organisations were set up for young people.

Answer 18

German young people (DJ) was set up for boys aged 10-14

Hitler youth (HJ) was set up for boys aged 14-18

The league of young Girls (JM) was set up for Girls aged 10-14

The league of German Girls (BDM) was set up for Girls aged 14-18

Question 19

What did Hitler youth groups stress on?

Answer 19

Political indoctrination, emphasising the life and achievements of Hitler, German patriotism, athletics and camping.

Question 20

How were genders moulded for future roles?

Answer 20

Boys engaged in endless physical and military -geared activities (e.g target shooting) in preparation for their role as soldiers and future leaders.

Girls were prepared for their domestic skills (e.g cooking) as a future mother in the home.

Question 21

How successful was Nazi policy towards young people?

Answer 21

It’s difficult to assess these policies as the Nazis were only in power for 12 years, evidence has been contaminated, and success depends on selected criteria.

However some areas of success may be noted.

The provision of sports etc, genuinely exited many participants- especially those from poorer backgrounds.

Membership of Hitler youth organisations rose from 107000 in 1932 to over 6m by 1936

In some respects, Hitler youth was to be commended on its emphasis on teamwork and extracurricular activities.

Question 22

List 5 failures of Hitler youth

Answer 22

Standards in schools fell in traditional subjects- especially in élite schools where physical development dominated.

By 1938 recruitment of teachers declined and there were 8000 vacancies.

School discipline declined because pupils failed to see intellectual significance in light of Hitler youth.

The increasing Nazi emphasis on military drill and discipline was resented by many adolescents: by 1938 it started to lose its initial appeal - membership became compulsory in 1938.

The emergence of rebel groups (E.g edelweiss pirates, swing youth and the white rose) showed lack of success, and the Nazis themselves took the threat seriously.