Youth Opposition/ Nazi Youth Organisations Flashcards
What did the Nazis want for young people?
- Girls to be strong and healthy, and good at performing domestic duties in order to be strong wives, fertile mothers, and able to raise a proper German family.
- Boys to be strong and healthy in order to work for the German economy and fight in the German forces,
- To be loyal supporters of the Nazi Party and to be firm believers and defenders of the Nazi policies - preparing children for their future roles as good citizens of Germany and servants of the Nazi party,
- To be strong Aryan Germans who supported a strong, independent Germany/ family.
The Nazi policies for the young differed between girls and boys - they encouraged the young to….
regard Hitler as a father figure and they made sure that the Nazis had control of children outside of school as well.
What were the names of the Nazi youth groups?
- Young German Folk (boys 10-14)
- Young Girls (girls aged 10-14)
- Hitler Youth (boys aged 14-18)
- League of German maidens (girls aged 14-18)
meetings and activities took place after school, at weekends and in the holidays.
What kind of activities did ONLY girls do?
- cookery
- housework
- needlework and textiles
- learning what to look for in a good husband
- learning about babies and childcare
what activities did ONLY boys do?
- shooting
- military drills
- signalling
- military-style camping
- helped the fire brigade during the war
- forming military brigades to defend Berlin in the war
what did BOTH girls and boys learn at the youth groups?
- hiking and camping
- Hitler as a saviour and father of their nation
- racial superiority
- singing patriotic songs
- sports
- Nazi marches
- reporting people who made anti-nazi comments
- collecting for charity
Who were the EDELWEISS PIRATES?
The Edelweiss Pirates were a loosely organised group of youths opposed to the status quo of Nazi Germany. They emerged in western Germany out of the German Youth Movement of the late 1930s in response to the strict regimentation of the Hitler Youth.
What did the Edelweiss Pirates do?
- Went on hiking and camping adventures in the countryside away from Nazi restrictions.
- Read and listened to banned music and literature and wrote anti-Nazi graffiti.
- Made up mainly of boys who copied an American style of clothing.
- Sang subtly anti-Nazi and anti-Hitler Youth songs
- Mainly based in working-class districts of large cities
What was the Edelweiss Pirates symbol and how many members were there?
The Alpine Flower, the edelweiss
about 2000 members
Who were the SWING YOUTH?
Like the Pirates, they chose not to conform to Nazi ideas. They liked wearing American clothes. They listened to American music and watched American films - since Swing music was populated by America, that’s where they got their name - this was a way to subvert the Nazi policies as Hitler emphasised nationalism and embracing German art and politics.
What did the Swing Youth do?
They gathered to drink alcohol, smoke and dance. Organised illegal dances attended by thousands. Unlike the Pirates they were largely made up of children from wealthy families with the money to buy records.
How effective was youth opposition up to 1939?
- limited
- wrote anti-Nazi jokes and graffiti
- attacking the Hitler Youth
- listening to banned music
- adopting an American style
The motives of the youth opposition groups were cultural rather than political and their numbers were limited, however they did demonstrate that not everyone simply conformed to the Nazis, and there was opposition towards the Nazi policies, even if it was not powerful.
When did these youth opposition groups come about?
in the 1930s, as a consequence mainly of Nazi policies enforcing Hitler Youth membership.
