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History tours: Third Reich, WW2WW2 category: HitlerJugend - Hitler Youth :: Latest WWII news reviews. See also 'Nazi Memorabilia', 'SS Daggers', 'Waffen SS', 'SS, Nazi Uniforms', 'Nazi Helmets'.
Spyclists: How Hitler Youth's cycling tours caused panic in prewar Britain guardian.co.uk :: 2010-03-08
Cycling tours by Hitler Youth groups and Nazi attempts to form links with the Boy Scout movement caused a security panic in prewar Britain, MI5 files reveal. Authorities monitored German students on bicycle tours in the late 1930s. A meeting between Lord Baden-Powell, head of the Scout movement, and Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German ambassador, rang even louder alarm bells in Whitehall. The term "spyclists" was coined because of an entry in the German Cyclist magazine: "Impress on your memory the roads... and other landmarks... Perhaps you should be able to utilise these sometime for the benefit of the Fatherland."
Member of the Hitler Youth shares lessons learned fayobserver.com :: 2009-10-31
George Michelson recalls his first lesson in democracy: In 1950s his commander in the U.S. Army was telling troops that German children were forced to pray to Hitler. Michelson knew that was false, because he had been a member of the Hitler Youth. He disputed the captain, who apologized in front of the unit. Michelson said he realized that would have been impossible in Nazi Germany. "I learned to see the difference between America and Nazi Germany. I didn't embrace democracy early on because I didn't know what it meant." When Michelson turned 10 he signed up for the Hitler Youth. The Nazi way of life was all he knew, and he supported it.
Hitler Jugend photographs: Several galleries of Hitler Youth related pics veltmaete.nl :: 2009-08-10
Dozens of Hitler Jugend (HJ, Hitler Youth) related photos. Notice: Two galleries, both featuring several pages.
Legendary tough guy Joe Munch (Hitler Youth, French Foreign Legion) reflects on life idahostatesman.com :: 2009-02-02
Joe Munch - former child Nazi, French Legionnaire, cop and chief of security at Idaho's penitentiary (dry-eyed through the war and the prison life) - wiped away a tear: "You ask me which is the real Joe Munch. It's all of them. I've been the person who fit the situation." He joined the paramilitary Hitler Youth organization as a young boy, while his father served on the Russian Front (presumed to have died in Stalingrad) and his mother welded Panzer and Tiger tanks. By the war's end Joe delivered ammo to Nazi anti-aircraft gunners. "We got bombed by the Americans and lost everything. I hated Americans. I was taught that they were all bullies and gangsters."
Ex-Hitler youth warns America: Every day brings Nazi-style totalitarian abyss closer wnd.com :: 2008-11-15
Because it has gave up moral absolutes and its historic Christian faith, the U.S. is moving closer to a Nazi-style regime, says a member of the Hitler Youth in a new book. "Every day brings this nation closer to a Nazi-style totalitarian abyss," writes Hilmar von Campe, author of "Defeating the Totalitarian Lie: A Former Hitler Youth Warns America." Von Campe grew up under the Nazis, served in the Hitler Youth and fought as a WWII tank gunner. Von Campe says he sees parallels among Americans and Nazi Germany. "I lived the Nazi nightmare, and, as the old saying goes, 'A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.'" [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE]
Hitler Youth camps turned german boys into Nazis - HitlerJugend mirror.co.uk :: 2008-09-03
The Hitler Youth was set up by Adolf Hitler in 1922, mainly to recruit new members to the Nazi party. German boys were sent to camps to be indoctrinated in Nazi beliefs. There they did assault courses and were taught military strategy. They had to learn shooting, marching, bayonet drill, grenade throwing and Nazi dogma. Recruits who stood out were honoured with a Nazi dagger engraved with a swastika and the words "Blood and Honour". In 1936, membership was made compulsory for all boys aged 15-18. At its peak the Hitler Youth had 4,000,000 members. The Hitler Youth also fought in the final defence of Berlin in 1945.
Jungvolk: The Story of a Boy Defending Hitler's Third Reich by Wilhelm Gehlen NRW :: 2008-06-08
"In the eyes of our parents we were still kids, in the eyes of Hitler we were a convenient substitute for older flak personnel sent to the front." This is the WW2 memoir of a boy, who happened to be the nephew of the head of Nazi Germany's intelligence agency, Foreign Armies East. Will Gehlen's father was drafted into the Wehrmacht to man a Sturmgeschutz assault gun in russian front. His older brother Len was in the Hitlerjugend. The author became a helper at the Luftwaffe flak battery. It was exciting task for Will, a member of the Jungvolk - his flak battery kept firing until American tanks were almost on top of the position.
Hitlerjugend leader Otto Duscheleit - Collect stories of former Nazis before they die off jewishsf :: 2008-05-03
In 1943 Otto Ernst Duscheleit, a Hitler Youth leader, got the call: Join the Waffen-SS or be sent to a penal battalion. He would spend 2 years on the front, setting Russian villages ablaze during the retreat of German forces. 40 years later, Duscheleit had a dream in which he was called an "SS pig." The former Nazi began to reflect on his past. Overcome by shame, he started sharing his story. He is often confronted by right-wing youths. "One young man came to me and said, 'How can you speak that way as a former SS man and Hitler Youth leader?' I answered, 'I have learned something since then.'"
A child of Hitler: Growing up in the Third Reich - Blood and Honor thephoenix.com :: 2008-01-31
In Nazi Germany childhood ended at the age of 10, with admission to the Jungvolk, the junior branch of the Hitler Youth. From that time on we children became the political soldiers of the Third Reich. On April 20, 1938, Hitler’s 49th birthday, I joined the Jungvolk. I could hardly wait to give my oath of eternal loyalty to the Führer and get the dagger with "Blut und Ehre" (Blood and honor) engraved on it. Even more exciting, I was one of two 10-year-olds who would represent our district Jungvolk at the Nuremberg Party Congress. ... The Panzer officer who inspected our Hitler Youth formation was a Colonel Erwin Rommel; 5 years later he would be a field marshal.
The Reich's youngest Nazi Mascot in miniature SS uniform with insignia telegraph.co.uk :: 2007-06-15 :: Children in Nazi Germany
Alex Kurzem has kept a lonely secret. As a 5yo boy he had witnessed the massacre of villagers, among them his mother, baby brother and sister. He escaped into woods where he lived by scavenging from dead bodies, until he was found and handed to Latvian police who "adopted" him as a mascot. When the battalion was changed to a Nazi SS unit, it had a miniature uniform made for him, complete with the SS insignia and pistol. He was paraded for newsreels as "the Reich's youngest Nazi" and taken to the Russian front with his squad watching atrocity after atrocity. "The Mascot: The Extraordinary Story of a Young Jewish Boy and an SS Extermination Squad" by Mark Kurzem.
English boy in the Hitler Youth - "one of the happiest of my life" dailymail.co.uk :: 2007-04-21 :: HitlerJugend - Hitler Youth
Abandoned in Nazi Germany English boy Paul Briscoe joined the Hitler Youth. Only when he came to Britain did he confront his guilt, and discover his mother's was even greater - Besotted with Nazism, she travelled back to Britain to spy for the Nazis. "I joined the Hitler Youth. I was the proudest boy alive when I first put on my black shorts and brown shirt and made a solemn oath that dedicated the rest of my life to the Fuhrer." In a box are happy memories: An old photo of a little boy in lederhosen, his Hitler Youth registration book with its ink stamp of the Miltenberg Nazi Party. "even now I think the day I was issued with it was one of the happiest of my life".
An autobiography by former Hitler youth soldier Hilmar von Campe mmdnewswire :: 2007-03-28
"How Was it Possible?" is an autobiography by Hitler youth and German soldier Hilmar von Campe, describing his life and remorse as an active participant in the greatest tragedy of the twentieth century. Von Campe lived through years of Nazi power and brain-washing. After WWII he came to grips with his own contribution to the Nazi atrocities, and why something like that could have happened, while the world looked the other way. "I had thought that as a soldier I was fighting for my country, but I came to realize that in reality I was fighting for the immoral purposes of a bunch of gangsters," von Campe says.
Fury at Hitler Youth uniform sale - with a swastika-daubed sword Article no longer available from the original source. :: thisislancashire :: 2007-03-08 :: Nazi Uniforms
The Royal British Legion has criticised an antiques shop for selling a Hitler Youth uniform and displaying it in the window. But staff have hit back, saying that the outfit was "harmless" and had attracted a lot of interest. The store is offering the genuine black cloth uniform, complete with a swastika-daubed sword, for £1,850. It is one of many items of Nazi memorabilia on sale. Behind the cash desk hangs a portrait of Hitler - also for sale. The Hitler Youth (HitlerJugend) was a paramilitary organisation that paved the way for German youngsters to join the Nazi party.
Investigation: Czech soldiers killed 5 HitlerJugend boys post-war Article no longer available from the original source. :: praguemonitor :: 2007-02-21 :: HitlerJugend - Hitler Youth
Czech authorities have started the investigation into the murder of 5 German boys in Postoloporty, that took place after the end of World War Two in June 1945. Five members of the Hitlerjugend youth organisation were standing an honorary guard in the Postoloporty barracks. However, the boys aged 14-15 left the barracks. According to one version, they intended to escape and according to the other they just wanted to pick up fruit in an orchard behind the fence. However, the boys were caught and shot dead. They were evidently killed by Czech soldiers. In May 1945, 700-800 German men were shot dead in Postoloporty.
Manfred Schmellenkamp: In Hitler’s army in the last days of Reich wvgazette :: 2007-02-06
"When I was 10, I joined the Hitler Youth like all boys did. Hitler Youth was comparable to Scouts. We camped... But we were indoctrinated politically. We were told that Germans are 'the' race, the English were all high-lipped, the French were all lovers and the Americans were all gangsters... We wore uniforms and worked on projects. ... When I was 18, everyone was drafted into the infantry, and I volunteered for the air force. I was shipped to the Mediterranean with the Luftwaffe. ... Our company commander said if we died, we were going to die for Fuhrer and Fatherland. I thought, not me."
Neatly dressed and disciplined, Hitler Youth were a hit in Japan asahi :: 2007-02-02
The Hitler-Jugend (Hitler Youth), a paramilitary youth organization of Third Reich's Nazi Party, sent a delegation to Japan on the eve of World War II. The group stayed for 3 months and received a passionate welcome as it toured the nation, which strengthened its ties with Nazi Germany. On the morning of Oct. 7, 1938, members of the Hitler-Jugend stood in front of Yamada Station. The German youths raised their right hands in a Nazi salute in response to a throng of spectators who welcomed them with waving flags, and marched on to the shrine in perfect order. The Hitler-Jugend visited Japan again from Oct to Dec 1940.
Man hid his true identity by enlisting in the Hitler Youth tj :: 2006-11-03
An 81-year-old Jewish man who hid his identity by enlisting in the Hitler Youth was honoured at the German factory where he saw out the war. After fleeing to Russia from Lodz following the 1939 invasion of Poland, Solomon Perel was captured by the Nazis in 1941. But he was able to join the youth movement and secure employement at a plant which made military vehicles for the Third Reich. A plaque was unveiled at the VW factory commemorating his bravery. He said: "In the daytime, I acted like an enthusiastic member of the Hitler youth."
Nazi brainwashing started with Germany's youths tucsoncitizen :: 2006-08-16
Hitler proved it. An organization can have a profound influence on what people believe. "Hitler Youth: Growing Up In Hitler's Shadow" shows photographs, facts, a number of stories and the means that the Nazi party used to mold the German youth through youth organizations, special activities and propaganda. One of the many means the Nazi party used to influence young people was the organization known as the HitlerJugend, formed in 1926 with 6,000 members. In a mere 13 years, it influenced a generation to an unbelievable degree. By 1939 HitlerJugend 7.3 million members had contributed greatly to the Nazi Army and Waffen-SS.
Story of Anton Geiser - assigned to the Nazi Waffen SS sharonherald :: 2006-06-05 :: Waffen SS: Combat Divisions, German Soldiers
Geiser has lived quietly in the US for 47 years. Nobody knew that he was a camp guard for the German army during World War II. Geiser, assigned to the Nazi Waffen SS, was so ashamed of his service that he kept it to himself. As a teenager he joined the German Youth: "If you didn’t join the rest, you wouldn’t be respected." He was 17 when he got a letter: The Nazis had ordered that all ethnic Germans serve in the German military. He traveled to Breslau and was issued a uniform and an 8 mm rifle with bayonet. Infantry training included use of a rifle, machine gun, pistol and hand grenades, and marching. The new soldiers also attended classes in Nazi ideology.
Massacre in Velke Mezirici - A commando from Hitlerjugend praguemonitor :: 2006-03-04 :: Wehrmacht: German Armed Forces
South Bohemian police have ascertained the circumstances of a massacre that occurred at the end of WW2 in Velke Mezirici. The findings would help police uncover persons responsible for the massacre. However, this will not be enough putting the perpetrators to trial since it is still necessary to question possible eye-witnesses living in Germany. During the massacre that happened on May 7, 1945, 63 people died. At the time when the war ended at most places in Europe a commando of young people from Hitlerjugend decided to punish people who joined the new local authorities.
Hitler Youth: An Interview with Michael H. Kater hnn :: 2005-05-23 :: HitlerJugend - Hitler Youth
The media reported that Cardinal Ratzinger had been a member of the Hitler Youth (Hitler Jugend). Is it significant that he was a member? Not as such, because after 1939 every child above 10 up to 18 was forced to join. -- Why did Hitler create the Hitler Youth? He was persuaded before 1933 that in order for the Party and the National Socialist movement to continue they needed recruits. Those had to be reared in good time and systematically. -- Did anybody refuse to join the Hitler Youth? In severe cases, when they did not join and went in for physical attacks on the Hitler Youth (Edelweisspiraten) they could be arrested and put in a special youth concentration camp.
From HitlerJugend to the Vatican guardian :: 2005-05-20 :: Secret History of Vatican & HitlerJugend Pope
The first German pope for nearly 1,000 years comes from Bavaria. His father was a police officer whose career suffered because he refused to become a Nazi. The young Ratzinger served briefly and unenthusiastically with the Hitler Youth and later with a German army anti-aircraft unit guarding the BMW factory in Munich. Ratzinger has defended himself from criticism of his war record by claiming - not strictly truthfully - that he could not have avoided military service in the circumstances. Others did and maybe he could have used his training in a seminary to dodge the call-up. In April 1945 he deserted, briefly becoming a prisoner of war.
HitlerJugend messenger Armin Lehmann - Memoirs From Hitler's Bunker rense :: 2004-02-28 :: Last days & final hours in Berlin führerbunker
He was a high-flying member of the Hitler Youth, just 16yo and one of the youngest, proudest occupants of the Fuhrer's bunker. Armin Lehmann, brought up to idolise Hitler, revelled in his duties as a courier for the German High Command in the WW2. In April 1945, he was chosen to run messages between the radio room below the party Chancellery and Hitler's secret bunker in Berlin. He had distributed Hitler's last orders not to surrender. "It never entered my mind, even then, as the bombs rained down, that we would lose," said Lehmann, author of "In Hitler's Bunker: A Boy Soldier's Eyewitness Account of the Fuhrer's Last Days." [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE]
Hitler Youth Movement wowessays :: 2000-07-30 :: HitlerJugend - Hitler Youth
Immediately after Adolf Hitler was given dictatorial powers he ordered that either youth organizations join the Nazi’s or disband. Hitler Youth Movement were under the power of Baldur Von Schirach. He set up age brackets as well as a Hitlers youth for girls called the BDM (Bund Deutcher Madel - League of German Girls). The age brackets for boys were from 10 to 14 in the jungvolk, and the boys from 14 to 18 were in the HJ (Hitler Jugend). The girls had their age brackets as well: the young girls from 10 to 14 were in the Jungmadel, and the girls from 14 to 18 were in the actual BDM.
See also:
'Nazi Memorabilia'
'SS Daggers'
'Waffen SS'
'SS, Nazi Uniforms'
'Nazi Helmets'.