Nazi Youth Policies and Education Assessment

1.

The Nazis wanted t0 control the young people because the young people were the future of Germany. Hitler, as stated in source 31, said he could make a new world with the children by controlling them and making them support the Nazis. If the children all supported the Nazis and followed them, they'd do the same thing to the next generation that the current Nazis were doing to them: raise them as Nazis, carrying on the Nazi legacy. Also, children were much easier to convince of something than adults were, so the Nazis targeted children's minds so that they will guarantee future support.

The means by which the Nazis established this control were to start early and consistently brainwash the children with Nazi ideals. The curriculum consisted entirely of Nazi concepts and ideals, and all subjects had a Nazi message behind it. For example, source 29 shows a math problem that says the Jews are aliens, and asks the children to find the percentage of "aliens" in Germany. Also, the school taught children that they were special and superior to all other races, being Aryan. Essentially, every aspect of the German education system was based on teaching the children to believe in Nazi ideals and worship Hitler as their leader.

The appeals of the German youth included social events, fun, healthiness, and discipline. The youth groups included a lot of playing and exercise, so the children could have fun and they could become physically fit, which is what the Nazis wanted. Also, they would learn many skills such as camping and living life as a soldier. They were given some free time, which was still devoted to Hitler and the Nazis. The children got to enjoy themselves, become physically fit, and learn useful skills while the Nazis trained them to be "perfect" Germans.

2. However, not all children supported the Nazis. Their support varied at different times, but there was always opposition. Typically, the working class young people didn't support the Nazis, and neither did groups such as the "Swing" movement and the Edelweiss Pirates. The "Swing" movement wasn't an opponent of the Nazis, but they disagreed with the Nazi control of their lives. They were basically rebellious teenagers that enjoyed American and English music and clothes. However, the Edelweiss Pirates acted out more against the Hitler Youth, mocking and sometimes attacking them. They disagreed with the Hitler Youth and its beliefs, and made that clear. When the Hitler Youth grew much stricter and became focused on assisting the war efforts, its popularity decreased, and the popularity of its opposition increased. Clearly, the Hitler Youth didn't gain the support of all of the German youth.