How Did Young People React to the Nazi Regime? (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History): Revision Note

Education and Youth in Nazi Germany - Summary

Hitler and the Nazi Party made many changes which affected Germany’s young people. Nazi policies targeted both the establishment of youth groups as well as children’s education. These organisations aimed to indoctrinate young people with radical, Nazi ideas.

By 1933, boys and girls in Germany were only allowed to join one of the available Nazi youth groups. For male teenagers, membership in the Hitler Youth was focused on physical and military training. Hitler wanted to create an army for the future to ensure the protection of Nazi Germany. Teenage girls were encouraged to join the League of German Maidens, where they would develop skills such as cooking and needlework. While they were also expected to take part in physical activities, this was more to ensure they would be capable mothers and produce healthy children.

Education in schools was also directed towards Nazi beliefs. The Nazis created lessons in eugenics. There was a focus on PE, especially for the boys. Girls would learn about the importance of marrying ‘pure’ German men. The curriculum was tightly controlled and all teachers were expected to join the Nazi Teachers' League.

Nazi Beliefs Towards the Young

• Hitler and the Nazis wanted to create a Third Reich that would last a thousand years

• Hitler was aware that adults in Nazi Germany had mixed opinions of the Nazi Party

  • Adults were more difficult to influence and change than the young

• Control of the youth and future generations would ensure that the Nazi Party would always have public support

• The Nazis had some key beliefs towards the young:

The Hitler Youth and the League of German Maidens

• The Nazis made several changes during the 1930s to boost the membership numbers of the Nazi youth groups:

• There were separate youth groups for boys and girls of different ages:

Types of Nazi Youth Groups

The Hitler Youth

• Baldur von Schirach was the Hitler Youth leader

• Boys aged 14 could join the Hitler Youth 

• At age 18, boys became members of the Nazi Party and worked or joined the armed forces

• Training was split into four distinct areas:

The League of German Maidens

• The Bund Deutscher Mädel or League of German Maidens (BDM) was the female equivalent of the Hitler Youth

• They shared some similarities with the Hitler Youth, but the emphasis was on training girls to be good wives and mothers:

• Activities focused on the ‘three Ks’

  • Kinder (Children)

  • Kirche (Church)

  • Küche (Cooking)

• In 1938, the Nais created a  sub-group of the BDM called the ‘Faith and Beauty Society.’ Its members were girls aged 17-21:

  • The Nazis were concerned that members of the BDM would forget their teachings when they left the group at the age of 18

  • The ‘Faith and Beauty Society’ served as a way for women to receive further education until they were old enough to join the National Socialist Women's League

The Impact of Youth Groups

• Although membership reached nine million by 1939, it did not mean that all members enjoyed being in a Nazi youth group:

Education in Nazi Germany

• Alongside attendance of one of the Nazi youth groups, children were still required to attend school for education

• Hitler knew that control of children’s education would allow him to create a generation of Nazis loyal to him 

• Bernhard Rust was made Education Minister in 1934 and made several changes to teachers and schools

Teachers 

• Those not loyal to the Nazi regime were sacked

  • Rust sacked over 180 teachers in Prussia

• They swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler and joined the Nazi Teachers’ League

  • Membership of the Nazi Party was also compulsory

• They attended political education courses outlining key Nazi ideas

  • Around 200,000 teachers had attended courses by 1939

• Teachers had responsibilities at school to:

  • Teach students the Nazi salute

  • Begin and end each lesson with ‘Heil Hitler’

  • Place posters, Nazi flags and a picture of Hitler in each classroom

Curriculum 

• Boys and girls were educated separately

• The Nazis took control of the curriculum so that they could influence children’s beliefs:

• After 1935, the Nazis had to approve all textbooks

  • All books contained pictures of Hitler

  • Mein Kampf became a compulsory text

  • Events like the First World War were reworded to blame Jewish people and the November Criminals

• Napolas were schools for the most ‘gifted’ and racially pure children:

  • SS members replaced the traditional teachers

  • The emphasis was on sport and physical training

  • Students went on to join the SS or police services

  • By 1939, there were 16 Napolas schools