Many people were attracted to the Nazi youth movements by the leisure opportunities they offered
There weren't really any alternatives as all other youth groups had been absorbed or made illegal
Even so only half of German boys were members in 1933 and only 15% of girls
In 1939 membership of a Nazi youth movement was made compulsory and by this time the youth movements were going through a crisis
Many of the experienced leaders had been drafted into the army and others had been replaced by keener Nazis
Many of the movements were lead by older teenagers who rigidly enforced Nazi rules and forbade teenagers to meet informally with there friends
As the war progressed the activites in the youth movement focused on the war effort and military drills
The popularity decreased and an Anti- Hitler youth movement was created
The Nazis identified two groups of young people who they were worried about: the Swing movement and the Edelweiss Pirates
1 of 3
The Swing Movement
This was mainly made up of middle class teenagers
They went to parties where they listened to English and American music and sang English songs
They danced American dances such as the jitterbug to banned jazz music
They accepted Jews at their clubs
The Nazis issued a handbook helping the authorities to identify these degenerate types
Some were shown with unkempt, long hair and exaggerated English clothes
2 of 3
The Edelweiss Pirates
They were working class teenagers
They were not an organised movement and groups in various cities had different names - Nazis classified them under one name as the groups had a lot in common
They were aged between 14 and 17 and included both boys and girls
At weekends they went camping and sang songs like the Hitler Youth did but they changed the lyrics to mock Germany and taunted the Hitler youth and sometimes attacked them
There activities caused serious worries to the Nazis in some cities and in 1942 the Gestapo broke up 28 groups of them
The Nazis approach to them was different to other minorities - as long as they needed future industry workers and soldiers they couldn't exterminate them or put them in concentration camps so they ignored or arrested them
In 1944 Pirate activity escalated - they helped to shelter army deserters and escaped prisoners. They stole armaments and took part in an attack on the Gestapo during which a chief was killed - the Nazi response was to round up the ringleaders and twelve were publicly hanged
Neither anti Hitler groups had strong political views and were not political opponents of the Nazis but they resisted Nazi control of their lives
Comments
No comments have yet been made