The Hitler Youth

In the Hani and Renate strands of the story we meet several members of the Hitler Youth. Sabine’s trainer is one of the organisers. Several of the German girls have brothers who are involved.  Hani has a romantic encounter with one of the young leaders. Gerda, the girl who lives on a farm, has one brother who becomes a little overenthusiastic and then towards the end of the war, the boys in the family that helps with the farm become determined to fight the invading American army. Fortunately, they calm down and don’t attempt this. In the last months of the war, they were taking orders from the SS. In the Hani strand they are ordered to clear the Special Class out of Haus Lehrs. They refuse.

The Hitler Youth was a slightly tougher organisation than the BDM, the girls’ equivalent organisation, though there are many similarities. It was much more intense than the Boy Scouts movement, though there were a few similarities there as well.  

Baldur von Schirach was the overall founder of both movements. In fact, he united all of the various Nazi youth movements in 1931.  

By 1936 it was compulsory to join. You could at that time pay the subs and not attend.  By 1939, attendance was compulsory also.

At six, a little boy could become a member of the Pimpf. Boys joined the Deutsches Jungvolk at age 10. They moved up into the Hitler Youth proper at 14.

The Heimwehr and the Home Guard

These two organisations are similar. They are made up of man too young or too old to join the main war effort or who are working in reserved occupations and who give some of their free time on a voluntary basis. They help to protect civilians. 

There are a few men in all three strands of the novel who take on this sort of work.  

However, in Germany it took a more sinister turn in 1944 and the Volkssturm, the people’s army, was created. This was a vicious force of former Heimwehr members, Hitler Youth and even BDM members. They were to do everything possible to protect the Fatherland.  It was a last ditch attempt by the German government. The Germans were beginning to lose the war. Also there was much fear that they would be badly treated by the liberators so this civilian population was encouraged to fight hard to the end. At least the patriotic German teen boys in our novel have the sense to capitulate early to the professional American soldiers. Not all did, and some lost their lives in a particularly gruesome way. 

The Volkssturm became a highly organised paramilitary organisation though was made up of mainly the Hitler Youth, men invalided out of the army and those who have been declared unfit for active service.  

Food for thought: 

Why do you think so many teen boys were willing to take on the Allies when they moved into Germany?
How might their training with the Hitler Youth have helped these young people?
The Heimwehr is similar to our own Home Guard. However, there are differences. Can you think what they might be?       

Deleted scene: Anika and Helga find out about Renate

I've cut Helga out of this scene altogether. Helga's part did not add to the plot. This scene was slowing the story down. But ti does show some character development - which may have been there more for my sake than for the sake of the story. 

Anika 25 April 1939

“It’s someone for you,” Anika’s mother called.

Anika looked up from her game of clock patience.

There was someone at the door for her?

Well, yes, she’d heard the doorbell ring. That was rare as well. What was the matter with people these days? No one was making visits any more.  Everybody was just so serious all the time.

But it was for her? No, she must be dreaming.

“Well, come on then,” called her mother. “Aren’t you going to come and greet your guest?”

Curious, Anika wandered into the hall way.

It was Helga. Helga was standing there beaming at her.

“You will come and help, won’t you?” she asked. “The grown-ups haven’t got enough patience. We’re taking my cousins on a picnic. Not this Saturday. But the one after. Will you come?”

Anika didn’t know what to say. She really wasn’t sure she knew how to look after little children.

“Well, I don’t know … what would you want me to do?” she asked.

“Nothing much,” replied Helga. “Just help with a few games. And maybe make some sandwiches. Perhaps you could bake a cake.”

Not much then. But Helga looked so enthusiastic, Anika knew she couldn’t refuse.

“All right then,” she said slowly. “I’ll come.” She really wished, though, that Helga had never asked.

“Oh for goodness sake,” said Anika’s mother coming into the all. “Show your friend in properly. Go into the sitting room. Would you like some tea, Helga?”

“Oh yes please, Frau Müller,” said Helga.

“Anika, there are still some of those almond biscuits I made. Offer some to your guest.”

Minutes later, the two girls were in the sitting room. Anika found she quite liked being the hostess and pouring out tea, and offering her guest biscuits. But soon the gossip was just like the old days.  Except that it was different, because they had so much to tell each other.

“At least you’re going to be doing something you enjoy,” said Anika with a sigh. “The Piloty school sounds as if it’s going to be so dull. Just hard work. No fun. I don’t think I like this idea of the three Cs.”

“Three Cs?” asked Helga.

“You know, children, cooking, church,” said Anika.

“Ah yes,” said Helga. “The good little German Hausfrau. I don’t mind the children, though.” 

“That’s horrible,” said Helga. “The poor man.”

“I know,” said Anika. “I wonder who did it. And how could they?”

“I don’t know,” said Helga. “It’s really horrid.”

“I’m so angry with Fritz as well for finding it so … well, exciting,” said Anika.

[In between these two passages Anika’s brother Fritz comes home and reports that he and his Hitler Youth friends have found Herr Kohn’s body in the forest.  He appears to have been shot.  Later, they all realise that he has merely been knocked out and he may have done it himself by walking into a tree. He is old and somewhat demented. He is also Jewish. The characters in the story and the readers are left to come to their own conclusions.]      

“I suppose at least it’s something for the letter,” said Helga. “I was getting worried I’d have nothing new to say.”

“Isn’t it about time we were getting another one?” asked Anika. “I hope it doesn’t all die a death. It’s a really good way of keeping in touch, now that we’re all over the place.”

“Yes, I suppose so,” said Helga. “And I am looking forward to seeing what Renate has to say. I wonder how she’s getting on in Stuttgart.”

“Yes, and I’m really looking forward to some more of her pictures,” said Anika. “It’s not like her to delay things though. Perhaps she’s just busy.”

“Aren’t we all?” replied Helga. “Even if we’re bored as well, sometimes.”

“You don’t sound as if you’re bored,” replied Anika. “You’re always doing things with your little cousins.”

“Yeah!” said Helga grinning.

The Kinderlandverschickung

Evacuation in Germany was quite different from in the United Kingdom. Only children from the heavily bombed cities of Hamburg and Berlin were originally evacuated. They were not billeted with families as British children were, but they attended large camps and were expected to wear their Hitler Youth uniforms. There were summer camps for children in the less bombed cities. There were plenty of beautiful unscathed parts of Germany they could visit. It all started off well enough. The children were well looked after, they had plenty of fun and they shared a lot of camaraderie. But it soon became more sinister and a way of promoting Nazi idealism. Weakness was not tolerated. Ultimately, young men were shown how to kill using a gun, a grenade, a bayonet or a rifle. Then once the war was over, and most of the leaders were dead or in prison, a few of them, including Hitler, having killed themselves, a whole generation was left confused. I suspect some of the girls who wrote the letters I’m looking at took care of some of the children in the Kinderlandverschickung. This film gives an interesting account of this progression. Click here.

Guido Knopp’s ‘Hitler’s Children'

This book attempts to explain how children were indoctrinated with Nazi ideals.

Knopp is head of history and current affairs at ZDF. He backs up his statements with primary resources-  photos and eye-witness accounts, though the people interviewed have now had  70+ years to think about what happened then.

Knopp identifies five aspects of this indoctrination: seduction, submission, bloodstock, war and sacrifice. Perhaps he makes several valid points here.

Certainly the children were seduced. Participation in the Hitler Youth movement and the Bund Deutscher Mädel must have been welcome. The uniforms were smart. The children got a chance to spend time doing sporting activities with other young people. There was a feeling of belonging. However, it wasn’t quite the boy scouts and there were often some more sinister aspects of the activities – like learning how to fire a rifle or how to throw a grenade.

The girls were indeed brought up to be submissive and BDM also stood for ‘Bald deutsche Mütter’(soon German mothers),  ‘Bubi drük Milch’ (boob presses milk)  and ‘Bedarfsartikel Deutscher Männer’ (German men’s necessities). The boys were submissive too, however. Absolute obedience was taught. Initiative was discouraged.

Bloodstock was important to the Third Reich and its mission to create the Master Race. No matter, then, that Renate in my story had no idea she was Jewish. No matter for her grandmother Clara Lehrs (later Klara Sarah Lehrs) that she was first catholic and then an anthroposophist; the blood was tainted.        

The war was glorified for the young people but not in a soft romantic way as had happened with World War I. They were brought up to be tough and resilient. Faith in the Führer and the Vaterland was encouraged. Hitler was put upon a pedestal rather like rock stars and footballers are today.

As the Nazi regime began to lose the war, a last ditch attempt was to fight back, using Hitler Youth and BDM girls as soldiers. They were beginning to lose faith in their leaders and they were beginning to worry a little about the cattle trucks they saw passing, from which they heard human voices and occasionally saw faces at the ceiling–high windows.  The young people with poor soldiering skills and equipment that was too big and heavy for them still wanted to defend their family and their country from the allied liberators, though they no longer trusted, respected or liked their government.

All according to Knopp.

Yet I see little of this in the letters.

The girls were aged 14-18 in the volume of letters I have, so they would have been obliged to be members of the BDM. So far, they have not mentioned it once. I suggest three reasons.

1. It was so much part of everyday life that they did not think it important. Possibly anyway their membership of the BDM made them healthy and athletic.
2. They lived in the countryside around Nuremberg. The HJ and the BDM were more active and fanatical in the big industrial towns.
3. There was more dissent than Knopp acknowledges.                   

          

Bund der Deutschen Mädel (BDM)

I’ve done quite a bit of research on the female equivalent of the Hitler Youth today. As with the Hitler Youth, there are a lot of compilation videos on You Tube and one sees the same pictures over and over again.
Their uniform was very smart – a basic uniform of a long blue skirt, white shirt, black tie, a sort of short flying jacket for the summer and a long overcoat for the winter. There were also sports outfits and more casual wear for camps. They must have cost quite a bit to put together.
Of course, most of the photos and films will have been staged to some extent. Occasionally you come across a photo that is more casual and genuinely seems to show young people enjoying themselves.
In the photos and films the girls look healthy and athletic. Some of the comments on You Tube are a little worrying, though. Genuine family photos might be more revealing.
As with the boys, from 1939 membership and attendance was compulsory. Oddly the girls’ letters don’t mention it a lot. It must have been going on in the background, though. When they first started writing the letters they were 13 / 14 and only 19 /20 by the end of the war. They must have been members.

More on the Hitler Youth

I’ve been watching some old films about the Hitler Youth, much of it on You Tube. The rousing marching music caused my husband to shut the door of his study. Apparently, it could be heard in Detroit and India, as Martin was on a conference call. Two things struck me immediately:
- The rallies looked like mass hysteria
- The boys – and the girls of the BDM - were incredibly fit and healthy-looking and also very disciplined.
It was disturbing, though, to see some of the comments on You Tube. Not only are the fascist sentiments vicious in content but also in the language used.
There was no doubt massive indoctrination. By the time the boys were recruited for the army they had listened to four years, at least, of Nazi propaganda. The BDM girls were given some more homely, spiritual perspectives. They were still encouraged to take part in sports. However, actual combat was discouraged. Yet some of their sewing was to do with making helmets for soldiers.
Often, the children in both organisations were encouraged to spy on their parents and correct any anti-Nazi behaviour.
The physical discipline, especially for some of the boys, was gruelling and often included 50 mile marches without food or drink.

The girls, boys and the Hitler Youth

I’m rapidly getting towards the real letters. I’m now up to March 1941 and the real letters begin in December 1941. This is the last round before I get on to the real ones.
The girls are now 14-15 and are beginning to get interested in boys. In fact, a couple of the older ones have quite serious boyfriends. There may well be questions to do with conscription coming up later.
I’ve put in some instances of the Hitler Youth that I learnt from yesterday’s research – including some incidents with Charlotte’s quite troublesome younger brother, Thomas. I will have to find out some more about the BDM. (Bund Deutscher Mädel) There isn’t much mention of it in the letters, though I’m sure the girls would have been involved when they were younger.
I’m getting a sense of this “duty” year that young unmarried women used to have to do. It seems form the letters that it’s quite easy to find an opportunity within the family. Hence, Charlotte manages to look after her own blind grandmother. Gerda’s work on the family farm will probably also count.
The more I write, the more questions I ask myself.
Well, I’ve managed over 2000 words since breakfast again today.

Food shortages, the Hitler Youth, conscription, the German Home Guard, the Steiner Schools, 1940s trains and exciting news about the Wilhelm Löhe School

Yes, I’ve got through a variety of topics today.
It seems that food shortages weren’t as severe at the beginning of the war in Germany as they were in the UK. They did have problems with their harvest and they also introduced rationing. But they did not suffer too much because of the blockades and there were plentiful sources of food in the countryside. I’ve already got that in the girls’ earlier letters so I’m pleased I seem to have guessed correctly.
I do need to bring in some more instances of the Hitler Youth. Membership was compulsory for boys aged 10-14 from 1936. However, people could get away with just paying the subscription. By 1930, attendance was expected as well. So the boys in the book would have been in the movement.
Conscription started off being for those who had already done their military service. Then young men 18-25 were called up, then 27-33 then when those died up to 34-44 then 45-54,55-64, then he would start by 15-20 all again.
There was a Heimwehr, very similar to our Home Guard, but in 1944 the Volkssturnm was formed. This was a final attempt to scrape together an army. This may also feature in the novel.
I’ve also found out more about the Steiner schools and what trains were like in 1940. I may also have found a contact at the school that was closed in 1938, the Wilhelm Löhe school. It was the closing of this school that caused the letters to be written.
Not a bad day’s work.

The German girls’ personalities

I’m cracking on now with the early, fictionalised letters. The girls are really getting their personalities and stories formed now. I’m really also getting a very strong feeling for Hanna Braun, their former teacher. I guess I’ll be on to the real letters by the time I go back to work on 8 August.
When I get into the 1941-1944 period, I’ll use actual facts from the real letters but assign them to the most appropriate character. Hanna Braun is, however, herself, so I have to be quite careful about how I use her. At the moment, she is almost being a commentary on what is happening. She doesn’t give too much about herself away.
As a separate project, the letters ought to be translated. And wouldn’t it be great if we could find volumes I and III?
Today’s work has posed some more questions: I need to find out more information about the Hitler Youth movement, the Bund Deutscher Mädcehn, military service – including what it was called – and conscription. When I do find out more about these, I may have to weave some extra material into the text so far. Such is creative writing research.
I’m very pleased that the Wiener Library has got in touch with me via Twitter, offering help. I’m certainly going to visit once they’re open again.

The Girls' Letters

I’ve been working on these quite a bit today and have actually written 1287 new words. I’ve decided to keep the content pretty much as is for the 1942-1944 years, though may have to make them more interesting. I’ve changed the names of the girls and given them fictional personas but retain the same innocence.
I’ve been working on the 1939-1940 letters and am creating the personalities of the girls. This is of course throwing up even more questions about what it was like then and I think I may have to write a little more about the development of the Hitler Youth and the Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM).
I was pleased that I had found a shape to the novel, though now I realise there are several gaps. However, at least I’ve now been able to start writing again.
I’m shaping the fictional letters in Parts I and III around the significant events in the Renate and the Hanni and Clara stories. Part II will largely be based on the actual letters and will show what is happening to Renate, Hanni and Clara though additional significant events will be told and fictional letters invented if need be.
I’m going to allow Clara’s gruesome end to remain a mystery –as it does to all concerned, though if I do include the epilogue, where the girls meet up as middle-aged women, I may discuss it then. Certainly it will be told in an appendix.
I’m fairly certain I’ll allow Renate to know about her imprisoned teacher by the end of Part III.