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.
