What were the outcomes of the Hitler-Jugend (hitler youth)?

Question

When Hitler died (or killed himself to be more correct), what happened to the Hitler-Jugend (the male youth group)? What were the outcomes of the group? and was that whole generation lost?

Thank you

Answer 1

Many of the "Hitler Youth" were killed long before Hitler killed himself.

The German 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was formed from 20,000 members of the Hitler Youth. The division was first used on June 7, 1944 to help defend Normandy after the D-Day invasion of France.

The division fought well but due to overwhelming Allied air power, from June to September they suffered 9,000 casualties in France. The remaining soldiers retreated into Germany and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Many died fighting the Russians when they over ran Germany in 1945, especially in Berlin.

Answer 2

The Hitler Youth Movement was started in Munich in 1922 and was the second oldest Nazi Group lasting until 1945, its adult counterpart being the SA (Sturmatbleilung). December 1938 its membership stood at 5 million and by 1940 it was 8 million. However membership was mandatory and very few escaped from it. It has been suggested that between 10-20% were able to avoid the HJ.



Before joining the Hitler Youth, young children were already indoctrinated into Nazism in the classroom with the notion of purity of race. Their education was very narrow everything starting and ending with Nazism. Every class had a picture of Hitler which was given the Nazi salture combined with Heil Hitler every morning before the start of class. Even military arms handling was taught as well to the older children. When they were of an age they boys and girls - joined the Hitler Youth and the BDM (female version). .



The Hitler Youth in its origins was originally based on the British Scouting Movement, but it became more sinister rather than hiking through the countryside, camping and physical achievement through competitive sporting events - which they did but there was a more sinister side to the HJ.



As their indoctrination into Nazism increased, they were encouraged to "spy" on their own families/neighbours/relatives in all manner of things. Jewish families whose children, pre Nazism, were educated with them, were reported to the authorities and were subsequently sent to Concentration Camps.



The SS recruitment was directed at the HJ!!



The Hitler Youth was not a benign youth movement, in fact overall they were a fanatical group that fought to the end defending a monster and his machine.



They were a manipulated generation whose innocence was blinded by rhetoric, power, control and purity of a nation.

Answer 3

They were just normal kids. When the war ended they got on with their lives. My mother's father was in the Hitler youth and her mother was in the Girl version. They enjoyed it. It didn't turn them into weird or evil people- they had a normal and happy life after the war like most of the rest and I certainly wouldn't call it a lost generation. Most kids aren't that politically aware and would have had very little idea of what it was all about. It was designed to be fun, if it hadn't no one would have wanted to join and the generation would have been turned against Hitler.



When the war ended the Hitler youth was just disbanded, nothing happened to its young members. As for the wider outcomes I don't really know. If it was intended to brainwash a whole generation into being lifelong Nazis it certainly didn't work.

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"Boys at 10, joined the Deutsches Jungvolk (German Young People) until the age of 13 when they transferred to the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) until the age of 18. In 1936, the writer J R Tunus wrote about the activities of the Hitler Jugend. He stated that part of their "military athletics" (Wehrsport) included marching, bayonet drill, grenade throwing, trench digging, map reading, gas defence, use of dugouts, how to get under barbed wire and pistol shooting.



Girls, at the age of 10, joined the Jungmadelbund (League of Young Girls) and at the age of 14 transferred to the Bund Deutscher Madel (League of German Girls). Girls had to be able to run 60 metres in 14 seconds, throw a ball 12 metres, complete a 2 hour march, swim 100 metres and know how to make a bed."

From:http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/hitler_youth.htm

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Answer 4

Hitler Youth leader Artur Axmann somehow survived the bunker breakout and 600 or so die hard young solders somehow made their way to Berchtesgaden and later fled in to the Bavarian Alps. They finally gave up to the Americans in December 1945.



s_e_s