German youth attending the Reich Party Conference rally at the Zepplin Field in Nuremberg raise their hands in the Hitler salute. Nuremberg, Germany, September 1938. — TimePix
Educating the Youth
“This new Reich will give its youth to no one but will itself take over youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing.” -Adolf Hitler
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Schools played an extremely important role in spreading Nazi ideology. Educators glorified Nordic and other Aryan races, while claiming Jews and other "inferior" races to be parasitic. Education was also a way to prepare the youth for war, and teach them not to fear death.
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“The ultimate purpose of education was to fashion citizen’s conscious of the glory of country and filled with fanatical devotion to the national cause. National Socialism would furnish the necessary elite for the nation.” -Louis Snyder
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The Hitler Youth
All members had to swear this oath: “In the presence of this blood-banner, which represents our Führer, I swear to devote all my energies and my strength to the savior of our country, Adolf Hitler. I am ready and willing to give up my life for him, so help me God.”
The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls were the primary tools used by Hitler and the Nazis to instill their beliefs in Germany's young population. The original purpose of the Hitler Youth was to train boys to be in the SA (Storm Troopers). In 1936, membership became mandatory for boys and girls from the ages of ten to eighteen. The groups held after school meetings and weekend camping trips to promote Nazi beliefs. The purpose for boys was to be prepared for military service, and the purpose for girls was to be prepared for motherhood.
"The weak must be chiselled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel." -Adolf Hitler
"The weak must be chiselled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp's steel." -Adolf Hitler
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“These boys and girls enter our organizations [at] ten years of age, and often for the first time get a little fresh air; after four years of the Young Folk they go on to the Hitler Youth, where we have them for another four years . . . And even if they are still not complete National Socialists, they go to Labor Service and are smoothed out there for another six, seven months . . . And whatever class consciousness or social status might still be left . . . the Wehrmacht [German armed forces] will take care of that.” -Adolf Hitler (1938)
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“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.” -Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
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