Remember the charming gazebo
scene “16 going on 17” Liesel
von Trapp shared with her
romantic interest Rolf Gruber?
The teen postman Rolf Gruber
was a fictional character but he
portrays a profile of Nazi youth
that was very real.
A common question many people
have about the Holocaust is “How
was the Nazi party able to gain so
many followers?” The more we can
understand about the movement
of Nazi youth, as embodied in the
character Rolf in T
he Sound of
Music
, the better we can understand
the rise of the Nazi party. After
World War I, Hitler played on
already existing antisemitic
attitudes present in Germany and
promoted Jews as the cause of
all of Germany’s problems after
World War I. After Germany lost
the war, the country was in a severe
depression and socially crippled.
Jews were blamed and the idea of
creating a strong German people
won people over. Nazi ideology
identified groups of people as
“dangerous” and “unworthy of life.”
These groups were targeted to be
removed from German society.
Although he did not become
chancellor until 1933, Hitler’s views
and the indoctrination of many
young people began over a decade
earlier. In 1920, Hitler formed
the Youth League of the National
Socialist Workers’ Party based on
the ideals of another German youth
group, Wandervögel. Wandervögel,
meaning “Migratory Bird,” had
some similarities to youth scouting
troops of today in its belief in the
importance of a connection to
nature. Members wore shorts and
hiking boots, sang German folk
songs around the campfire and used
the expression “Heil” (hail) as a
greeting.
The group was renamed Hitler
Youth in 1926 and was expanded
to include both classroom and
extracurricular activities such as
camping. In addition to participation
in outdoor activities, boys were
taught the importance of resilience,
obedience and militarism and
gradually devotion to Hitler, racism
and antisemitism with the ultimate
goal being boys’ service as soldiers
in the Storm Trooper Nazi Party. By
the end of 1933, Hitler Youth had
over 20 million members. By the
end of 1939 participation in Hitler
Youth was mandatory.
Impacting students in the classroom
was a key part of Hitler Youth.
Beginning in 1933, German
teachers were targeted. Teachers
who were Jewish or considered
“politically unreliable” were
removed from classrooms. By 1936,
97 percent of teachers had joined
the National Socialist Teachers
League. Textbooks were replaced
with those that pushed Nazi ideals.
Even young children were given
picture storybooks depicting Jews
as less than human and immoral.
Propaganda books for older
students further promoted racism
and antisemitism as well as the
importance of boys’ roles as Nazi
soldiers. With the infiltration of
propaganda disguised as textbooks
came the removal of books by
Jewish writers and writers whose
work the Nazis viewed as different.
Starting in 1933, Nazis raided
libraries and bookstores and held
bonfires to burn the works of writers
including Albert Einstein, Sigmund
Freud, Jack London, Sinclair Lewis
and Ernest Hemingway.
JANUARY 1933
Adolf Hitler was
appointed Chancellor
of Germany.
MARCH 1933
The first concentration
camp established by
the Nazis was opened
in Dachau outside of
Munich, Germany.
APRIL 1933
The Nazis organized
a boycott of Jewish-
owned businesses in
Germany.
APRIL 1935
The Nazi government
banned the
Jehovah’s Witness
organization.
JUNE 1935
The Germany Ministry
of Justice criminalized
all homosexual acts
between men.
SEPTEMBER 1935
The Nuremberg Laws
were introduced. These
laws were designed to
take away Jewish rights
of citizenship and included
orders that:
• Jews are no longer
allowed to be German
citizens
• Jews cannot marry
non-Jews
• Jews cannot have sexual
relations with non-Jews
MARCH 1938
German troops
invade Austria in
what was known as
the Anschluss. Evian
Conference delegates
from 32 countries meet
to decide what to do
about the refugees
fleeing Nazi Germany.
Most countries,
including the U.S.,
refused to increase
immigration quotas
and eventually closed
their borders.
OCTOBER 1938
The passports of all
Austrian and German
Jews were stamped with
a large red letter ‘J’.
NOVEMBER 1938
Jews were made
to pay one billion
marks for the
damage caused by
Kristallnacht.
NOVEMBER 1938
An order was issued
that stated that Jewish
children should not
be allowed to attend
non-Jewish German
schools.
NOVEMBER 1938
During a violent pogrom
called Kristallnacht or
the “Night of Broken
Glass”, Nazis murdered
approximately 100
Jews, arrested
30,000 Jewish men
and sent them to
concentration camps,
burned hundreds
of synagogues, and
smashed the windows
of Jewish shops all over
Germany and Austria.
OCTOBER 1939
Hitler orders all
Germans deemed
“incurable” and
therefore “unworthy
of life” to be killed.
Tens of thousands
of institutionalized
mentally and
physically disabled
people are sent to
killing centers.
NOVEMBER 1939
Jews in Nazi occupied
Poland were forced
to wear white badges
with a blue Star of
David.
1933
1935
1938
1939
Sources:
The Holocaust Center for Humanity:
holocaustcenterseattle.org
-
the-gestapo-vienna/they-took-the-other-road-organized-
resistance-in-austria-1
fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/timeline/timeline.htm
Nazi Youth: a looming threat in Germany and Austria
Nazification
6
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015 |
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