The Hitler Youth

Essay # 54193

History > European - World Wars
Holocaust Studies

The Hitler Youth

A look at both sides of the arguments as to whether Hitler's youth policy actually succeeded.

2,406 words () | 9 sources | MLA | 2003 United Kingdom

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, from the beginning of the Nazi regime, Hitler set particular store in winning over the youth and how it cannot be denied that the surface impact he achieved was phenomenal. It looks at how Hitler always believed that the youth were enthusiastic, malleable and ready to be totally infused into the Nazi culture and ideals. It also discusses how despite the seeming popularity of the Nazis to the youth, whether it is true to say that Hitler penetrated the minds and souls of them and achieved the full indoctrination that he so craved, or whether the policy towards youth nothing more than a superficial show of strength for the Nazis.

From the Paper:

"Indeed, the idea that the Nazis successfully mobilized the German youth totally, must be at least partly refuted when a wider picture of the Third Reich is examined. The more the Hitler Youth assumed state powers and the more completely young folk were roped into the organization, especially when the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1936, the more clear and obvious became an emerging tide of resistance and nonconformity. One obvious sign of this was the steadily rising number of youth delinquency cases that came up before the German courts throughout the Third Reich."