Hitler Youth; Wikimedia Commons

Hitler Youth; Wikimedia Commons

From 1933-1945, the Hitlerjugend  (Hitler Youth) was the sole official youth organization in Nazi Germany.

This quasi-paramilitary organization was made up of:

– Hitlerjugend proper) for male youth aged 14-18 yrs.

Deutsches Jungvolk (German Youth) for boys 10-14 yrs.

With emphasis on physical training and Nazi indoctrination, Hitler Youth were viewed as future “Aryan leaders who would fight faithfully for the Third Reich.

 

Bund Deutscher Mädel; Wikimedia Commons

Bund Deutscher Mädel; Wikimedia Commons

The Bund Deutscher Mädel (Band of German Maidens), the only female youth organization allowed in Nazi Germany, was composed of:

– Jungmädel Bund  (Young Girls’ League) for girls ages 10-14 yrs.

– Bund Deutscher Mädel proper for girls ages 14-18 yrs.

BDM-Werk Glaube und Schönheit (Faith & Beauty Society) open to girls  17- 21 yrs.

The BDM used campfire romanticism, summer camps, folklorism, tradition, and sports to indoctrinate girls in Nazism and train them for their roles in German society as wives, mothers and homemakers.