The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2020 | Page 136
The Hitler Youth & Communism
Generation in Post-War Po
the Hitler Youth from 1929 until 1945
affected young men and women for decades
to come, and following the fall of
Berlin in 1945, it was the Hitler Youth
that led to increased communist ideals
in Eastern and Western Germany.
The early beginnings of the Hitler
Youth were not seen by the outside
world; only citizens within Germany’s
borders were privy to its evolution. The
organization of the Hitler Youth began
in 1920 when Hitler approved the formation
of a Youth League that would
fall under part of the National Socialist
Workers Party (NSDAP). 1 This new
youth organization was based off an already
established German youth group
known as the Wandervogel. 2 This new
youth group of the NSDAP had been
slowly growing in its earlier years and
was eventually banned in 1923 following
the Beer Hall Putsch and Hitler’s
arrest. 3 Hitler began running into issues
because other youth groups were
already formed and thriving in Germany,
and the establishment of another
youth group did not guarantee interest
or membership. With the many social
issues surrounding the NSDAP, many
people were reluctant to let their children
join. Hitler soon realized that
desperate measures were needed that
would force not only children to join
the NSDAP youth organization, but
would also coerce parents into accepting
the idea and wanting their children
to join. This change occurred following
Hitler’s release from prison in 1924. 4
The NSDAP had grown exponentially
upon Hitler’s release, and following the
publishing of Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”),
parents began to lean towards
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