Hitler's Children

The Hitler Youth and the SS

Nonfiction, History, Germany
Cover of the book Hitler's Children by Gerhard Rempel, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gerhard Rempel ISBN: 9781469620619
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: July 15, 2015
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Gerhard Rempel
ISBN: 9781469620619
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: July 15, 2015
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

Eighty-two percent of German boys and girls between the ages of ten and eighteen belonged to Hitlerjugend--Hitler Youth--or one of its affiliates by the time membership became fully compulsory in 1939. These adolescents were recognized by the SS, an exclusive cadre of Nazi zealots, as a source of future recruits to its own elite ranks, which were made up largely of men under the age of thirty. In this book, Gerhard Rempel examines the special relationship that developed between these two most youthful and dynamic branches of the National Socialist movement and concludes that the coalition gave nazism much of its passionate energy and contributed greatly to its initial political and military success.

Rempel center his analysis of the HJ-SS relationship on two branches of the Hitler Youth. The first of these, the Patrol Service, was established as a juvenile police force to pursue ideological and social deviants, political opponents, and non-conformists within the HJ and among German youth at large. Under SS influence, however, membership in the organization became a preliminary apprenticeship for boys who would go on to be agents and soldiers in such SS-controlled units as the Gestapo and Death's Head Formations. The second, the Land Service, was created by HJ to encourage a return to farm living. But this battle to reverse "the flight from the land" took on military significance as the SS sought to use the Land Service to create "defense-peasants" who would provide a reliable food supply while defending the Fatherland.

The transformation of the Patrol and Land services, like that of the HJ generally, served SS ends at the same time that it secured for the Nazi regime the practical and ideological support of Germany's youth. By fostering in the Hitler Youth as "national community" of the young, the SS believed it could convert the popular movement of nazism into a protomilitary program to produce ideologically pure and committed soldiers and leaders who would keep the movement young and vital.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Eighty-two percent of German boys and girls between the ages of ten and eighteen belonged to Hitlerjugend--Hitler Youth--or one of its affiliates by the time membership became fully compulsory in 1939. These adolescents were recognized by the SS, an exclusive cadre of Nazi zealots, as a source of future recruits to its own elite ranks, which were made up largely of men under the age of thirty. In this book, Gerhard Rempel examines the special relationship that developed between these two most youthful and dynamic branches of the National Socialist movement and concludes that the coalition gave nazism much of its passionate energy and contributed greatly to its initial political and military success.

Rempel center his analysis of the HJ-SS relationship on two branches of the Hitler Youth. The first of these, the Patrol Service, was established as a juvenile police force to pursue ideological and social deviants, political opponents, and non-conformists within the HJ and among German youth at large. Under SS influence, however, membership in the organization became a preliminary apprenticeship for boys who would go on to be agents and soldiers in such SS-controlled units as the Gestapo and Death's Head Formations. The second, the Land Service, was created by HJ to encourage a return to farm living. But this battle to reverse "the flight from the land" took on military significance as the SS sought to use the Land Service to create "defense-peasants" who would provide a reliable food supply while defending the Fatherland.

The transformation of the Patrol and Land services, like that of the HJ generally, served SS ends at the same time that it secured for the Nazi regime the practical and ideological support of Germany's youth. By fostering in the Hitler Youth as "national community" of the young, the SS believed it could convert the popular movement of nazism into a protomilitary program to produce ideologically pure and committed soldiers and leaders who would keep the movement young and vital.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book The House on Diamond Hill by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book A History of Small Business in America by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Econocide by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Conversing by Signs by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book "Country Music is Wherever the Soul of a Country Music Fan Is": Opryland U.S.A. and the Importance of Home in Country Music by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Mapping Diaspora by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book A Government by the People by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book The World in a Skillet by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book The Pattern of Hardy's Poetry by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Caribbean Exchanges by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book In the Trenches at Petersburg by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Pressed for All Time by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Working the Garden by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Sharing This Walk by Gerhard Rempel
Cover of the book Themes in Religion and American Culture by Gerhard Rempel
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy