Education and Youth

The Hitler Youth (HJ)

Organization for boys aged 14-18; focused on military training.

League of German Maidens (BDM)

Organization for girls; focused on domesticity and health.

Compulsory membership

Made mandatory for all "Aryans" in 1939.

Curriculum changes

History focused on German victories; Biology taught "Eugenics" (race science).

Napolas

Elite boarding schools for training future Nazi leaders.

Teachers

Had to join the Nazi Teachers' League or be sacked.

PE focus

15% of school time was dedicated to physical fitness to prepare for war/motherhood.

Religious Education

Gradually removed from schools to reduce Church influence.

Eugenics in Schools

The "science" of breeding a master race; kids were taught how to measure skulls.

"Race Studies"

A mandatory subject explaining the hierarchy of races.

The "Little Fellows" (Pimpfe)

Nazi group for boys aged 6-10.

German Young People (DJ)

For boys aged 10-14.

The Hitler Youth (HJ)

Boys 14-18; prepared them specifically for the Wehrmacht (Army).

Young Girls (JM)

For girls aged 10-14.

The BDM

Girls 14-18; focused on "maternal health" and domestic skills.

The "Year on the Land"

BDM members were sent to farms to help with the harvest and experience "peasant life."

Physical Training Requirement

If a student failed their PE tests, they could be denied a school-leaving certificate.

History Textbooks

Rewritten to claim that the "Great War" (WWI) was lost only because of internal betrayal.

Leadership Schools (Adolf Hitler Schools)

Students were chosen based on physical appearance and leadership, not just grades.

The "Mutzen" (Caps)

Part of the HJ uniform used to instill a sense of military identity.

Hiking and Camping

Used by the HJ to build stamina and "comradeship."

The Gliding Section

A branch of the HJ that trained boys to be future Luftwaffe pilots.

Denouncing Teachers

Students were encouraged to report teachers who didn't use the "Heil Hitler" salute.