The Appeal of the Nazis for the Youth of Germany

For this week's post, consider the Alice Hamilton reading (on OAK between weeks 2 and 3 in the "Course Readings" folder) in relation to Hitlerjunge Quex and Kuhle Wampe. Use either the films or the reading as your focus.

The Alice Hamilton article was an excellent article that I am sure (or at least hope) received much praise when it was written. I appreciated reading it as it gave very important insight into what was taking place in Germany when the Nazis came into power. Although I could certainly comment on many parts of the article, I found one part, towards the beginning, to be incredibly helpful and insightful. That part is when Hamilton begins her discussion of when the youth generation of Germany grew up. She begins this exploration by stating that "To understand Hitler's enormous success with the young we must understand what life has meant to the post-war generation in Germany, not only the children of the poor but of the middle class as well." From there, Hamilton goes on to explain how these children grew up in a time of great food shortage and unemployment, never having a chance to connect food and work. Given the fact that they grew up and began coming to age under these conditions, it is no surprise that the two organizations fighting for "them," the Communists and the Nazis, became so appealing. As Hamilton goes on to begin the next section of her article, she remarks that "Hitler made each insignificant, poverty-stricken, jobless youth of the slums feel himself on of the great of the earth..." Given the messages that Hitler was pushing, it is no surprise why so many youths joined the ranks of the Nazis and became so zealous. Whereas in their childhood they grew up in a world they was plagued by despair, Hitler gave these youth a place in the world, an essence for being.

Reading these key observations by Hamilton, I found that the information presented in this article helped me to understand Hitler Youth Quex much better. If life was as bad for these youths as Hamilton lays out, then one can understand the appeal to joining the Nazi ranks that the movie presents. Heine is a boy who has grown up in this type of condition, one where money was short, work was scarce, and food was anything but certain. Watching this film, many youths, not to mention their parents, would have found the Nazis a welcomed organization that could get the youth out of their helpless existence and into one that mattered. If these youth needed not only food and work, but most importantly a meaning for their very existence, then the Nazis were the ones who could give them just that. If Heine could find comfort in the ranks of the Nazis, then so could you.