HY Purposes and Members

The Hitler Youth (Hitler Jugend) was an extension of Hitler's belief that the Nazi future in Germany was its children. Hitler saw the Hitler youth as being as important to a child as school. In the early years of the Nazi government, Hitler made a speech at the Nuremberg Rally, 14 September 1935, which tells of the exact nature and purpose of the Hitler Youth. "What we look for from German youth is different from what people wanted in the past. In our eyes the German youth of the future must be slim, slender, swift as the greyhound, tough as leather and hard as krupp steel."
The Hitler youth movement was established by the Nazi party in 1926. There was the 'Pimpfen' for six to ten year olds; 'Deutches Jungvolk' for ten to fourteen year olds and 'Hitlerjugend' for fourteen to eighteen year olds. After this the young adults would join either the 'Reich Labour service' or the 'Wehrmacht'. By 1939 around 90% of the 'Aryan' children belonged to Nazi youth groups. The League of German Maidens (BDM) was started in 1930 and was the female equivalent to the Hitler youth. Like the boys the girls could join in the 'Jung Madel' if they were aged between 10 and 14 and 'Bund Deutscher Madel' for 14 to 18 year olds. After that they were in the 'Glaube und Schonheit' the Faith and Beauty School for 18 to 21 year olds. …