Lesson video

Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Today, we're stepping into the shoes of young people in Nazi Germany.

We'll explore how the Nazi regime didn't just try to control the governments or the military, it set its sights on the next generation.

Why did Hitler care so much about controlling children? How did he do it, and what impact did it have on young people's daily lives, their friendships, and even their families? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain how Nazi policies towards young people reflected their aims. Before we begin, there are a few key words that we need to understand.

Reich meaning empire.

Under the Nazis, it referred to the Third Reich, their name for Hitler's regime, which they saw as the third great German empire after the Holy Roman empire and the German Empire.

Camaraderie is a mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time, or share an experience together.

Indoctrination is the process of repeating an idea or belief to someone until they accept it without criticism or question.

And domestic means belonging or relating to the home, house or family.

And eugenics is a theory that claims the human population could be improved by encouraging people with certain traits to have children.

The Nazis used this idea to justify racial discrimination.

So today's lesson is all about young people in Nazi Germany, and we're going to explore this in two main parts.

First, we'll look at Nazi control of the youth, how the regime used youth organisations, like the Hitler Youth, and the League of German Girls to influence boys and girls from a very young age.

Then in the second part, we'll turn our attention to Nazi education and indoctrination.

We'll examine how schools were transformed into tools of propaganda, from the subjects taught to the textbooks used.

Let's begin with Nazi control of the youth.

Hitler understood that the young were essential to building a mighty German empire, the Third Reich.

When Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, he understood something vital, the future of Nazi Germany would not be secured by the old, but by the young.

Let's have a look at a photograph on the left.

Here we see Adolf Hitler with a young boy.

The setting feels casual and friendly, and Hitler is smiling.

Now ask yourself, why would this kind of image be so important for the Nazi regime? This image delivers a powerful message that children belong to the Nazi future.

They weren't just being looked after, they were being shaped, trained, and controlled to become loyal followers of Hitler and the Third Reich.

From the moment they could walk and talk, German boys and girls were swept into a world of indoctrination, moulded into loyal citizens of the Nazi state.

This photograph was part of a much larger propaganda effort.

Images like this were used to shape public opinion.

Hitler harnessed his vast propaganda regime to present himself as the father of the nation.

He's shown here as approachable, caring, and even protective.

In rallying speeches and posters, he told the youth they were fortunate to belong to a new German Reich, a Germany rising from humiliation and rebuilding its strength.

But this future could only be achieved through total obedience and loyalty.

Children would be nurtured and educated to be disciplined, fearless, and proud, like the soldiers who had fought in the First World War.

Boys were expected to grow into strong, obedient warriors.

Girls in contrast, were taught that their duty was to serve Germany by becoming wives and mothers, raising the next generation of racially pure Germans.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

According to Nazi beliefs, what role did children play in the future of Germany? A, they were essential to building a powerful Nazi empire through obedience and loyalty.

B, they would become future voters and politicians in a democracy called the Third Reich.

C, they would be encouraged to form their own ideas and lead social change.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, they were essential to building a powerful Nazi empire through obedience and loyalty.

Complete this sentence with the correct missing word.

Hitler used propaganda to present himself as the, blank, of the nation and told the youth that Germany's future depended on their total obedience.

Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

Hitler used propaganda to present himself as the father of the nation and told the youth that Germany's future depended on their total obedience.

Okay, let's continue.

Across the towns and cities of Germany, Nazi banners fluttered above schools and playgrounds.

Youth organisations such as the German equivalents of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides were either banned or absorbed into Nazi youth movements.

By 1936, membership became mandatory for all young Germans aged 10 to 17, and by 1939, more than 82% of eligible youth belonged to these organisations.

Young boys were summoned to the Hitler Youth, and we can see a photo of the Hitler Youth on the left.

The Hitler Youth was an organisation that promised adventure, camaraderie and a sense of pride.

It's mimicked traditional youth movements like the Boy Scouts offering hiking, music, and camping.

Boys marched in parades wearing smart brown uniforms, which many were proud to wear even at school.

They sang songs with enthusiasm, songs that glorified Hitler and the Reich.

The Hitler Youth at first glance might look similar to other youth groups we know, groups focus on fun, adventure, community and personal growth, and that's exactly the point.

The Nazis didn't invent the idea of youth organisations, in fact, Germany already had a long tradition of youth groups before Hitler came to power.

But the Nazis took those familiar ideas, uniforms, teamwork, and outdoor fun, and twisted them into something far more extreme.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What made the Hitler Youth appealing to many young boys in Nazi Germany? A, it's allowed boys to avoid military training.

B, it's guaranteed future employment in government.

C, it provided exciting activities and camaraderie.

Pause a video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was C, it provided exciting activities and camaraderie.

So we now know that the Nazis took the idea of youth organisations and twisted them into something far more extreme.

But behind the fun and ceremony of the Hitler Youth, there lay a far darker purpose.

The Hitler Youth aimed to prepare boys for war and political indoctrination.

As they grew older, the activities became increasingly militarised, marching, survival training, shooting and even gliding.

Wooden sticks were replaced by rifles, staged war games prepared them for real battles.

Many teenagers grew weary of endless drills, late night marches through the freezing countryside and lectures about Nazi ideas.

In the Hitler Youth, loyalty to Hitler came before loyalty to family or friends.

Children were taught to report any disloyal behaviour they witnessed, even from their own parents.

The message was chillingly clear, Hitler was now their true father.

In one infamous case, a 13-year-old boy told his father, a former social Democrat, "I despise you because you lacked any heroism." It was a chilling sign of how the regime drove a wedge between generations.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was the deeper purpose of the Hitler Youth? A, it aimed to create loyalty to traditional family values.

B, it's focused solely on building physical fitness for fun and sport.

C, it gradually trained boys for war and encourage obedience to Hitler.

D, it aimed to prepare young people for university education and careers.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was C, it gradually trained boys for war and encouraged obedience to Hitler.

Okay, let's continue.

So girls were drawn into the League of German Girls, and for them the path was different, but equally controlled.

Rather than training for combat, girls were prepared for lives of domestic duty, otherwise, household responsibilities.

They learned to cook wholesome German meals, tend to gardens and care for children, reflecting the Nazi policy of "Kinder, Kuche, Kirche," which stood for children, kitchen, church.

Girls were also taught nursing and first aid, and the League promised friendship and fulfilment, but beneath the surface, lay a powerful expectation.

A German girl's highest calling was to be a mother to Hitler's future warriors.

Physical fitness was emphasised not to prepare them for battle, but to ensure they would become healthy mothers of many future Aryan children.

On the left, we can see a photograph of the League of German Girls.

Many young girls initially enjoyed their time in the League.

For example, Sophie Scholl later recalled that she especially enjoyed the hiking and camaraderie, but as she grew older, she became deeply disturbed by the strict Nazi ideology, a journey that would ultimately lead her to join the resistance.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was the main goal of the League of German Girls for girls in Nazi Germany? A, to prepare girls for military service.

B, to teach girls how to become political leaders.

C, to train girls for domestic roles and motherhood.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was C, to train girls for domestic roles and motherhood.

Okay, great, let's move on to task A.

What I want you to do here is working with your partner, discuss the following questions.

Why did the Nazis target young people? And what were the aims of the Nazi youth movements? Now, you can hold this as a discussion or you can jot down your ideas on a piece of paper.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many things that you may have discussed or written down on your piece of paper, but hopefully you thought about some of the points that I've got here.

So for the first question, why did the Nazis target young people? You might have said something like, Hitler saw youth as the foundation of a future Nazi empire, the Third Reich.

And that children could be more easily influenced than adults, making indoctrination easier.

And this also means that early indoctrination meant long-term loyalty and fewer challengers to the Nazi government.

And for the second question, what were the aims of the Nazi youth movements? You could have said something like that it was to prepare boys for the military, and girls for motherhood and domestic duties.

And this reflected the aim of "Kinder, Kuche, Kirche." Children, kitchen, church.

You could have also said that the aim was to replace loyalty to family with loyalty to Hitler.

And Nazi youth movements also to teach racial beliefs and Nazi ideas.

And create a sense of adventure and belonging, outdoor activities, smart brown uniforms, pride of being part of a movement, all made these youth movements appealing.

And this created a sense of camaraderie and loyalty.

Shared experiences.

Songs glorifying Hitler.

Chosen for a special role in rebuilding the nation.

Again, it made these youth organisations appealing to the youth, allowing the Nazis to indoctrinate them.

Great.

Now that we've explored how the Nazis used youth organisations like the Hitler Youth to reshape young people outside of school, next, we'll look at what was happening inside the classroom.

So in this next section we'll explore how Nazi education became a powerful tool of indoctrination, from the teachers and textbooks, to the subjects themselves.

In a small classroom in Hamburg 1934, sunlight glinted off a gold framed portrait of Adolf Hitler.

Below it, school children stood to attention, their arms raised in salute as they chorused their greeting.

"Hail Hitler." The headmaster looked on approvingly.

Across Germany, schools were transformed into centres of Nazi thoughts.

Once spaces for curiosity and learning, schools were transformed into centres of Nazi indoctrination.

Teachers joined the Nazi Teachers League in droves, a membership that required pledging loyalty to the "fuhrer." Many joined out of necessity, compelled by the need to keep their jobs and provide for their families.

Those who resisted or were suspected of disloyalty were dismissed without mercy.

It's in many cases such pressure proved unnecessary.

Teachers, many already disillusioned with the Weimar Republic, were among the most sympathetic professional groups to the Nazi government.

By 1936, a staggering 97% of teachers were members.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How were schools and teachers affected by Nazi control in Germany? A, schools encourage debate about different political views.

B, teachers were free to teach using any materials they preferred.

C, teachers were pressured to join the Nazi Teachers League or face removal.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was C, teachers were pressured to join the Nazi Teachers League or face removal.

The curriculum became a tool of indoctrination.

There were strict control over textbooks, and lessons promoted German greatness.

The curriculum was essentially designed to shape obedient citizens of the Third Reich.

The Nazi government passed laws to ensure that history lessons promoted German greatness and nationalist pride.

Let's take a look at this photograph.

Right in the centre, we can see a large number of copies of "Mein Kampf" written by Hitler himself.

This was no ordinary book, it was a central piece of Nazi ideology.

In it, Hitler laid out his political beliefs and his vision for Germany's future.

Books like this weren't just available, they were promoted, even required in schools.

Control over textbooks was absolute, only books approved by the Ministry of Propaganda, led by Joseph Goebbels, were permitted in classrooms. Old un-German stories vanished from shelves, in their place came texts that praised loyalty, sacrifice and hatred of enemies.

For example, books glorified German heroes, especially military figures, and cast the Treaty of Versailles as a humiliating betrayal.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Complete this sentence with the correct missing word.

The Nazis used education as a tool of, blank, teaching children to accept their beliefs without question.

Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

The Nazis used education as a tool of indoctrination, teaching children to accept their beliefs without question.

How did the Nazi government use the school curriculum to spread its ideas? A, by allowing teachers to choose materials freely based on student interest.

B, by requiring students to memorise the German constitution and Nazi manifesto.

C, by using approved textbooks that promoted loyalty, sacrifice and nationalism.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the correct answer was C, by using approved textbooks that promoted loyalty, sacrifice, and nationalism.

Lessons across many subjects were twisted to serve Nazi ideas.

Essays were set asking, "Why am I not in the Hitler Youth?" and ridicule awaited those who resisted.

Let's take a look at this school timetable from Nazi Germany.

At first glance, it might not seem too different from a modern school day, subjects like German, History, maps, and even sports.

But if we look more closely, we can see how each part of the day was carefully designed to indoctrinate students, to train them not to think independently, but to accept and spread Nazi ideas.

At 9:40, we see a subject called Race Studies and Nazi Ideology.

In these lessons, students were taught that some races were superior to others, especially so-called Aryan race.

We can also see the subject of eugenics at 12:10, which put forward so-called scientific theories about genetics.

Teaching children that Jews, Slavs and other groups were threats to racial purity.

Eugenics promoted selective breeding to create a stronger race.

Students were taught that it was their duty to protect Germany's racial purity.

Even subjects like maths and science were twisted.

For example, maths problems might ask students to calculate how much it cost the government to support people with disabilities, and this was to make the students think that those lives weren't worth helping as they were seen as a burden in Nazi Germany.

Students were also tasked with calculating the logistics of military production.

Biology classes became exercises in racial theory.

Students measured skulls and studied scientific classifications of races, reinforcing the belief that Aryan's were superior.

Geography emphasised Germany's need for living space, what the Nazis called Lebensraum, framing military expansion and conquest as both natural and necessary.

In other words, Germany would need to conquer other countries in order to grow stronger.

And finally, look at how much time is given to sport from one o'clock to six in the evening.

Physical education became more important than ever.

Boys were expected to develop strength, stamina, and courage.

Failure in sports could mean failure in school altogether, after all, a weak boy would be a poor soldier.

Boys were being prepared for war, and girls were expected to become healthy mothers of racially pure children.

Life for young Germans under Hitler was a strange blend of excitement, pressure, and fear.

In schools, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, closely monitored by loyal pupils who were also members of the Hitler Youth.

Even casual gossip became risky.

Teachers and officials warned that a careless comment or even a joke could lead to a visit from the Gestapo.

Some students quietly resisted, skipping meetings or hiding forbidden books under their beds.

But overall, the Nazi plan largely succeeded.

By 1939, millions of German children had been shaped by the regime's relentless efforts.

They marched into adulthood ready, as Hitler had intended, to serve him with heart, mind, and body, whatever the cost.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following are ways Nazi ideas were promoted through school subjects? Select three correct answers.

A, biology was used to teach racial theory and Aryan superiority.

B, geography emphasised the need for more living space, Lebensraum.

C, physical education classes were reduced to make more time for academics.

D, Race studies taught that Jews and Slavs were threats to racial purity.

Pause the video, select your three correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were, A, biology was used to teach racial theory and Aryan superiority.

B, geography emphasised the need for more living space.

And D, race studies taught that Jews and Slavs were threats to racial purity.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to task B.

And I've got a source here for you.

And the source is a Nazi school maths problem from around 1937.

"A German artillery shell costs 85 Reichsmarks to produce.

A Jewish-owned business avoided 4,250 Reichsmarks in taxes.

How many artillery shells could have been made to defend the Fatherland if that money had gone to the military instead?" And what I want you to do is answer this question.

What do you think the source suggests about Nazi policy towards the young? And to help you to tackle that, I want your answer to include the following.

Firstly, identify an aspect of the source, and then explain the historical context it's referring to.

So, pick out a feature or sentence, or a few words from the source, and use the knowledge from today's lesson to write about the background story that the aspect or the feature of the source is referring to.

So this is showing that you can pick out details from this source, and expand on it with your own knowledge.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

So there's many ways that you could have tackled that task, but compare your answers with the one I have here.

One aspect of the source shows a focus on the military and racial hatred.

The maths question suggests that Jews are harming Germany and that money should be used to fund the military instead.

So there we've identified an aspect or a feature of the source, and we can now go on to use our knowledge to explain the historical context, the background story that it's referring to.

This reflects the Nazi policy of using education to indoctrinate young people.

Even in subjects like maths, the Nazis inserted racial hatred and ideas of military strength.

The source shows how students were trained to think of Jews as enemies, and war as necessary, preparing boys for future military service and reinforcing loyalty to Nazi beliefs.

It also shows how deeply Nazi propaganda was embedded in daily life, especially for children.

Okay, great, let's move on to the second and final part of task B.

What I want you to do here is explain how Nazi policies towards young people reflected their aims. So you can see that this is a really important question, which helps us to marshal all the knowledge that we've gained in today's lesson to answer this question.

To help you to do that, I want your answer to include one paragraph for each of the following.

So for your first paragraph, the topic should be Nazi youth organisations, and your second paragraph should be on Nazi education.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So, there's many ways that you could have written your paragraphs, but compare your answers with the ones I have here.

So, you could have put, Nazi policies towards young people through youth organisations, like the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls reflected the state's aim of creating a future generation to build and maintain the Third Reich.

Children were drawn into Nazi movements that replaced traditional youth groups.

Boys were trained to become disciplined soldiers, while girls were prepared for domestic duties and motherhood.

These policies ensured that children grew up loyal to Hitler and ready to serve the Nazi state in the roles assigned to them.

Activities in the Hitler Youth were designed to build a sense of camaraderie and pride, making young people feel part of an exciting movement, a revitalised Germany, the Third Reich.

And for your second paragraph, education also reflected the aim of spreading Nazi ideas.

Schools were transformed into tools of indoctrination.

They used only state-approved textbooks and subjects were adapted to promote Nazi beliefs.

For example, history lessons glorified German heroes and criticised the Treaty of Versailles.

While geography promoted the need for Lebensraum.

Physical education was also expanded to prepare boys for battle and girls to become healthy mothers of many future Aryan children.

New subjects such as eugenics and race studies promoted scientific theories about genetics and race teaching children that Jews, Slavs, and other groups, were threats to racial purity.

Even teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers League or they faced dismissal.

These changes showed that the Nazis aimed to completely shape how young people thought, turning them into unquestioning supporters of the Nazi government.

Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, Young People in Nazi Germany.

The Nazis targeted young people to secure the future of the Third Reich.

Nazi youth movements aimed to create loyal and obedient citizens, and build camaraderie and pride, but not all children stayed loyal.

The Hitler Youth prepared boys for military service and discipline, while the League of German Girls prepared girls for domestic roles and motherhood.

The Nazis used education to indoctrinate young people with racial and military ideas.

The government controlled textbooks and compelled teachers to join the Nazi Teachers League or face removal.

School subjects were rewritten to reflect Nazi ideas, including eugenics and race studies, which taught racial superiority, and even maths problems that encouraged hatred of Jews and supported militarism.

Well done, everyone.

And today, we've seen how the Nazi regime didn't just try to control the country, it aimed to shape the minds, bodies, and futures of an entire generation.

Young Germans were pulled into a world where loyalty to Hitler came before family, critical thinking or compassion.

See you next time.