What happened to the Hitler Youth during the war?

When WW2 started there were almost nine million members of the Hitler Youth though as Germany increased its preparations for war and the Hitler Youth increasingly militarized, for example with constant drills, so enthusiasm waned. Yet once the war started, German youth were galvanized at being part of a national “crusade”. They were used as postmen, delivering the monthly ration cards as well as draft notices, and they went from door to door collecting scrap metal to be melted down. Girls helped mothers with large families and even helped look after wounded soldiers in German hospitals.

Then, when Britain began its air raids on German cities in August, 1940, boys acted as air raid wardens and helped man the anti-aircraft gun batteries. By the beginning of 1943, with Germany struggling on the Eastern Front and more men being called up, the Hitler Youth helped in the cleanups that followed the raids and helped in organizing the rehousing of those left homeless. By this time, the anti-aircraft guns were manned solely by boys.

For boys aged between sixteen and eighteen, mandatory special camps were established, and the boys underwent military training which included handling weapons. And when America entered the war and the air-raids on German cities intensified to new heights of destruction, children were evacuated to camps (KLV camps). In total, almost three million children were evacuated to these camps and the camps themselves numbered some 5,000 at their height. Many parents were reluctant to send their children, but it was mandatory. Life in the camps was extremely harsh. They were run on military lines which included saluting and standing to attention; and all orders had to be obeyed. There were daily roll calls, marching, hikes and even paramilitary field exercises; Nazi slogans would be repeatedly recited and other propaganda too, Hitler Youth and Nazi Party songs would be sung. This encouraged a harsh culture in which the strong bullied the weak (something akin to Lord of the Flies if you have read the novel) and there was sexual abuse too.

With Germany clearly losing the war and expecting France to be invaded, some 10,000 young boys, mostly aged seventeen but some younger, were recruited. A special division of the SS, the Twelfth SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, was formed. And no sooner was their training completed than they were positioned near Caen, just a few miles as it tuned out from the landing beaches. So, they were soon in the thick of the fighting and they fought with bravery and fanaticism that astounded the Allies who faced them. By the end of the first month of fighting, 20% of the Division had been killed and another 40% wounded or else missing in action. But still they fought on until in May, 1945 what was left of their number, only 450, finally surrendered to American troops.

At the very end, of the war, with defeat imminent, the Volkssturm or People’s Army was desperately put together, utilizing every available male aged between sixteen and sixty. Again, many of the boys fought ferociously with little regard for their own lives. In the fight to save Berlin from the Russians, for example, 5,000 young boys were used to defend the bridges on the eastern approaches to the capital. Of these 5,000, 4,500 were killed or wounded in the five days of fighting before the city fell. And such heroics were repeated in other parts of the city. On Hitler’s 56^th birthday, he left his bunker in order to present the Iron Cross to twelve-year-old boys for their part in the defence of the city (there are photographs recording the event). They were then sent back to their futile fight.