The Influence of Nazism on Education
Although many aspects of German life changed under the Third Reich, an area of particular focus was in developing the jungvolk. Not only were the German youth heavily influenced by Nazi ideology, but they were also an essential component of the promotion of a new National Socialist Germany. Issued by the NSDAP, the initial twenty-five points of the party in 1920 includes the statement, “The comprehension of the concept of the State must be striven for by the school [Staatsbuergerkunde] as early as the beginning of understanding” (Modern History Sourcebook: The 25 Points 1920: An Early Nazi Program). Thus proving that educating the youth was recognized as part of the core of the party. Without the investment in building an ideal youth, the Nazi regime would not have been as successful or influential as it was.
In comprehending why the German youth played such a critical role in the Nazi regime, one must understand the motives in educating the young. Hitler primarily focused on the young because he could easily manipulate their emotions to support Nazi ideology and unify Germany. Hitler announced at the Nuremberg Party in 1935, “We must educate a new type of man so that our people is not ruined by the symptoms of degeneracy of our day” (Welch). By stressing the importance and relationship between education and Weltanschauung, Hitler explains that in order to expand the Nazi movement, the education system had to be the instrument through which his ideology be conveyed. Education in the Third Reich became political, considered a state concern and had to fit Nazi ideology; academic freedom did not exist (Veit). This was evident in the fact that every decision at a university had to be confirmed first by the Minister of Education, Berhard Rust (Kandel). Education was also an opportunity for the promotion of Nazi propaganda to young and impressionable minds (Veit). The philosophy and practices of the education system under the Nazis were established to fuel the youth with hatred against Marxism and liberalism, resulting in a strong nationalistic Germany (Kandel). According to Welch, 60 per cent of all German youth belonged to the Hitlerjugend by 1935 showing its appeal to young people and an indication of the extent to which the education system was already a great influence on the thinking of young people. This influence increased still further when in 1939, The Hitler Youth Law made joining the Hitler Youth organizations mandatory with the idea that they were the next generation who would continue the National Socialist regime (Welch, Brunauer). Although males and females were segregated and taught differently, both organizations were under the leadership of Baldur von Schirach and the purpose of their education was the same, not to promote individualism or free thinking but the idea of being a part of a ‘national community’ (Brunauer and Pine).
In comprehending why the German youth played such a critical role in the Nazi regime, one must understand the motives in educating the young. Hitler primarily focused on the young because he could easily manipulate their emotions to support Nazi ideology and unify Germany. Hitler announced at the Nuremberg Party in 1935, “We must educate a new type of man so that our people is not ruined by the symptoms of degeneracy of our day” (Welch). By stressing the importance and relationship between education and Weltanschauung, Hitler explains that in order to expand the Nazi movement, the education system had to be the instrument through which his ideology be conveyed. Education in the Third Reich became political, considered a state concern and had to fit Nazi ideology; academic freedom did not exist (Veit). This was evident in the fact that every decision at a university had to be confirmed first by the Minister of Education, Berhard Rust (Kandel). Education was also an opportunity for the promotion of Nazi propaganda to young and impressionable minds (Veit). The philosophy and practices of the education system under the Nazis were established to fuel the youth with hatred against Marxism and liberalism, resulting in a strong nationalistic Germany (Kandel). According to Welch, 60 per cent of all German youth belonged to the Hitlerjugend by 1935 showing its appeal to young people and an indication of the extent to which the education system was already a great influence on the thinking of young people. This influence increased still further when in 1939, The Hitler Youth Law made joining the Hitler Youth organizations mandatory with the idea that they were the next generation who would continue the National Socialist regime (Welch, Brunauer). Although males and females were segregated and taught differently, both organizations were under the leadership of Baldur von Schirach and the purpose of their education was the same, not to promote individualism or free thinking but the idea of being a part of a ‘national community’ (Brunauer and Pine).
Among the jungvolk, the Hitlerjugend was established in 1933 for boys and young men. This organization took place in addition to school preparing young males to become members of the Nazi Party. This was a strategic idea of the NSDAP where the development of a sense of pride and belonging to a group motivated the youth to join and to subsequently be influenced by the philosophy and thinking behind the Hitlerjugend. Adolf Hitler in Der Nationalsozialimsmus Dokumente 1933- 1945 stated, “I want to have a violent, lordly, fearless, cruel youth. They must be full of youthful vitality. They have to suffer and conquer pain. Nothing gentle and weak in them must be left” (Tubach). Hitler’s description of the youth that he hoped to develop through the Hitlerjugend demonstrates his view that education was not based on intellectual development, but instead on character building and a way of thinking that would prepare young people to become future Nazi leaders. One important character trait that was developed as part of their Nazi training was that young men must be prepared for war (Conway). Professor Baeumler explained that “the scholar must be replaced by the soldier type”, thus childhood games were replaced with quasi-military activities such as hunting and strategic team building goals which emphasized the need to work as a group and sacrifice self for the greater good. According to Tubach, before meals the boys were encouraged to scream and make noise with their cutlery. The purpose of this act was to ruin moral sensibilities and civilized behavior. Education was an area where the state would sway the youths mind by presenting them bias textbooks emphasizing the need for pure ethnicity and promoting national pride. This was particularly evident in history textbooks, math equations and storybooks such as the novel Trust No Fox on his Green Health: The Father of the Jews is the Devil which acts as a form of propaganda (Bauer). Sources like these are one of the many ways the state incorporated ‘hereditary ill’ people into learning. Converting the youth’s morals from pre-Third Reich to present Third Reich was a success. As a result of inducing a new philosophy, the children became what Hitler wanted, violent and destructive and had a sense of superiority over others. Remarkably, the influence of the youth movement was not restricted to within the country and in 1925, the Hitlerjugend expanded and created contacts with other counties such as Germans living in Czechoslovakia and Poland (Hitler Youth: Road to Power 1923-1933). If the NSDAP had not focused their attention so directly on the youth, tearing them away from the old customs, and replacing this with a sense of devotion and faith in Hitler, the youth would not have become such a strong foundation and supporters of the Nazi way of thinking.
While Nazi Germany was strongly racist, in terms of gender, girls and women were seen as equally important in promoting and sustaining the Nazi way of life, albeit different from the young men. In 1935 Hitler states, ‘In the Germanic nations there has never been anything else than equality of rights for women. Both sexes have their rights, their tasks, and these tasks were in the case of each equal in dignity and value, and therefore man and woman were on an equality” (The Role of Women in Nazi Germany). The female youth also had their own youth organization called the Bund Deutscher Madel whose member population consisted of 7 million girls by 1940 (Crawford and Hansen). According to the Program of the NSDAP, all education under the Third Reich much relate to situations of daily life. Therefore, instead of being taught military tactics, the League of German Girls prepared them for future tasks in the Volksgemeinschaft and motherhood (League of German Girls).
Like the Hitlerjudend, the females participated in activities that were for the “good of the people”, such as helping with the harvest (Crawford and Hansen). Children’s storybooks had their own influence on young people’s thinking by portraying mothers in a heroic role as someone who is willing to work day and night for the good of her family and who refuses help from others. Such stories were used to promote the Nazi philosophy and provided inspiring role models for the future mothers in the League of German Girls (Pine). The purpose of educating the females and highlighting the phase of motherhood was to promote child birth. Apart from education, the ability to populate the party with potential members was also important and females were encouraged to have as many children as possible. In many ways it seemed that the women were not only married to their spouses but also to the organization as they made the oath, “I promise always to do my duty in the Hitler Youth, in love and loyalty to the Fuhrer” (The Role of Women in Nazi Germany). This kind of dedication strengthened Hitler’s position and the movement.
As Hitler adapted the education system to complement Nazi ideology, the German Youth played a larger role in developing the movement. By manipulating the minds of the young, Hitler was able to create a new philosophy that would strengthen the Nazi regime, preparing the youth to sacrifice everything for the state. Without taking advantage of the young, they would have not supported the movement with such pride and enthusiasm. Incorporating the education system with Nazi ideas, the German youth idolized Hitler, securing his powerful position and Reich for several decades.
Written by Abby Nicol