From: Ron Gillen (gillen@NCONNECT.NET)
Date: Sun Feb 04 2001 - 12:26:16 PST
I suggest getting the 'Google' search engine http://www.google.com/ and punching in "Hitler Youth" then gleaning information from every URL that pops out. I had a friend who was in the Luftwaff and he said that after 1934 in Germany you either joined in with a show of enthusiasm or you were in serious trouble, no ifs, ands or buts about it Regards ..... Ron Gillen Rg ============================== Susan Ferrill wrote: > Hi, > > > I am a lurker here, but I have something to add to these questions, > from > at least 2 former members' experiences. I recently met 2 elderly > cousins > from Germany, Berlin and Hildesheim, that I didn't even know were > still > alive until I found some information on the Internet. We talked a > little about > what life was like for them during WWII. > > For one thing, they said they were raised to love all people, > including Jews. > They said they loved the Jewish people and counted them among their > friends----but they had to keep quiet about it in order to remain > alive. > I wonder how many Germans were in the same boat. > > As for the Hitler Youth movement, they told me that they had to join. > It > was compulsory unless you wanted to get into trouble. They were > promised field trips, outings, parties, etc. In reality, they said all > they > did was stand in line, arms raised, spouting slogans for hours and > hours. They never had a party, they never went on a field trip. These > were just promises made to lure people into the Hitler Youth. They > said they quietly stopped going one day as a result of the broken > promises. I never learned why they didn't get into trouble for > dropping > out, but I have sneaky suspicion that one of their uncles who was > in the SS helped them out. He would have been the same person > who kept my great uncle and 2nd cousins on the other side of my > family out of jail in WWII--they were avid Communists back then > and from what I heard he was always getting them out of trouble. > > > At 06:27 PM 2/4/01 +0000, you wrote: > >> . >> Gabriella Taylor said.... >> >> >Thank you so much for your personal information, experience, and >> analysis >> of >> >Hitler Youth. Though I have a fairly good general idea of what it >> was >> about, >> >> I'm unsure about the question of "personal information, experience" >> since, >> as far as I'm aware, Eddy was not a member of Hitler Youth. However, >> several >> subscribers to this MEMORIES list were, and perhaps we can look >> forward to >> other views. >> >> A search on our archives at >> http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/memories.html for the term >> (hitler >> jugend) gives several accounts which may help Gabriella Taylor. >> Also, the >> many personal stories found at >> http://timewitnesses.org/english/stories.html >> (now available in French and German as well as in English) might >> yield >> further information. >> >> ================ >> Tom Holloway >> tom.holloway@u3a.org.uk >> tom@holloways.org <=== private email >> http://timewitnesses.org >> 01926-771772 > > > Houston, Texas, USA > http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3487