Alfons stated, “In a way, it was like the Boy Scouts-hiking, camping, sports, competition-with more emphasis on discipline and politics.” (Ayers, 9). Hitler Youth was similar to the Boy Scouts through the activities that they participated in. “In January 1933, the Hitler Youth had only 50,000 members, but by the end of the year this figure had increased to more than 2 million. By 1936 membership in the Hitler Youth increased to 5.4 million before it became mandatory in 1939.” (“Indoctrinating”, 1) At first, only 50,000 kids wanted to be a part of this organization. This number grew to 5.4 million before Hitler made membership mandatory, so at least 5.4 million people joined willingly mostly due to the appeal of it. However, not everybody thought that this was a great organization. “Meinecke read from the report: ‘Eleven years of Nazi indoctrination to a susceptible age in the Hitler Youth has done its work… The Hitler Youth is not a boy scout or girl guide organization… It is a compulsory Nazi formation which has consciously sought to breed hate, treachery and cruelty into the minds and souls of every German child. It is in the true sense of the word education for death.’”(Conley, 1). This person thinks that the Hitler Youth was not just simply a fun thing to do after school, it was something that was forced onto German children that makes them cruel, treacherous, and hateful towards Jews …show more content…
“Founded in 1926, the original purpose of the Hitler Youth was to train boys to enter the SA (Storm Troopers), a Nazi Party paramilitary formation. After 1933, however, youth leaders sought to integrate boys into the Nazi national community and to prepare them for service as soldiers in the armed forces or, later, in the SS.” (“Indoctrinating”, 1) He was going to use them for the SA, but then changed his mind and prepared them for the general army and to be in the Nazi national community. “Upon reaching age eighteen, boys were required to enlist immediately in the armed forces, or into the Reich Labor Service, for which their activities in the Hitler Youth prepared them.” (“Indoctrinating”, 1) Hitler immediately used them for government work, or the army. So, you can see that he needed more manpower in the army and in government. He also used them when almost all of his army was dead near the end of WWII. “Throughout World War II, Nazi Germany used the Hitler Youth increasingly in combat situations. Starting in 1943, the boys-and even some girls-manned antiaircraft guns, served as messengers, and operated searchlights. As the war dragged on and Germany faced a troop shortage, the boy soldiers were thrown into front-line combat. In some units, the enthusiasm and inexperience of the young soldiers resulted in casualty rates of more than 90 percent. In late April 1945, the Nazis, facing certain