The best way to get someone to do what you want them to do is by changing how they think. This is because if they think the way you do, they act as you would even if you are not around to force them to. One of the most effective ways to change how someone thinks is to teach them to think the way you want them to think, often called "brainwashing". This is done by exposing people only to information you want them to see, information that portrays you and your beliefs in a positive light, while obscuring all other information. The Nazi party set about to do just that, using a variety of means. The Hitler Youth, school curriculum, and even teacher bias were all methods that were used by Hitler to ensure the next generation of children grew up as willing servants of the Nazi party.
The Hitler Youth was an organization founded to train the children of Germany into more efficient (and loyal) adults. This was done by ensuring physical discipline and fitness, making them exercise regularly, and even sending hand-picked students to special schools to prepare them for military life. Each and every German male was able to fire a rifle, and one of the main points was to prepare Germans for military life. This meant that the army had a steady flow of recruits, ones who were already trained from the ground up, which of course made them more effective (and loyal) soldiers. Youth groups were a part of German culture before the creation of the Hitler Youth, however once Hitler arrived in power he banned all groups except the Hitler Youth. This was done to make sure people were enrolling in a pro-Hitler group, and it was even made mandatory. This meant that Hitler and his party had almost unlimited access to the youth of the nation, they had control of their schooling and their after school activities, most of their waking moments were dedicated to working for the Fuher.
At school as well as at Hitler Youth meetings, the children were exposed to pro-Nazi propaganda. In biology, children were instructed on the topic of racial purity. In history, things such as the Treaty of Versailles and the German defeat in general were blamed on Jewish sabotage. Science classes instructed in the effects of gas weaponry, the science behind flight and weaponry, and Geography taught of the theory of, "lebensraum", or "living space", which was used to justify German's invasion of the many different countries.
All of this was important because if the children are controlled, they will grow up to be loyal, fanatical adults. By teaching that Germans were superior, and by telling them that Jews and those against the Fuher were evil, the SS were able to root out Jewish sympathizers from reports, there were even cases of children turning in their own parents. Because of the way they were educated, Hitler made sure that he had loyal recruits in all walks of life, which made his reign that much easier. Students instructed in weaponry and the science of flight could grow up to be productive, loyal military scientists, and the Hitler Youth ensured that national morale would be high in the future as loyal children rose up to join Germany's army, with loyalty only to Adolf Hitler.
Sources: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Nazis_Education.htm
Class notes
Cool! I thought this was really interesting, and your thesis is very solid. I agree that with the children on Hitler's side, they would grow up and provide that next generation to continue believeing in him and following his rule. I didn't know the specifics of the education, that they were TAUGHT to be racist. That is intense, and makes it obvious how the whole country became "brainwashed" as you say. With the children, they wouldn't really have strong opinions about rights and government yet, so to start that early definitely puts Hitler in the lead.
ReplyDeleteI just had a question, did the schools teach different gender roles? You mentioned that the boys could fire a rifle, but what were the girls taught? Was there a double standard?
Again, interesting.
Nina, to save Seth from answering...girls were taught domestic skills to make them good housewives and pop out pure German babies.
ReplyDeleteAnddd~ I never thought Seth and I could agree on something so easily. -legasp-
It's sad though, thinking of the guilt you'd have to cope with as a kid who went through that after it was over and even today. But, surely there were those who didn't buy into it. I mean, you can't accept things at face value that just fall into your lap. Or is that just an American thing to take things with a grain of salt?
Even if his education program wasn't instilled, though, I still think a lot of that generation would have been anti-semitic/racist. I mean, the adults of the time weren't in the Hitler Youth as children, but they still managed to hate Jews and Slavs and the like. That behavior is picked up at home, and I think their schooling just re-iterated what they were hearing at home.
I'm kind of responding both to Seth and Kayla's comment.
ReplyDeleteKayla: I wouldn't say it's so much an American thing as a time-period thing. Americans during World War Two were taught to get under their desks in the case of an atomic bomb. Nowadays, we wouldn't even bother with that sort of tomfoolery, because we know that, in the case of an atomic bomb, there's pretty much a zero percent survival rate. I think people took the knowledge they were given, back then, and kind of used it as a comfort. Plus, I can see how Germany held those strong nationalistic views. With that in mind, I'm sure it wasn't hard for kids to believe what the government told them to. Psychology has progressed since then.
As for Seth...I always hate commenting on your blogs, because your arguments are usually pretty well-based in facts. I think Kayla's comment sucked me in. The best point you made was definitely the different classes German children took. The fact that the Biology class actually taught children about racial purity is kind of huge in that respect. We can still see things like that going on today, but in our country much less severe (and less consequences). Kids will believe just about anything, until a certain age. Santa. Hello.
In short, good point.