HITLER YOUTH
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In the months between the end of 1922 and the beginning of 1923, Adolf Hitler formed an organization that would grow to have huge significance. The Hitler Youth existed from 1922 to 1945 and was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung (the SA). It was made up of the Hitlerjugend, for male youth ages 14–18; the younger boys' section Deutsches Jungvolk for ages 10–14; and the girls' section Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM, the League of German Girls). The Hitler Youth were viewed as future "Aryan supermen" and were indoctrinated in anti-Semitism. The organization put more emphasis on physical and military training than on academic study as it sought to develop physically superior but obedient soldiers.
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Hitler Youth
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The Hitler Youth was an important aspect of the Nazi Party's control over the lives of the German people. It allowed the Nazi Party to begin to indoctrinate German youth in the ideology of the party which caused the Nazi Party to gain further support within German society. By entering the Hitler Youth, German youth were showing their nationalistic loyalty towards Germany and preparing for their future roles in the army. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, nearly 8 million German youth were members of the organization and membership had become mandatory by a government order. In fact, nearly every young male was involved in the Hitler Youth in one way or another.
German Youth
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The Hitler Youth would also come to play an active role in the fighting of World War II. During the early years of the war, Hitler Youth members were tasked with mail delivery, radio service, fire service and anti-aircraft defense. However, as the war progressed and Germany began to suffer substantial losses, they turned towards the Hitler Youth to fill more important roles. For example, by the war's end German youth were tasked with active roles in defending German strongholds in Europe, including: the Allied Invasion of Normandy and the Battle of Berlin.
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The Hitler Youth was officially disbanded at the end of World War II, when Nazi Germany was defeated by the Allied Nations of Britain, Soviet Union and the United States.