A (frequently misunderstood) Hitler Youth poster deconstructed If the Hitler Youth movement had so many members, when then did Hitler need to go to the expense of printing these posters?

Lets start with having a closer look at the poster

Typical image of an Aryan Youth He alone, who owns the youth, gains the Future! - Adolf Hitler, speech at the Reichsparteitag, 1935 Typical image of an Aryan Youth

The artist clearly painted the image of Hitler to show that he was almost a father figure, guiding the young boys to the future.

So you might have thought that this was simply a clever piece of propaganda from the mid-1930s created by a totalitarian government wanting to control young people. But then things become interesting….

The poster has some writing at the top It means Youth serves the Fuhrer Is that a statement of fact? an order? reminding people of their duty? If so who is it aimed at?

Then we see some more writing at the foot It reads: All 10 year olds into the HJ ( Hitler Jugend) Why does Hitler need to say this? Is he laying down the law? Reminding people of their duty?

All this now becomes confusing when set against the backdrop of the popularity of Hitler Youth in the 1930s. After all, even as early as the end of 1933 the Hitler Youth already contained 47 per cent of boys aged between ten and fourteen (in the Deutsches Jungvolk) and 38 per cent of boys between fourteen and eighteen (in the Hitler Youth proper).

These figures confirm its popularity

So why the poster? Well, it all depends on CONTEXT. If we assume, as we have done, that this came from the mid-1930s, it doesn’t make much sense. BUT what if I told you it comes, not from 1935, but from guess..? 1940.

By 1940- the context What had changed? Germany was at war. At the onset of war, the Hitler Youth totalled 8.8 million. But the war brought immediate, drastic changes as over a million Hitler Youth leaders of draft age and regional adult leaders were immediately called up into the army.

We also know that… By the end of the 1930s thousands of young people were turning away from the leisure activities of the Hitler Youth and finding their own unregimented style in independent gangs. Indeed, they defended their independence all the more insistently as Hitler Youth patrols and the Gestapo increased their pressure.

This resulted in a severe shortage of local and district leaders This resulted in a severe shortage of local and district leaders. The problem was resolved by lowering the age of local Hitler Youth leaders to 16 and 17. The average age had been 24. But Hitler still needed to recruit.. So what is the purpose of the poster?

So in the poster is Hitler actually reminding people of their duty or their legal responsibility? The Hitler Youth Law of December 1st, 1936, called for the incorporation of all German youth, and this was backed up with growing pressure on those remaining outside to enrol 'voluntarily‘. This essentially made membership compulsory, but did not explicitly say so. Nor did the Law establish any penalties for non-compliance. Based on the law the HJ proceeded on the basis that all children both boys and girls should enter the HJ at age 10.

After the HJ was made mandatory in late 1936 about 2. 0-2 After the HJ was made mandatory in late 1936 about 2.0-2.5 million additional children had joined the HJ by 1938-39. It seems likely that these were from families that were not particularly supportive of the NAZIs and willing to resist within the narrow areas that the regime permitted. It is probably a useful indicator of actual political attitudes within Germany.

And then in 1939 two executive orders ancillary to the Hitler Youth Law, issued on March 25th, 1939, made 'youth service' compulsory. The Law explicitly states that German children must join the Hitler Youth at age 10 and serve through to the age of 18. There were penalties for guardians who did not comply, including confinement. The Law also gave officials the authority to require participation.

So its all about context and purpose Now write your expert caption. This poster seems as if it might have been produced in 19.. in order to… whereas in fact it was created in ………. By then ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Credits http://www.revisionistphotos.com/photos/youth-serves-the-fuhrer.html https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151/Nazi/hitler_youth1940.jpg