1. Comment 1: Whenever I think of the Holocaust, one simple question pops to my mind: How on earth could something so horrible have happened? Over six million people were killed in horrifying ways. Why didn’t anyone stop the Nazis? They had to know what they were doing was wrong, didn’t they?
The answer may just lie in a group known as the Hitler Youth. This thread will introduce you to the Hitler Youth and force you to consider what you would have done had you grown up as a witness to the Holocaust.
Comment 2: The Hitler Youth were a collection of youth groups designed by Hitler in the 1930s to teach German youngsters the ideologies and practices of the Nazis. The groups---advertized in posters like this one---were designed to provide lesiure activities for both boys and girls.
Take a careful look at this poster because it is an example of effective propoganda. It’s designer was sending subtle messages to kids about the Hitler Youth. What messages do you think he was sending and how does he convey those messages in this picture.
Better question: Would you have fallen for these messages and believed in the Hitler Youth based on this poster?

2. “I begin with the young. We older ones are used up
“I begin with the young. We older ones are used up. . .But my magnificent youngsters! Are there finer ones anywhere in the world? Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can make a new world.” Adolf Hitler
Comment 1: In some ways, Hitler’s decision to create the Hitler Youth---which had up to 90% of Germany’s children as members at one point---was brilliant. Why is it that reaching out to children---and seeing them as material to be used---was such an effective strategy for Hitler? Do you agree with him that if you want to make a new world, you need to get children on your side? Why?

3. Comment 1: In some ways, the Hitler Youth was just like any other youth group. There were regular weekly meetings where kids came together to play games, sing songs and listen to readings. The Hitler Youth also emphasized physical fitness, so there were tons of opportunities to compete in sporting events. Finally, when boys and girls reached the age of 14, they began to attend military training where they learned to shoot guns and throw hand grenades.
Does this sound like fun to you? Is it possible that kids joined the Hitler Youth just to be able to have fun---and to throw hand grenades---NOT because they believed in Hitler’s ideas?

4. “Children and young men no longer loaf on street corners
“Children and young men no longer loaf on street corners. They no longer roam through the towns, hunting for mischief …they have no time for cigarettes, dancing, flasks, lipsticks, automobiles or movies.” An American Reporter
Early on in the Hitler Youth experience, people---including parents and outsiders---were convinced that the Hitler Youth was an incredibly good thing for kids to be a part of. Why was this so important for Hitler’s plans?

5. Hitler would often hold massive rallies where thousands of Hitler Youth members would join together for marching, speeches and music. What impact do you think these rallies had on the children of Germany? If you were one of the boys in this picture, what would you be thinking? What would you be feeling? Why?

6. “We all knew about the ‘protective custody’ camps
“We all knew about the ‘protective custody’ camps. We were told that the Jews were detained together in these camps for their own safety, so that they wouldn’t be killed by people who hated Jews.” Ines Lyss, Hitler Youth Member
As Germany sunk deeper into World War II, the Holocaust---the systematic killing of six million Jews in concentration camps---began in full force. The members of the Hitler Youth, however, were told that concentration camps were really designed to protect the Jews.
Is it possible that members of the Hitler Youth could have really believed this horrible lie? Why? And if so, can they really be blamed for failing to stand up to a crime that they were unaware of?

7. Amazingly, some German children who grew up as members of Hitler’s Youth DID realize that what was happening was wrong---Like Sophie Scholl and her friends, Hans and Christoph Probst. Scholl and the Probst brothers started an underground protest group called The White Rose when they got to college. The group made flyers that drew attention to the huge number of deaths occurring in the concentration camps and passed these flyers out all over big German towns.
Why do you think that Scholl and the Probst brothers waited until college to begin protesting against the actions of the Nazis? After all, they spent YEARS serving the Nazis as members of the Hitler Youth.

8. “What does my death matter if by our action thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” Sophie Scholl, on the morning of her execution
Scholl and the Probst brothers were eventually discovered, arrested and excecuted for their efforts to raise attention to the Holocaust. On the morning of her execution, Scholl had no regrets, convinced that her death would awaken the Germans and convince them to take action against Hitler’s army.
Without knowing the end of the story, do you think Scholl was right? Is it possible that her death could have changed the thinking of thousands of Germans? If you were an ordinary German who learned of Scholl’s execution, how would you have reacted? What would you have been thinking?

9. WOULD YOU?
All of this thinking about the Holocaust leads us to one central question, doesn’t it? What would YOU do if you saw evidence of hatred and injustice all around you? Would you take a chance and stand up like Sophie Scholl, even though the consequences would be severe? Or would you turn a blind eye, unwilling to believe that injustice was possible?
What kinds of lessons can WE learn from the story of the Hitler Youth and the Holocaust? Is it a story that can teach us something about the world today?