Hitler Youth

by Susan Campbell Bertoletti

~"I begin with the young. We older ones are used up . . . But my magnificent youngsters! Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can create a new world." --Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933 By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.~

One of the problems with studying World War II and the Holocaust is that what happened is so astounding that it hardly seems real. The story is delivered in such simple terms (Nazis were evil and they killed Jews and tried to take over the world) that it seems like more of a fairy tale than a history lesson. How are students supposed to relate? What are we expecting them to learn? "Look out for evil people in uniforms committing genocide. They must be stopped." Even personal and moving first-person accounts like Anne Frank's diary leave important unanswered questions. Why did this happen? And how? Hitler Youth addresses these questions in an honest and accessible way. Fascinating, infuriating and sometimes painful, this book is a history lesson that young people can understand, feel and possibly even use.