Hitler Youth (2017) - full transcript

Narrator: Berlin, April 1945.

It's the last days
of the third reich.

Some of the führer's very
last fighters are adolescents,

not even fifteen years old.

Their sole objective: Protect
the bunker of Adolph Hitler,

their supreme leader.

Facing the Soviets, they
have no chance of winning.

Only a few years earlier,
they swore to give their
lives to Adolf Hitler.

They will stand by their
promise and see it through,

to the end.

Who are these childsoldiers
ready to sacrifice
themselves for Hitler?



How did the Nazi regime win
their unfailing loyalty?

Some of these children
are still alive today.

We were asked to swear
in the name of the führer,

the people and the
nation and if necessary,

to sacrifice our lives.

And this was something
we found normal.

Narrator: They are the last
to tell us what it meant to
grow up during the Nazi era.

"One people,
one führer, one reich."

These three slogans
were inculcated in us.

There was no other führer,
there was only one.

And he was worshipped
like a god!

Narrator: How did these
young people get caught up
in the darkness of nazism?

They are the future
of the regime,

its showcase and
its Cannon fodder.



The history
of the Hitler youth
begins with the birth

of the Nazi
party in the 1920's.

Germany is traumatized
by the defeat of 1918.

The peace imposed by
the treaty of versailles
inflicts severe sanctions:

Germany is partially
occupied and loses
part of its territory.

For the conquered, the treaty
is seen as a humiliation.

One man is determined to
change this: Adolf Hitler.

After a failed coup
attempt in 1923,

the Nazi party
leader hopes to seize power
through the popular vote.

To help wage the campaign
and hang posters,

the party calls upon
its militia, the sa,

and on young apprentices
and high school students.

The young militants organize
and proclaim themselves

Hitler youth
or "hitlerjugend."

There are only a handful
of them, aged 14 to 18.

In 1920s Germany,
almost every political party

and labor union has
its own youth movement.

There are young communists
and young catholics...

All of these groups are
inspired by the model of

the scouts' movement,
founded in 1907 by the British.

Like the other movements,
when it begins,

the Hitler youth offers
popular activities to

children, without
class distinction.

For many children, it's
more than they can hope for.

I was a member of the German
workers' youth organization.

Back then, we
couldn't afford much.

If we wanted to go to the
movies from time to time,

we had to earn our
pocket money ourselves.

And so, these distractions for
young people were something

very special for us kids
from workers' families.

To be perfectly honest, most
of the time we were happy to go.

At the time,
I wanted to join,

quite simply because
it was an opportunity
to leave our little village.

We had no electricity,
we had no running water.

As children, we had to lend
a hand during harvest.

Overall, we were called
on to pitch in quite often.

So, it was a big change
for us when, for example,

we went on outings
with the Hitler youth.

And of course, it was
a fantastic experience.

Narrator: As with the scouts,
the mandatory uniforms hide

social differences.

There was something
fascinating about uniforms;

we saw them in the
street every day.

The sa, the ss,
and party members.

And at last, I could
wear a uniform too.

Narrator: At the
start of the 1930's,

the Hitler youth movement,
like the Nazi party,

is rapidly gaining ground.

Hitler isn't convinced
that these militants,

too young to vote,
are of any use to him.

But in 1932, over 70,000
young people gather in a

packed stadium in
potsdam to greet him.

That day, Hitler, who
has yet to witness such

a demonstration of force,
realizes that these young

people are the future
of his movement.

He confides to his inner
circle: "We are old.

But my wonderful young
people, what an amazing
human resource they are!

With them, I could
build a new world."

The economic crisis helps
carry Hitler to power in 1933.

He begins to
transform Germany.

Opposition parties are banned.

Democracy is dead.

Hitler wants to create a
new nation whose extreme

nationalism is devoted
entirely to its leader.

To draw the 9 million German
children into party ranks and

transform them
into fanatical Nazis,

Hitler will play both the
"menace and seduction" cards.

The menace is immediately
enacted: As of 1933,

all rival political party
youth organizations are

dissolved and incorporated
into the Hitler youth.

To attract even
more young people,

the Hitler youth also
have the means to seduce:

It monopolizes summer
camps, the climax of the
year for youth associations.

Far from parents,
in a setting that appears
adventurous and free,

an ideological
education is made easier.

Through playful activities,

the promise of a
happy future takes shape.

Supervised by boys barely
older than themselves,

for many of the children,
this seems too good to be true.

The number of
members skyrockets.

In a twelvemonth period,
the Hitler youth membership

increases from
100,000 to over two million.

As long as you're not
Jewish or a political opponent,

life can be quite pleasant
under the third reich.

Although the Hitler youth
includes both girls and boys,

the boys are more
important to Hitler.

They're the
ones he is counting on to
see his project through.

They're the future soldiers
of his empire and a special

program awaits them.

Fullscale war
games are organized.

The children have to move
around in "enemy" territory

with only a compass and a
map, camouflage themselves,

and try to secretly
infiltrate...

These "adventure" games
fascinate the young people.

It went like this:
When the fight began,

you had to rip off the
armbands of the other team.

They were the trophies.

Then afterwards,
we counted them.

And the team which had
torn off the most armbands,

they had won the
war, so to speak.

For us boys, it was
really lots of fun.

And I must add, it was
completely apolitical;

in any case, we knew
nothing about all that.

It was a great
experience, because of course,

we wanted to play soldier.

For us, it was an adventure.

Narrator: German filmmakers
make movies of their escapades.

True "madeinGermany"
westerns.

Narrator: The films are
screened in movie theaters,

where they capture a wide
audience and new members.

The message: The young German
male must once again become a

beast of prey, an attack dog.

An illiterate
brute is preferable to
a pale, weak dilettante.

Narrator: The king
of sports is fighting.

Narrator: Not all the young
people are cut out for this.

The weak and the scrawny
are made fun of, humiliated.

The vision of the Nazi
world allows only for
performance and excellence.

Anyone who can't live up
to these expectations is

a failure and
must be treated like one.

Not only were they
disliked, in addition,

they were harassed.

They were battered and bullied
by certain Hitler youth leaders.

They were pushed
off to the sidelines;

sometimes they
were beaten too.

That also, was
absolutely awful.

It really was a
horrible period.

Those who, like
myself, were athletes,

could do things with
their eyes closed,

but those who couldn't,
they paid for it.

(Singing in German)

Narrator: The harassment and
humiliation are so intense

that some young
people break down,

some even committing suicid.

But such negative incidents
are carefully concealed
by the third reich.

Officially, all the Hitler
youth are Valiant fighters.

Narrator: Gradually,
all rival youth groups are
absorbed into the Hitler youth.

By 1937, churches
are no longer allowed
to organize any sports.

Soon, Hitler youth
membership is mandatory.

Young Germans are no longer
allowed to belong to sports

clubs or go to summer
camps outside of the
Hitler youth organization.

Soon, one flag flies
on every road in Germany:

The flag of the Hitler youth.

To honor its members,
the children are invited,

beginning at a very young
age, to parade in cities.

They are now the only young
people that have this right.

These events unite battalions,
which practice marching.

Their pace
becomes standardized,
like their thinking.

The youth are flattered
and congratulated.

They're the showcase of the
regime and they let themselves

be carried away by the
euphoria of the parades.

There were gigantic
parades, with flags,

people and speeches.

It was exceptional.

It was interesting.

Imagine, for a child,
participating in a parade
is always interesting.

It's a little bit like,
excuse the comparison,

a religious procession.

When you take part
in one as a choir boy,

it's also something
quite special.

Try to picture it, we marched
in columns in our streets.

Ahead of us, music,
drums and trumpets!

And the flag.

Yes, and you marched, while the
parents stood at the windows.

So, of course,
you were very proud.

It was first and
foremost a demonstration of
power to the outside world.

There we were, who knows,
10,000 young people?

And secondly, it was
of course a demonstration
to ourselves as well;

it meant, "we are someone."

Narrator: Sometimes, the
führer will make an appearance
at these gigantic meetings.

The nation of tomorrow
meets its creator.

I must admit, for us, he was
not really a father figure,

he was more like a god who
lorded over everything.

(Crowd cheering)

"One people,
one führer, one reich."

These three slogans
were inculcated in us.

There was no other führer,
there was only one.

And he was
worshipped like a god!

Narrator: The young people
are beside themselves with joy.

Hitler is worshiped
like a pop star.

When he opened his mouth,
it was if we were hypnotized.

That's what I would say today.

We hung on his lips,
we drank in his words,

and we believed
everything he said.

The Nazi regime flattered
its youth in a way never seen

before then or since:
"The nation is you!

You are the nation's future!"

That is truly what
was inculcated in us.

(Chanting "heil")

You see, we were
"someone," because children,

in comparison
to their parents,

often feel like
they're worthless.

And the Hitler youth
made us count in society,

and yes, we were
taken more seriously too.

And, naturally,
we liked that.

Narrator: Nazi propaganda sells
the German youth on an agenda:

"You will be someone,
you will be strong,

you will have
a wonderful life."

Young people are only too
happy to let themselves
be swept away.

As of 1936, over 5 million
of them shouted out their
love for the führer.

At each gathering,
they sing their hymn.

This is how the
Hitler youth hymn went.

When we marched, we
sang at the same time.

The important thing was
not to sing in tune,

the important thing
was to sing loud!

Narrator: To complete
the brainwashing process,

the "heil Hitler"
salute becomes a part
of everyday life.

We started doing
the Hitler salute,

with our arms in the air,
as of 7, 8 years of age.

When the teacher came
into the classroom,

we all stood: "Heil Hitler!"

With our hands raised.

When we entered a shop to
buy something: "Heil Hitler!"

With our hand raised.

It became a habit, like when
you say "hello" or "cheers."

My father was a party member.

For him, it was important
that we say, "heil Hitler!"

And if as children
we didn't say it,

he'd say to us: "Didn't
you forget something?"

Yes, it happened sometimes.

When we got to school,
they watched us,

near the entrance
of the schoolyard,

to see if we'd done the
Hitler salute or not.

And if you hadn't,
they'd slap you on the
head, like this, whack!

And believe me, you instantly
remembered Hitler again.

(Crowd cheering/chanting)

Narrator: Repeating "heil
Hitler" mechanically dozens

of times a day, the Hitler
youth are indoctrinated witha

national socialist education.

The ideological
noose is tightening.

The Nazis leave nothing to
chance and supervise everyone

who is in contact
with children.

The regime limits religious
services offered by the church

and parental
influences are removed
during the summer camps.

The new masters of Germany
draw up new school programs.

Children are taught to hate
the Jew and the bolshevist.

Narrator: Disgusting
racial laws are enacted.

Patriotic hymns gradually grow
into hymns of hatred and are

so often repeated
they can still be
recalled 70 years later.

"Throw them out,
the entire gang of Jews,

throw them out of our nation."

Then, in the original song,

it carried on with
warnings for them never to
come back and then it said:

"Chop off their
head and legs,

otherwise they'll come back."

We sang that
without ever questioning it.

After all, we were already
secondary school students.

At school, we saw an
exhibition on "bolshevism."

And in this exhibition, we
saw posters where the Russians

were represented with horns.

We even wrote essays
on the subject.

What this meant was:
They are subhumans.

So, we were humans, and
the Russians were subhumans.

We were the good ones.

They were the ones who had
brought every misfortune to

Europe and the world,
it was the Jews.

This was the number one topic.

And I believed it.

Narrator: Once
infected with hatred,

acting out becomes easier.

Along with the sa
and ss Nazi militias,

the Hitler youth participate
in largescale antisemitic

rituals of public humiliation.

We always walked past
one store, a Jewish shop.

And there, we were ordered,
to chant: "Jews get out."

And that, that was our
antisemitic activity,

so to speak.

But, in fact, it
was not conscious.

Narrator: By 1936, Germany
emerges from its recession.

Hitler has lowered
unemployment through armament

and largescale reconstruction
projects and makes his country

a fearsome force in Europe.

During the second
half of the 1930's,

he goes on the offensive.

In 1938, he annexes
Austria to Germany.

The sudetenland
region of czechoslovakia
is occupied and annexed.

War is coming closer.

The German chancellor
needs the Hitler youth.

They are the future
soldiers of the wehrmacht.

Hitler intends to shape them
into the warriors he wants.

Narrator: In addition
to the fun and games,

the young people
begin receiving true
military training.

The spirit of competition
is encouraged at all levels.

At age 16, the boys hike 13
miles with 18pound backpacks.

They learn to
master their fear and are
taught to be warriors.

Narrator: The Hitler youth now
have access to everything they

want in the adult world.

They're taught to shoot:
First compressed air rifles,

then with firearms.

They are introduced to
water activities to prepare

them for the Navy.

And for those who dream
of being in the luftwaffe,

they start
training in gliders.

With all these oversized toys,

the children in the
Hitler youth movement play war.

And it's a serious game.

Without our realizing it, we
were being prepared militarily

for the upcoming war,
those people were so clever,

they made it into something
fun, something interesting.

Narrator: To complete
the indoctrination of this

miniature army, one final
step remains: Taking the oath.

At all ages,
they swear loyalty to the
reich and their führer.

From the age of 10,
children recite:

"In the presence of
this banner which
represents our führer,

I swear to devote all my
energies and my strength to

the savior of our
country, Adolf Hitler.

I am willing and ready to
give up my life for him,

so help me god."

We were asked to swear in
the name of the führer,

the people and the nation
and if necessary,

to sacrifice our lives and this
was something we found normal.

♪ ♪

Narrator: The Hitler youth
has become a formidable
organization.

From around 17,000 in 1929,
to over 8 million children and

adolescents ten years later.

That's 98%
of all young Germans.

It's a huge organization,
worthy of a ministry.

To convince the last holdouts,
the Hitler youth movement

becomes mandatory.

Refusing to join exposes
families to heavy fines,

and even arrest.

Those who have reached
fighting age enthusiastically

join the wehrmacht
and even the ss.

(Explosions)

On September 1, 1939,
war breaks out.

The wehrmacht
invades Poland under the
pretext of a Polish attack.

Their advance
is lightning fast.

At the time, we said
to ourselves: "Okay, this
is it, we're heading east."

That's what we thought:

"Adolf is right;
He promised us vital space.

Poland is big, they
have lots of vital space."

(Air raid sirens)

We were all of the opinion
that these subhumans who wanted

to put us under their
yoke had to be vanquished,

and that this was just.

The atmosphere was victorious.

It has been prepared at
school for many long years.

And this was the climax.

At last, we could
assert ourselves as Germans.

Naturally we were
proud of our victories.

It all went so fast,
within 19 days,

the war was already over.

It had barely started and
there it was, almost over.

Narrator: Eight
months after Poland,

the wehrmacht
attacks the west.

In may 1940,
the Netherlands, Belgium,

Luxembourg and France
are invaded and occupied.

For the German people,

Hitler is the greatest
strategist of all times.

Day after day,
the Hitler youth follow the
progress of German troops;

they can't believe it.

In 6 weeks, the
wehrmacht has beaten France.

Following the summer of
1940, the nation was drunk.

When we went to the
movies, we saw news reels.

It was a feeling of joy, the
führer had beaten the French.

Those, of course, were
events where we said:

"Damn, we're good!"

I thought that the
wehrmacht was invincible.

Until then, I did.

Narrator: Hitler
continues the offensive.

In June 1941, he
launches his surprise attack

against the Soviet union.

The years of training pay off.

The young soldiers who had
been part of the Hitler youth

prove to be fearsome warriors.

When they return
from the front,

these "heroes" are used
to spread the word to the

soldiers of tomorrow.

The older members
would laugh and say:

"Hey, the final victory can't
wait for you guys to grow up;

we're going to
finish the job before."

Those of us who
were, let's say,

between 10 and 16
years old, it's true,

there was this apprehension
that maybe we'd have nothing

left to do; That
the war would be over,

all the bad enemies beaten,
before we reached the age to

wear a soldier's uniform.

Narrator: The German army
is advancing towards the east.

Following these troops,
special commandos called

einsatzgroupen,
partially composed
of former Hitler youth,

are tasked with
killing Jewish civilians.

Solomon perel is a young
German of the Jewish faith.

He is forced to flee his
country towards the east to

escape the antisemitic
persecutions.

When he arrives in
byelorussia in 1941,

he is captured by German
units and questioned.

I was sure I
was going to die,

I suddenly heard an
order: "Hands in the air!"

So, now it was my turn.

In front of me,
stood a German soldier:

And he asked me,
"are you Jewish?"

I instantly thought of
my father who had told me:

"Always remain a Jew,
otherwise god will abandon you."

But, fortunately for me,

I immediately understood
that if I told them the truth,

"I am Jewish," I would be
shot within the next 5 minutes.

And in the middle of
this jumble of thoughts,

I suddenly heard
an inner voice,

my mother's voice:
"You must live."

And the fear that
paralyzed me vanished,

I felt in completely security,

and I answered the
soldier in an assured voice:

"No, of course I'm not Jewish!

I'm a pure German
from eastern Germany."

And miraculously,
he believed me.

I was immediately handed
a wehrmacht uniform,

and suddenly I saw the German
eagle with the Nazi swastika

on my chest, I was horrified.

"Is this Sally?

One swastika here,
another swastika there..."

I was in shock.

But I drew strength in
my mother's three words.

I never forgot them:
"You must live!"

Narrator: Solomon perel
hides his name and
goes by Joseph perjel.

Fortunately, he
is sent back to Germany and

joins one of the
regime's elite schools.

He becomes a fully integrated
member of the Hitler youth.

While war rages on the front,
the physical and ideological

preparation continues.

The lesson of the day:
Racial superiority.

Proportional relationships
between the depth,

height and width of
the skull are determined.

Eye and hair color are both
recorded and Nazi science

categories are established.

I remember that on my photos,
I believe it was written:

80% nordic.

I was classified as a
type 2 Aryan, or nordic.

I was only second choice.

It gave rise to a feeling of
superiority amongst many of us.

At the time, we were
better human beings.

The others were subhumans.

This is what they told
us and we believed it.

So, the Jews and the poles,
they were all people who

needed to be exterminated.

It's unimaginable that I
could have believed that.

It was only later that I
realized it was all rubbish.

But at the time,
we believed it.

Narrator: One day,
Solomon perel is questioned
by his race teacher.

I was sure he was going
discover that I was Jewish,

that he'd pull
my underpants down and see
that I was circumcised,

and that I'd land
in a gestapo basement room.

I was sure of it.

But what happened
there, was incredible.

After being measured, he took
very precise measurements:

The shape of the skull, the
distance between the eyes,

the ears, all sorts of things
and when he was finally done

with all that, he
told the classroom:

"Take a good look at Joseph.

He's the classical Aryan type
from the eastern baltic region."

So, in fact,
I'm a true Aryan.

Narrator: By the end of 1942,
the reich begins losing the
upper hand.

In north Africa and
on the eastern front,

the war is stagnating.

The reich is almost
out of adult men,

all of whom have
left for combat.

The Hitler youth are
mobilized on the home front.

From the age of 14,
they are sent doortodoor
collecting rags,

paper and metals.

Others are recruited
as postmen,

tram drivers and unskilled
laborers for roadwork
and railway lines.

They're sent out to
work in the fields.

Their support of the
economy is indispensable.

While news propaganda
highlights their iron wills,

in truth,
the young people suffer
and begin to have doubts.

Employed in
factories and mines,

the community service
is more like hard labor.

When the time came, I joined
the reich labor service.

It was the worst
thing imaginable.

We had to repair a road.

And to do that, we had to
carry stones from a quarry

situated half a mile away.

We didn't have the right
to use wheelbarrows,

even though it was possible,
we had to carry the stones on

our shoulders.

When you run with
rocks on your shoulder,

your shoulder bleeds.

And that's when I
started feeling hatred
towards the regime,

because they
treated us like dirt.

We had no rights whatsoever.

Narrator: In the
winter of 1943,

the Hitler youth are in
for a big surprise:

The socalled subhumans of
the red army have managed
to stand up to

the supermen of the wehrmacht.

In stalingrad,
the axis powers lose

hundreds of thousands
of men, dead, wounded
or taken prisoner.

Taking Moscow, parading
on the red square?

Now, that's unthinkable.

We said to ourselves,

"okay, fine,
we've suffered a few defeats,
but when we get there,"

that
is, we who were born in 1928,
"we'll straighten things out."

It was one of the
reasons why I joined the ss,

all this never would have
happened with units like the ss,

I was absolutely
convinced of this.

It was my opinion at the time,
that the ss were the only

troops that
carried on the combat.

The ss, which I belonged
to, we were the saviors.

Narrator: To avoid heavy
losses among their own ranks,

in 1943 the Americans and
British carry out massive

bombing raids targeting
industrial installations

and cities in Germany.

The Hitler youth
wanted to fight the war,

now the war has come to them.

The country is hit hard.

In the midst of
all the rubble,

the Hitler youth become
impromptu firefighters
and paramedics.

We got people
out of basements,

we helped the wounded...

All of this when I was
just 15, 16 years old...

First of all, we had to clear
the stones with, with a pick.

We had to be careful because
underneath there might be

people buried, or corpses;
But when you felt something soft

with the spade, you
might've hurt that person,

if they were still alive.

Then we got them out of there.

They were full of Clay,
all over, in their eyes.

It always disgusted me.

With a bucket of water,
we had to rinse them,

rinse their faces.

When the face was starting
to appear, now that,

that was really,
something awful.

The few people we got out
of there, they were all dead.

When a bomb fell there,
90% of the people died.

Narrator: Brainwashed
by the Nazi regime
for more than 10 years,

the Hitler youth are promised
a dream by Adolf Hitler

but now they find themselves
living a nightmare
under allied bombs.

The worst is yet to come.

By 1943, the time
of conquest is over.

As Germany faces defeat, it'll
be left to these adolescents

and boys to defend
their homeland until
the final collapse.

Captioned by cotter
captioning services.