Showing posts with label Hitler Youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hitler Youth. Show all posts
Friday, September 2, 2011
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Hitler's Youth
Marlowe is surprised in The Heart of Darkness by how normal the savages look. How unstrange they appear. Isn't evil supposed to look and seem different? The Devil has red horns and a pointy tail- so why can't it be that easy to spot evil in everyday life. I think the tragedy of Hitler's Youth was that the children were not able to recognize the wickedness of what they were doing, saying, and whom they were praising because they knew no better. Satan in Paradise Lost ponders whether it can " do [Adam and Eve] onely stand/ By ignorance, is that the happie state”(Milton, IV. 518-519). The Hitler Youth live in the happy state of ignorance, not knowing the evil that surrounds them in around every campfire and in every tune they gleefully chant. It is palpable, but their ideas of good and evil are manipulated and reversed. With so many interpretations of evil, who really is to say what's right and what's wrong?
Hitler's Youth
The most recurrent phrase that I heard during the video was how clever the Nazis were with the propaganda within the Hitler Youth. After the video was finished, I had to agree: the cleaver things that the Nazis made sure were either present or absent throughtout the whole thing greatly influences one's subconcious.
Liz's comment on how the Hitler Youth did not mention that any of these activities were for Hitler (at least in the beginning) is probably the most important example. Hitler had everyone believe that the Hitler Youth was created to make young boys into proper Germans, instead of his true purpose of trying to implant his ideals into society through the youth and later on create an army. This initial purpose made the program seem not just harmless but beneficial to the young boys of Germany; when they started saying that their activities were for Hitler, it didn't matter then because the vast majority of boys had already joined and were blindly following the organization, and any parents that spoke out against the organization or Hitler were reported to the Gestapo by their own children if they were in the Hitler Youth.
Also, a great portion of the still-shots were of that young, innocent-looking boy saluting Hitler which we see as the most frightening picure; however, back then, that was a picture of what was considered the "perfect German" saluting Hitler who the Germans thought of as a man who had/ was helping Germany out of the great depression that followed after WWI and was restoring Germany back to its original glory. This image would have been seen as positive by the Germans back then.
In addition, the way the Nazis taught the boys many military-like maneuvers (such as ducking down in the grass to hide and then popping up) by hiding them as games was also very cleaver. Hiding something that closely resembles basic training for today's army as a summer camp for the boys in the Hitler Youth is just another example of how clever the Nazis were.
Liz's comment on how the Hitler Youth did not mention that any of these activities were for Hitler (at least in the beginning) is probably the most important example. Hitler had everyone believe that the Hitler Youth was created to make young boys into proper Germans, instead of his true purpose of trying to implant his ideals into society through the youth and later on create an army. This initial purpose made the program seem not just harmless but beneficial to the young boys of Germany; when they started saying that their activities were for Hitler, it didn't matter then because the vast majority of boys had already joined and were blindly following the organization, and any parents that spoke out against the organization or Hitler were reported to the Gestapo by their own children if they were in the Hitler Youth.
Also, a great portion of the still-shots were of that young, innocent-looking boy saluting Hitler which we see as the most frightening picure; however, back then, that was a picture of what was considered the "perfect German" saluting Hitler who the Germans thought of as a man who had/ was helping Germany out of the great depression that followed after WWI and was restoring Germany back to its original glory. This image would have been seen as positive by the Germans back then.
In addition, the way the Nazis taught the boys many military-like maneuvers (such as ducking down in the grass to hide and then popping up) by hiding them as games was also very cleaver. Hiding something that closely resembles basic training for today's army as a summer camp for the boys in the Hitler Youth is just another example of how clever the Nazis were.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
What is the difference?
The idea that stuck in my mind during the video about the Hitler Youth program was I would love to join. This program is so much like Boy Scouts except a little more physical in the war simulations. My question is where does the difference come in to play? I believe our opinions are immensely affected by propaganda. It is often said that history is written by the victors, and this is a prime example. The activities and the principles that the Hitler Youth embodied (for the most part) were no different than wrestling practice, Boy Scouts, or ROTC. However, the Hitler Youth produced soldiers for the Third Reich which had horrible motivations. Yet our domestic programs in the US train teens for the army, too. As a society, we have been inundated with information of the Nazi's plans so anything in concordance with the party was bad. This is not true. While the Hitler youth forcing kids to join, separating them from their families, and taking part on Crystal Night was wrong, the program was good in parts. It encouraged autonomy in adolescences which is a natural progression. It helped outdoor skills and physical fitness. Plus it promoted unity among males in local areas. Those evil looks we see are no different then the pictures you would see of camping trips or the Scout festival over the summer. In no way does membership in the Hitler Youth make all these boys evil. It's just unfortunate that the outcome for such a program was negative. With all the propaganda in the world, it is hard to decide if we really are seeing the truth.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Hitler's Youth
Some words the Nazi leaders used to convince the German people to follow them caught my attention. Over and over again, I heard do this for the flag and do that for the flag. Sometimes they said do this for the future of Germany. You are the future of Germany.
They never directly said do this for Hitler. I found that interesting. They were never directly told to do something because Hitler said so either, if I remember correctly. Hitler is their leader and certainly receives threats or faces hardships. Yet, I feel like Hitler was creating these perfect German robots to build and protect his strength, power, and dominance over the world. He certainly was not getting beaten to the point of needing a doctor's appointment by his friends.
Part 2.
While watching the video, I couldn't stop thinking about how similar marching band is compared to the Hitler's Youth Program. We wear uniforms, march together, play together, and do almost everything together. We have section leaders, field captains, equipment managers, uniform managers, and drum majors all filled by young high school students. We are even supposed to knock bystanders down, or at least to the side, if they attempt to run in between our ranks. We say we are ONE band ONE sound. We completely rid ourselves of individuality, but that's an important part of being a marching band. We cannot have band members slumping around in whatever they want and expect respect or a positive image. It's very disturbing to realize the similarities, to realize how close good and evil are. Just a slight tweak and something important to learn and act upon is dangerous. It is strange and very clever because marching band and other similar activities are considered great activities to learn important skills by employers and colleges.
Boy Scouts, Color Guard, ROTC groups, athletic teams.
They never directly said do this for Hitler. I found that interesting. They were never directly told to do something because Hitler said so either, if I remember correctly. Hitler is their leader and certainly receives threats or faces hardships. Yet, I feel like Hitler was creating these perfect German robots to build and protect his strength, power, and dominance over the world. He certainly was not getting beaten to the point of needing a doctor's appointment by his friends.
Part 2.
While watching the video, I couldn't stop thinking about how similar marching band is compared to the Hitler's Youth Program. We wear uniforms, march together, play together, and do almost everything together. We have section leaders, field captains, equipment managers, uniform managers, and drum majors all filled by young high school students. We are even supposed to knock bystanders down, or at least to the side, if they attempt to run in between our ranks. We say we are ONE band ONE sound. We completely rid ourselves of individuality, but that's an important part of being a marching band. We cannot have band members slumping around in whatever they want and expect respect or a positive image. It's very disturbing to realize the similarities, to realize how close good and evil are. Just a slight tweak and something important to learn and act upon is dangerous. It is strange and very clever because marching band and other similar activities are considered great activities to learn important skills by employers and colleges.
Boy Scouts, Color Guard, ROTC groups, athletic teams.
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