Hitlerjugend, das Erlebnis einer großen Kameradschaft - Hitler Youth, the experience of great comradeship - by Sautter Reinhold and Gustav Memminger - "Published with the approval of the Reich Youth Leadership". Published by Carl Rohrig, Munich 1942 - first edition. Album of the "Hitler Youth" - presenting the principles of the movement, activity reports, and dozens of photos documenting the activity of the largest racist youth movement in history. In this copy a paper flag of the Hitler Youth with a swastika was glued behind the title page (does not appear in other copies).
Propaganda album in favor of the Hitler Youth. Broad overview of the movement's activities and principles. The album presents the "Hitler Youth" movement as the ideal place for the German youth. Published in the midst of World War II, with the aim of strengthening the movement and uniting its ranks under absolute obedience to Führer Adolf Hitler.
In the introduction by Gustav Memminger he writes his vision and expectations of the Hitler Youth that year: "The task of the Führer's youth has now become a European mission. It not only encompasses ten million German boys and girls, but it has crossed the borders of the Reich to work with the European youth to seize the fate of this continent... Everywhere the German soldiers had to take up arms to thwart the betrayal of the European fate, units of German youth followed them... In this war, the youth are in the first place...".
Also written: "The Hitler Youth is the largest modern youth movement in the world. It encompasses a total of ten million young people". At the beginning of the book is a quote from a speech by Arthur Axmann, leader of the Reich Youth (successor to Baldur von Schirach) - blind admiration of the Führer: "... The personality of our leader means the strongest educational force because he always and above all fulfilled himself what he expects from others...".
On the page next to the title page is a photo showing Adolf Hitler cheering a boy from the "Hitler Youth" and the caption: "The greatest pride of the German youth is to be able to bear the name of the leader".
The album documents the movement's activities in all its branches: It first presents its principles: "To promote health and physical fitness, to educate for fighting ability, by selecting the best young people in sports to ensure Germany's international standing", and provides extensive documentation of the youths' activities - physical training, shooting practice, field training, studying German history and principles of the Third Reich, singing "Heil Hitler" and other songs of the movement, volunteer and social activities, and more. Some pages have photomontages incorporated into the page itself. The entire book is written in the heroic spirit of blind obedience to the Führer, and emphasizes the role of the youth in the future of the "new Germany", and in achieving the goals of the Third Reich.
The Hitler Youth or "Hitlerjugend" was a youth movement that operated in Germany with the rise of the Nazi Party until the conquest of Germany by the Allies, founded by Adolf Hitler himself, in order to instill Nazi ideology in the younger generation, including racial doctrine and the superiority of the Aryan race. During that period, activity by any other youth movement was banned in Germany and parents were obliged to send their children to the movement. It was the largest youth organization in history, with over 8 million members at its peak. The movement was involved, among other things, in Hitler's cult of personality and had great influence on the mood in Germany on the eve of World War II. Children were recruited to the movement's ranks from age eight to eighteen. Girls were recruited to the parallel "League of German Girls". Emphasis was placed in the "Hitler Youth" on education passed down from trainees to trainees, on division into ranks and on protocols of honor and humiliation. A boy of higher rank was allowed to humiliate his lower-ranking comrade, and that lower-ranking comrade had to behave with respect and keep his distance from his higher-ranking comrade. The boys maintained these codes of conduct even outside the movement's activities, and this perception caused them severe psychological and moral damage. The Hitler Youth published a famous newspaper distributed all over Germany called "The German Youth Newspaper" (Die deutsche Jugendzeitung) which contained racist and anti-Semitic content. There are also known to have been acts of harassment by the Hitler Youth against Jews. The German youth participated in pogroms and violent attacks against Jews, looted and destroyed Jewish property of deportees, and even informed on Jews to the Nazi authorities out of a sense of mission and obedience to the Führer's spirit.
The Hitler Youth movement was under the leadership of Baldur von Schirach between 1931-1940 and afterwards Arthur Axmann between 1940-1945. With the outbreak of World War II, the Hitler Youth undertook to assist the war effort. Members of the organization distributed food ration coupons, went door to door collecting scrap metal and other materials needed for the war industry. In 1945, after the German surrender, the Allies outlawed the Hitler Youth. Suspicions against its members of war crimes were never thoroughly investigated because of the young age of the members. The adult staff of the Hitler Youth, chief among them Baldur von Schirach, were tried for crimes against peace.
320 p. 25 cm. Condition good - very good.
