“…You, my youth are our nation’s most precious guarantee for a great future, and you are destined to be the leaders of a glorious new order under the supremacy of National Socialism. Never forget that one day you will rule the world...”
-Adolf Hitler, 1938
It was once an honor to serve in Hitler’s Youth army, but nowadays youth militias are an idea frowned upon and not accepted worldwide for their brutality and unspeakable violence; yet they live on. Many people have never heard of Youth armies or if they have they believe these ideas died along with Hitler. These people are sorely mistaken, this problem is growing as are the effects on the children involved.
Hitler’s Youth army is encompassed in the same violence and treachery as youth armies present day. Children, though rarely forced, were tricked into joining the societies by the use of propaganda. Once under Hitler’s reign some children faced unfair treatments, and punishments. Some were when reported to have turned in family or loved ones for not supporting Hitler. Even before children were even old enough to join the Third Reich, they were often taught that Hitler was a good and powerful man (Zapotoczny).
The use of propaganda aided in the effort to make children join the youth militia. The propaganda usually included pictures of young boys and girls playing and carrying Hitler’s flags or saluting. In reality, these children had to go on long strenuous hikes in which they developed flatfoot or the falling of an arch in a human’s foot (Bartollette Campbell). After developing flatfoot these children were often not able to perform all of the tasks demanded of them.
After joining these armies, Children were often brainwashed into thinking a certain way. Boys and girls alike were taught racial science or the belief that one race was better than all others. Many children that joined Hitler’s youth were of the Aryan ideal (blonde hair and blue eyes). Those who were not of the Aryan ideal often faced less education and work opportunities (Bartollette Campbell).
Even though his army was not as harsh as child armies these days, Hitler’s youth were often punished in many cruel ways. If they were not enthusiastic enough for not praising Hitler or doing exercises they had to swim in an icy cold river. Other children were reported to be smacked or beaten for not cooperating. In special circumstances children were actually put into concentration camps and usually killed.
The modern youth guerillas have changed quite a bit since Hitler’s youth military. Children are now kidnapped from their homes and forced to fight and kill others; they are sometimes forced into it by threats on their loved ones or themselves. This was clearly revealed when a 13 year old former child soldier interviewed by BBC and later quoted by Child soldiers said “When they came to my village they asked my older brother if he was ready to join…he said no; they shot him in the head, then asked me if I was ready to join…I didn’t want to die…” These children can age from 7 to 17! The training in these armies is very extreme such as shooting guns and actually killing people. Sadly, if the children do not or cannot perform the tasks or exercises they can be beaten and sometimes even executed.
The girls that have joined the armies are often raped and sometimes develop STDs. In an interview a 17-year old girl is reported to have said “I feel pain from the rape…I’m afraid I have a disease…I was tested in the reception centre in Gulu but I was never told the results. The doctor said it was better to not know the results…” (Coalition) These girls are often shunned from the community, especially if they have or are going to have a baby.
An estimated 3,421 former children soldiers were demobilized or reunited with the peaceful world. (IRIN) These boys and girls were affected in many ways before and after reintegration. During their active time as soldiers these children were often beaten, tortured, or were raped; they also went through hard training and arduous work.
After reintegration they have been known to suffer from nightmares Child soldiers international interviewed a 16 year old girl who said “I feel so bad about the things I did…I still dream about the boy from my village that I killed. I see him in my dreams and he is talking to me saying that I killed him for nothing, and I’m crying.” Children have also showed symptoms of violence antisocial behavior, substance abuse even after demobilization. Those youth who were in a position of power and authority often struggled with the fact of not being predominant or having no power over others. The children were often uneducated from missing years of schooling.
Youth armies are now considered a bad word, associated with rape, abuse, violence ect. Hitler’s youth died away with Hitler but there are still other child armies that function in this world. These children are subject to, as much if not more, terrible things as youth armies in the past. These children past and present were either tricked or forced into these armies. It is time to act. The world needs to forget the past and change the future.
Bibliography
Bartollette Campbell
Scholastic, April 2005,print, 2/14/11
IRIN ,In depth: Child Soldiers, Humanitarian news and analysis, IRIN,
2/9/12
Child Soldiers International, Voices of Young Soldiers Child Soldiers International, Secretariat, 2007, web, 2/13/12
Zapotoczny,Walter S., Rulers of the World: Hitler Youth, http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/hitleryouth.aspx, LLC,9/05/05, web, 2/10/12
