Hitler
Jugend
Few historical subjects
are so emotional as the Nazi Third Reich, few have stimulated so
much general interest, and few have been subjected to such close
scrutiny. Adolf Hitler continues to fascinate and to horrify, and
his barbaric regime still defies imagination. The Nazi regime is
fortunately dead and buried, but the questions raised by its
terrible history continue to demand explanations. Countless books
have been written on the Nazi period, including many about the
Hitler Youth, some of which have now become classics of their kind.
In 1979, the historian James P. O’Donnell remarked that the
British Library and the Library of Congress listed over 55,000
items on Hitler and World War II. Even the superficial student of
that period of history is aware of why Hitler attached so much
importance to the German youth, and the process of indoctrination
leading to full-scale militarization is now well known.
Deutscher
Volkssturm
Of all the measures
taken to mobilize speed the last manpower resources of the German
nation, the most extreme was the creation of the Volkssturm
designed to supplement the defense of the homeland. The Deutscher
Volkssturm was constituted in September 1944. The organization may
be considered a territorial militia which was formed and called to
arms only for training purposes or for employment whenever a local
area was threatened by the enemy. It was used to reinforce the
Wehrmacht by "total commitment of all German people," as the
constitution decree dictated. Although formation and training to
the Volkssturm was not under the responsibility of the Wehrmacht,
but rather under the auspices of the NAZI Party (NSDAP), for
employment in combat all Volkssturm units came under the full
operational command and control of the army. Under the status of
forces as determined by the Geneva Convention, the Volkssturm was a
legal irregular defense force that was neither part of the
Wehrmacht nor the army, but rather an ind ependent fighting force
controlled by the Party.
