I concur with History Lover's assertion. While stationed in Okinawa in 1970, I knew a USAF Chief Master Sergeant who had been in the Hitler Youth. He came to the US in 1949 as a 19 year old and immediately joined the Air Force. He also indicated membership was mandatory for all boys. He did say that they occasionally had some para-military training and exposure to propoganda, but that for the most part, they built model airplanes, camped out and engaged in other typical scouting stuff. You would not have likely found a more loyal American.

My 90-year-old father-in-law was born in Austria and spent the war years there before emigrating to Canada. As with all other youth, he was in the “boy scouts,” then in the army. Of the twenty boys in his high school class, only three survived the war.

I got this in the email version, and was scrolling down happily, thinking, "Aw, what cute Boy Scouts," when the swastika armband appeared, and "Gaaaah!"

I had a boss back in the early 1970s who's wife was born and raised in Germany. He met her while stationed there after WW2, around 1945. She claimed that all boys and girls of a certain age were required to join a Hitler youth group (don't know the exact name), with the emphasis on required. Anyway, she certainly did not seem to have a problem with marrying a soldier from the U.S., leaving Germany, and raising two children here. So I always had a tendency to believe her story.

As was stated, how many of those kids ended up in a Soviet Gulag paying for the sins of their leaders. The uniforms are those of the Hitler Youth, which replaced the Scouting movement in 1933.

A good friend of mine was taken to this fest by his mother (a naturalized German-American). When he started asking questions about the goings-on (he was 10 at the time), some of the older kids took him out and beat the crap out of him. When he went home to New York State, he never once looked back. I guess that they were well indoctrinated.

The two in front are members in the Hitlerjugend, the three in the back are members in the Deutschesjungvolk.

Speaking as a Pole, I want to state clearly that there is no positive associations and feelings, when I look at this photo. Sure, these guys were not guilty. Manipulated, fool, sorry, full of hope, the same as their younger Polish "friends" several years later: communists.

It is very sad, i met few people, so excited about Nazism, people from USA, young girls from good schools, reach families, for example. A little bit scary, isn't it?

Mehr Information hier.

I wonder how many of these poor deluded kids ended up on the Eastern Front, making the world safe for National Socialism?

Master Nerds.

Heinrich Hoffmann, who is credited with this photo, was Adolf Hitler's personal photographer. He owned a photography shop and originally employed Eva Braun, and introduced Hitler to her. His involvement with Hitler and Braun goes back to Munich in the early days of the Nazi Movement.

Yup, according to the sign with the skull and bones, these young Germans aspire to be Freemasons. But what's with the butter knife?

Yes, this is probably going to end badly for these young men.