the hitler youth as i understand is the "boy scouts" of the 30-40's nazi germany.
these boys often went away and were taught at an early age how to handle
and fire weapons.you could actually consider them as a cadet organization.
but up until 1945,the german army,and waffen ss,still practised a code of honour,
and would certainly not allowed boys under the age of 18 to be combatants.
although it is known of youths and old men being organized into small units as the
reich was coming to its final end,in a last desperate attempt to halt the allied advance.
the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" was an elite,fully armoured tank and panzergrenadier division at full combat readiness,and the general age would have been 18-21.
the nco's and officers came from the Leibstandarte and Das Reich divisions
in pictures ie(wittman and other HJ officers) the "adolfhitler"cufftitle is clearly visible,and i would
think the majority of enlisted members were or at some time a "Hitler Youth"hence the
"Hitlerjugend" ss division.
quote:"...to create a new Division consisting exclusivley of volunteers from the Hitler Youth born in the year 1926. The Division was to be a symbol of the willingness of the German youth to sacrifice itself and of it's will to achieve total victory." Hubert Meyer, History of the 12. SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend" unquote.
so there,i learned something there myself,they were mostly 18.
maybe not for the most part veterans,but certainly after normandy,and the battle for the hedgerows.
Topic: Hitler Youth (Read 2969 times)