„Jsme nyní dvojnásobně hrdí, že jsme byli jeho mládeží a že smíme nadále nést jeho jméno.“ Organizace Hitlerjugend v českých zemích na konci druhé světové války
| Title in English | “We are now doubly proud to have been his youth and to continue to bear his name.” The Hitler Youth organisation in the Czech lands at the end of the Second World War |
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | The youth section of the Nazi Party, known as the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth), ceased to exist in the spring of 1945 as a result of Nazi Germany’s defeat by the Allied armies. However, its end did not find it inactive — on the contrary, it came during a period of intense activity, which this paper explores using the specific example of the Czech lands. In the final months of its existence, the Hitlerjugend focused primarily on efforts to prevent Germany’s military defeat and, consequently, its own dissolution. The organization participated in the construction of field fortifications, the training and recruitment of adolescent soldiers for various armed forces, combat operations during the final days of the war, and also in the activities of the notorious sabotage units known as the Werwolf. Alongside this widely known dimension, the Hitlerjugend continued to carry out its routine activities — right up to the end of the war — including evening meetings with singing and games, nature outings, and other events. This paper examines both these faces of the Hitlerjugend in the Czech lands at the end of the war and also briefly addresses how the organization was perceived by Czechoslovak society and state institutions in the first months after the German capitulation. |
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