19. Things Got Tragic For the Edelweiss Pirates Once They Attracted Himmler’s Attention
Although the Nazis began to target the Edelweiss Pirates, local authorities were nonetheless relatively lenient with them compared to how they dealt with adult subversives. For example, penalties for the “delinquents”, who often kept their hair long and their appearance bohemian to set themselves apart from the militarized regimentation all around them, were often limited to a stern warning, after which their heads were shaved. That was not enough for Heinrich Himmler, chief of the SS. He wanted an example made of youths who failed to show complete loyalty, and deemed any half measures to be unacceptable.
Once they got on Himmler’s radar, things were bound to get tragic for the anti-Nazi youths. In 1942, Himmler wrote to his deputy Reinhard Heydrich that he wanted the Edelweiss Pirates to do two or three-year stints in concentration camps: “There the youth should first be given thrashings and then put through the severest drill and set to work. It must be made clear that they will never be allowed to go back to their studies. We must investigate how much encouragement they have had from their parents. If they have encouraged them, then they should also be put into a concentration camp and (have) their property confiscated”.