25. The Nazis Eventually Conscripted Children Into Their Organizations, Regardless of Their Parents’ Consent
Nazi efforts to expand the numbers of children enrolled in their organizations worked. At the end of 1932, the Hitler Youth had 108,000 members. By the end of 1933, the Nazis’ first year in power, that number had shot up to 2,300,000, and by December 1936, there were more than five million Hitler Youth. That month, membership was made mandatory for all Aryan youth, and in March 1939, they were conscripted en masse into the organization, regardless of their parents’ objections.
One year after World War II began, the Hitler Youth were reorganized into an auxiliary force to perform war duties. Chapters became active in local fire brigades and in recovery efforts after Allied bombing raids, helped deliver the mail, and assisted the military, such as with service alongside antiaircraft gun batteries. As the war dragged on and German losses mounted, the Third Reich faced a growing military manpower shortage. So in 1943, the Hitler Youth was tapped as a manpower reserve, and the tragic sight of Nazi-indoctrinated children on the front lines increasingly common as the war progressed.