Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils study a modern society and the issues that affected it in great depth over a shorter period. They learn about the key events, developments, people and stories that shaped this modern society over a period of around twenty to thirty years.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain how Nazi policies towards young people reflected their aims.

Key Notes

• Hitler viewed children as vital to the Nazi future and used indoctrination to shape them into loyal, obedient citizens.
• Boys and girls were encouraged to join uniformed Nazi youth organisations that offered various activities.
• Nazi youth organisations aimed to win total loyalty and prepare boys for war and girls for motherhood.
• Education was reshaped to indoctrinate youth with Nazi ideas, and teachers were vetted to ensure loyalty to the regime.
• The curriculum was altered to justify racism and future territorial expansion.

Vocabulary To Learn

• reich: meaning empire; under the Nazis, it referred to the Third Reich, their name for Hitler's regime, which they saw as the third great German empire after the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire
• camaraderie: a mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time or share an experience together
• indoctrination: the process of repeating an idea or belief to someone until they accept it without criticism or question
• domestic: belonging or relating to the home, house or family
• eugenics: a theory that claimed the human population could be improved by encouraging people with certain traits to have children; the Nazis used this idea to justify racial discrimination

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Students may think all youth blindly accepted Nazi ideas.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• 1923, the Ruhr and hyperinflation Study Guide
• Early unrest and the Treaty of Versailles Study Guide
• Economic recovery under Stresemann Study Guide
• Employment in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Hitler's creation of a dictatorship Study Guide
• How Hitler became Chancellor of Germany Study Guide
• Nazi control of the police and the legal system Study Guide
• Nazi racial ideology and the treatment of minorities Study Guide
• Opposition and resistance in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Social and economic change 1924-29 Study Guide
• Stresemann's international achievements Study Guide
• The early development of the NSDAP Study Guide
• The First World War and the German Revolution Study Guide
• The growth in support for the Nazi Party Study Guide
• The growth of unemployment and rise in support for the Communist Party Study Guide
• The Munich Putsch Study Guide
• The Nazi Party and religion Study Guide
• The NSDAP's 'lean years' Study Guide
• The persecution of Jews Study Guide
• The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act Study Guide
• The Weimar Republic Study Guide
• Threats to the Weimar Republic from the left and the right Study Guide
• Weimar culture 1924-29 Study Guide
• Women in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Work and life in Nazi Germany Study Guide