Cultural Resistance of Youth:
Edelweiss Pirates & Swing Youth

(Image Source: Detlev J. K. Peukert's Inside Nazi Germany)

    Although many youngsters opposed Nazism in the early days of the regime; youth opposition grew as the war progressed.  While Joseph Goebbels and other party members repeatedly claimed victory on the Russian Front; evidence provided by returning soldiers and BBC broadcasts presented another story.   However, due to  Hitler's early liquidation of political opposition groups, there was little in the way of a public forum for dissent.  Yet opposition did reveal itself outside of the public forum; it found an outlet in the rebellious expressions of youth.

(Photo : Barton Schink Edelweiss Pirate Executed aged 16
Detlev Peukert's Inside Nazi Germany) 

    As the years progressed and youngsters in Germany entered into their late teens, the Hitler Youth lost its rebellious charm.   Young people grew disenchanted with  its conformity. Many of them sought camaraderie in non sanctioned youth groups. Cliques  like the  Swing Youth and  gangs like the Edelweiss Pirates appeared in cities  and towns throughout Germany.  The Edelweiss Pirates were actually composed of multiple gangs.  These working-class youth were easily distinguishable from other youngsters by their colorful manner of dress (shorts, checkered shirts and neck scarves) and irreverent behavior.    The Edelweiss Pirates  were known to attack Hitler Youth units as they patrolled parks and other areas.  Often confrontations between the two groups resulted in the exchange of gunfire  The Pirates became more political toward the end of the war.  Many were  imprisoned by the SS and some were executed.

    The Swing Youth scene was comprised mainly of Jazz aficionados who liked to emulate American fashions.  Often these youngsters exhibited liberal attitudes that the regime found intolerable.  Under the orders of Heinrich Himmler, many Swing Youth were incarcerated.

Helmuth Hubener Group

.  Under the leadership of Helmuth Hubener,  the group (Gehard Duwer, Helmuth Hubener, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, & Rudi Wobbe) distributed illegal transcriptions of  BBC broadcasts and antigovernment leaflets.  Most of these youngsters, with the exception of Gehard Duwer, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The fact they were members of a minority religious sect in Nazi Germany may have influenced their actions, but they appear to have been  primarily  motivated by  Helmuth's obsession with the truth.  The leaflets  they distributed called attention to Nazi  war crimes and protested Germany's foreign and military policies.  The Gestapo eventually caught up with Helmuth, and he was executed by guillotine on  October 27, 1942.  His compatriots received long prison sentences.
 

Reading Suggestions:

 R. Blair, Holmes and Alan F. Keele, eds.,When Truth Was Treason: German Youth against Hitler, Editors  ( Chicago, 1995).

Anton Gil. An Honorable Defeat  (New York, 1994)

Detlev J.K Peukert, Inside Nazi Germany: Conformity, Opposition, and Racism in Everyday Life (New Haven, 1987).