My father was a member in the Hitlerjugend

[Dan D]

That is disgusting, please contact the nearest Center for the Documentation of Nazi crimes in you area as soon as possible.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Dan D

That is disgusting, please contact the nearest Center for the Documentation of Nazi crimes in you area as soon as possible.

He was about 10-12 years old when the war ended, so I wonder how much war crime he could have committed.

Markus

[flostt]

Originally Posted by Dan D

That is disgusting, please contact the nearest Center for the Documentation of Nazi crimes in you area as soon as possible.

either you are trying to be sarcastic... or i don't understand your sense of humor

i actually find your comment quite disgusting as mapuc cannot really be blamed for this, can he ?

There is a difference between the "jugend" and all the other "organisations" during this period.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by flostt

either you are trying to be sarcastic... or i don't understand your sense of humor

i actually find your comment quite disgusting as mapuc cannot really be blamed for this, can he ?

There is a difference between the "jugend" and all the other "organisations" during this period.

It was sarcastic I'm sure. My grandfather was a member too and he was the son of a commie. They simply had to or would face big problems later when trying to find a job etc.

[vienna]

In the past, I have known a few people whose parents were in the Jugend and the story is always the same: you joined or faced scrutiny by the Reich. There should be no stigma against those who were forced, almost quite literally at gunpoint, to join. They were just kids and were at the mercy of the whims of the Reich and their families. One girl I knew had a mother who was enrolled in the Jugend. Towards the end of the war, she was stood up in front of an air raid shelter, handed a rifle and ordered to shoot any soldiers who might try to run into the shelter. She didn't have to shoot; a bomb exploded near where she was standing and blew shrapnel into her leg...

The sins of the fathers, indeed...


<O>

[Dan D]

€´Markus

I was joking. Even the former Pope was a member of the Hitler Youth at his age.

I guess, I would have been in the Hitler Youth, too, if I was born back then.

My grand-father on my Dad's side did not even have the voting age when Hitler was voted into power. It was 21 back then. Nevetherless he died at the age of 30 on the Eastern front in 1944. That gives an idea how long the Nazis ruled in Germany. He did not even have a choice.

My other grand-father joined the NSDAP in 1937 according to the records. He was a professional soldier like all his ancestors before, who had a proud tradition of being soldiers ás they had already served in the Prussian Army. I am not even sure, if my grand-father ever gained knowledge that he had become a member of the NSDAP because the Nazis just subscribed a whole list of people to them. For example, when they dissolved the Union's they made all unionists Nazi unionists. That is called "Gleichschaltung". Of course, with a bit of stomach you could have protested against that." I don't like you, give me a no nazi Unionist Membership". That would have made a difference, jk.
By asking the archives, I found out that there is a medical record from 1942 that my other grand-father was unfit for duty because he had a hockey-caused knee-injury (at Auschwitz jk). He was a hockey player. And as he was wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant zur See when he got married ,that tells me that he was with the Kriegsmarine and did the infantry training for the navy conscripts, because at peace times he was a Lieutenant in the Heer for the infantry. You have to survive those times, you know.

A while ago I found out that one of my grandfathers was a tank commander in the Waffen SS. Quite the shock to be honest.
It was like history would have got a grasp on me. After all, I never felt directly "connected" to WW2, yet this changes this.
I am a descendent of an absolutely convinced Nazi.

Feels weird, so I can see where you're coming from mapuc.
Although HJ wasn't anything special of course.
They just did lots of sports and learned that people who are different are sub-humans... nothing weird...

[Aktungbby]

Nah! My federal office manager, a very nice Teutonic lady, was a youth for Hitler. We referred to her lovingly as 'the resident Nazi' and business went on as usual. She was notably efficient at her job... My schoolboy bus driver had been at Stalingrad. @ Dan D: we knew you were joking! I myself was a Youth for Nixon...please no Tricky Dick comments.

[Dan D]

It is a miracle, after 1945 all the Nazis, have you ever met one?, seemingly have vanished from earth.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Dan D

It is a miracle, after 1945 all the Nazis, have you ever met one?, seemingly have vanished from earth.

They went to the moon: