The National Socialist German Workers Party created an organization for young boys in 1922. In 1926, it was named the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls was added. After the Nazis took power in 1933, both organizations boomed. Boys were recruited through hot meals for the hungry and camping trips for the urban poor. By 1939, membership reached almost 9 million as membership for boys became virtually mandatory. Any boy who refused to participate was threatened with a concentration camp. Once inducted, the boys and girls were politically indoctrinated and given physical training. Activities for the boys included camping, outdoor sports, shooting practice, rowing, and glider flying. From ages 10-13, boys were in the German Young People. The girls equivalent was called Young Girls. All of them were encouraged to attend the Nuremberg Rallies. The first of these co-ed rallies had the unintended consequence of 900 pregnancies. Due to the strict Nazi moral code, the women were forced to have abortions. Not all young men and women were malleable. The Edelweiss Pirates were a small group of dissidents in Cologne who started by making fun of the uniforms and songs and graduated to political activities. Seven of them were hanged to discourage others. In 1943, with the war going badly, Hitler Youth over age 16 were organized into military units and in 1944 they were sent into combat. Although fanatical Nazis, they were ill-trained for warfare and suffered terrible losses.
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