ABSTRACT

The growing interest in the role of the Nazi youth groups in German society between 1933 and 1945 is evidenced by the large historiography on both the Hitlerjugend (HJ) and the Bund Deutscher Madel (BDM). Since 1980, when Martin Klaus published his pioneering book on the BDM, there has been a proliferation of books and articles on the subject. The Nazis' Staatsjugend comprising the HJ and BDM, was part of the regime's attempt to reorder German society in line with its own imperatives and ideological tenets. Girls from middle-class families, in particular, often eagerly seized upon the opportunities offered to them by the BDM because of their childhood experiences. In the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash, shattered prestige and Finances were strongly felt by all members of middle-class households. Each BDM girl was to be 'the founder and protector of a healthy, fit German family'. BDM girls were to be 'the expression of the harmony of health and beauty'.