Hitler Youth: British Boy (1939-45)


Figure 1.--.

An interesting aspect of World War II is the children of foreign nationals trapped abroad. A little known fact is that there were unaccompanied German children trapped in Britain at the start of World War II and British children trapped in Germany, on exchange visits or staying with relatives. I believe both sides made efforts through the Swedish Red Cross to trace the parents and repatriate the children, and many of these must have been successful. However there were some kids who, for one reason or another, could not be returned. The Red Cross was, I believe, particularly reluctant to take children whose parents could not be traced, especially if there were relatives in the country where they were trapped who were willing to care for them. Here is an account from a British readerv about a British boy stuck in Germany during the War and who joined the HJ.

Alien Children

An interesting aspect of World War II is the children of foreign nationals trapped abroad. A little known fact is that there were unaccompanied German children trapped in Britain at the start of World War II and British children trapped in Germany, on exchange visits or staying with relatives. I believe both sides made efforts through the Swedish Red Cross to trace the parents and repatriate the children, and many of these must have been successful. However there were some kids who, for one reason or another, could not be returned. The Red Cross was, I believe, particularly reluctant to take children whose parents could not be traced, especially if there were relatives in the country where they were trapped who were willing to care for them.

Kilquhanity House

Kilquhanity House in Dumfriesshire in Scotland was started by a visionary called John Aitkenhead to tackle just this problem. He started a school, right in the heat of WW2 in which half the children were German and half the children were British. His idea was to foster world peace. The authorities went along with it because they thought it was better to have the German children influenced by close contact with British kids than interned somewhere. Note that there were only about 30 German boys and girls in the school and none of them had parents interned in The Isle Of Man, where German civilians were sent, and none of their German families were traceable. Though right through the war the occasional child was sent, via Sweden, back to their folks in Germany. John was a follower of Neill, indeed had been a housemaster at Summerhill, so this school had no uniform and no corporal punishment.

Bembridge School

My parents enrolled me in a German speaking Swiss school when I was 12 years old. So I learned to speak German. When I was 15 my dad said he could no longer afford the fees in Switzerland, as the pound was dropping like a stone. What else is new? So at age 16 I was moved (more like being interned) to a school called Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. It had one saving grace, the acting Headmaster; a Mr Steadman. He was the only man I ever met who spoke to kids without the usual censorship that most adults and all schoolmasters automatically apply. I will write about him later because he was a true eccentric and a great man. I hated the school, but I am glad I went there because some of the teachers were fantastic. Also the work was not nearly as hard and we had more freedom. I had not been there a few days before someone told me that the Janitor spoke German. I was pining to speak German so I went to his little office in the basement and hunted him out. His story was amazing.

Janitor's Story: British Boy in the HJ

The janitor was British, but was staying with his cousins in Germany when war broke out. He was 10 years old at the time. The family he was staying with went to the authorities. They were asked if they were willing to keep him until he could be repatriated and said they would. He was issued a ration card and an ID card and enrolled in school while the long slow process of getting him back to Britain unrolled. So there he was, a British kid sitting in a German classroom while Britain and Germany were at war. The Red Cross could not trace his parents and, as he was a close relative, he was left with his German cousins. When the other boy in the family and his school friends joined the DJ he wanted to join as well. At first this was not considered appropriate, but the DJ made a strong case and he was allowed to join, though it was not deemed right for him to wear a Swastika. Instead, so he said, he wore a small Union Jack badge. When the others went up to the HJ so did he. He must have been the only British boy in the HJ. Again he did not wear a swastika, but neither did he wear the Union Jack as it often provoked unpleasantness. Though everyone knew he was British, even if by now no-one would have guessed it. But his papers were in order, and in the German mind that is all that matters. He did fire watch duty and joined a first aid detachment. One day they found an injured British airman in the ruins. He said this guy was pretty astonished to learn that the Hitler Youth putting burn ointment and bandages on him was from Bermondsey. The Airman thought he was going to die and asked my janitor friend to write to his parents as soon as was possible and say what happened to him. After the war the Janitor had a hard time getting anyone in the British Occupation authority to believe his story. He had already written to the airman's family and learned that the RAF man survived. He wrote again. The RAF man found out that, unhappily, the Janitor's family had been killed in the Blitz. But the airman helped him get back to Britain and adopted him. I wish I could remember the Janitor's name. It is so frustrating. But I believed him. How else would a working class lad from Bermondsey, a school janitor, speak perfect flawless German?







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Created: 7:34 PM 9/7/2009
Last updated: 7:35 PM 9/7/2009












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Navigate the Historic Boys' Uniform Web Site:
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Created: 7:19 PM 9/7/2009
Last updates: 7:19 PM 9/7/2009