Figure 1.--This Flemish HJ boy looks to be participating in some kind of activity at a local landmark. The snapshot is undated, but was probbly taken early in 1944. He and his mates in the group in background wear standard HJ winter uniforms with a black Lion of Flandrs sleeve patch. He looks to be about 11 years of age. Older boys were pressured to enlist in the German Army--a virtual death sentence.

Hitler Youth units existed in Belgium even before the German occupation. They were for the children of German residents. These were augmented by 1943 by some families evacuated from Germany bcause of allied air raids. Hitler Youth officials in the summer of 1943 established a Hitler Youth Flanders which Flemish youth could join. Members appeared to have been mostly boys whose parents worked for or with the German Occuation authorities and those with extremely right-wing political affliliations. The Devlag was a pre-war cultural group aimed at fomenting Flemish-German friendship, but developed into a poltical group. It operated a National Socialist (NAZI) school in Antwerp. Many of these boys were in November 1943 handed over to the Hitler Youth Flanders. Their Hitler Youth Flanders uniforms were identical to that of the German Hitler Youth except that they wore a badge on their left cuff-the black Lion of Flanders on a yellow shield. In addition, the unit triangle worn by all Hitler Youth formations on the upper left arm had 'Hitlerjugend/Vlaanderen'. In contrast, the German units in Flanders had 'HJ/Flanderen'. The lion of Flanders and the word Vlaandern was cairred in the upper left corner of the swastica flag. There appears to have been fights between the Belgian DMS or Hitler Youth boys and the Scouts.

Hitler Youth

The Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth), the German NAZI party's youth movement, indoctrinated German youth to perpetuate the "1,000 year Reich." The Hitler Youth movement emphasized activism, physical training, NAZI ideology, especially nationalism and racial concepts, and absolute obedience to Hitler and the NAZI Party. Indoctrinating children in National Socialist idelogy was a key goal of the NAZI Party. Once Hitler assumed control over the German state, he used the Goverment to make the Hitler Youth the country's all encompassing youth movement. Hitler and other NAZIs leaders saw the indoctrination of young Germans as of critical importance. In the same year that they took power, the NAZIs organized German youth organizations into two branches of the Hitler Youth (Hitler Jugend), one branch for boys and one for girls. Membership was eventually made compulsory and all boys had to report to a neighborhood office to have his racial background checked and be registered for membership. There was then a typically elaborate introduction ceremony on the Führer's birthday. The Hitler Youth was not just a German version of the Boy Scouts. The Hitler Youth were more similar to the Soviet Young Pioneers, but even with the Pioneers there were major differences. Hitler from the beginning saw the Hitler Youth movement as a tool to hardening boys for their future role of soldiers. He wanted a generation of "victorious active, daring youth, immune to pain." There was to be no "intelectual" training for the boys of the New Order, Hitler saw intelectual pursuits as damaging to German youth. The NAZIs used the Hitler Jugend to educate German Youth " in the spirit of National Socialism " and subjected them to an intensive programme of Nazi propaganda. The NAZIs established the Hitler Jugend as a source of replacements for Nazi Party formations. The Hitler Youth leadership in October, 1938 entered into an agreement with Himmler under which members of the Hitler Jugend who met SS standards would be considered as the primary source of recruitment for the SS. The NAZIs also used the Hitler Jugend for pre-military training. Special units were set up whose primary purpose was training specialists for the various military branches. HBC has compiled the following information on the Hitler Youth movement and the uniforms the boys wore.

Pre-War Units

The Hitler Youth was at first reserved exclusively to German boys. Hitler Youth units existed in Belgium even before the German occupation. They were for the children of German residents. Belgian bordered on Germany and even had a German speaking region. Thus a substantial number of Belgians lived or worked in Germany or visa versa. Thiswas especially true of the the Flemish, The same was true of the Netherlands. The Germans living un Belgium were augmented by 1943 by some families evacuated from Germany bcause of allied air raids.

Hitler Youth Flanders

Hitler Youth officials established a Hitler Youth Flanders which Flemish youth could join (Summer 1943). We are not entirely sure why this change was made. Wesuspect it was the pressure of the War and Germany's deteriorating military situation. Members appeared to have been mostly boys whose parents worked for or with the German Occuation authorities and those with extremely right-wing political affliliations. The Devlag was a pre-war cultural group aimed at fomenting Flemish-German friendship, but developed into a poltical group. It operated a National Socialist (NAZI) school in Antwerp. Many of these boys were handed over to the Hitler Youth Flanders (November 1943). Their Hitler Youth Flanders uniforms were identical to that of the German Hitler Youth except that they wore a badge on their left cuff--the black lion of Flanders on a yellow shield. In addition, the unit triangle worn by all Hitler Youth formations on the upper left arm had 'Hitlerjugend/Vlaanderen'. In contrast, the German units in Flanders had 'HJ/Flanderen'. The lion of Flanders and the word Vlaandern was carried in the upper left corner of the swastica flag.

Inter-Group Conflict

There appears to have been fights between the Belgian DMS or Hitler Youth boys and the Scouts. This at first was limited, but as the war orogressed and the prospects og a German victory declined, increased. We are not sure howthe security forced treated these incidnts. DMS or Hitler Youth boys also reportedly informed on the Scouts who were as the occupation progressed, not allowed to wear uniforms and eventually declared illegal.

Participation

DMS or Hitler Youth boys were extremely unpopular with the Belgian population as a whole and as it became increasingly obvious that the Germans were not going to win the war, participation flagged. As Flemish, however, participation in the Hitler Youth was volunatry, unlike the situation for German boys. It is likely that their fathers were mostly collaboraters. One wonders too what the boys thought would happen to them as part of a collaborationist family and members of Flanders Hitler Youth. There no doubt were confrontations between boys during the German occupation. Many must have looked forward to the arrival of the allies with some trepedation.

Military Service

The German Wafen SS (military arm of the SS) encouraged the 16 and 17 year old members of Hitler Youth Flanders to attend Wehrertüchtigungslager (military toughening up camps) in Germany. One there, away from their parents, they were pressured to enlist in the Wafen SS. They could not be drafted until 18. Thus they had to voluntarily agree to enlistment. Interestingly in Germany, law was often scrupuosly adhered to unless the individual involved was Jewish or the Gestapo considered a matter to be a security issue. But away from home, pressured by camp leaders and their buddies, many Flenish boys did enlist. So many enlisted in fact that a voluntary Battalion was formed out of these boys. It proved to be a disaterous deceion. The Germans sent them to join the Langermarck Division (formed of Flemish volunteers) to man the German defense line on the Oder River against the advancing Red Army. The Division and most of these boys were virtually obliterated. HBU has no information about the motivations of the boys involved certainly at that age they had no idea what they were getting into. It is unclear why their parents would have allowed them to go to Germany for Wehrertüchtigungslager. You have to wonder why the parents were desperate, facing retribution if Belgium was liberated or if they were totally oblivious to the likely prospect that their boys would be fed into the doomed German war effort.

Liberation

After liberation, participation in this group was something most boys attempted to forget--if their neighbors would let them.