Hitler Youth Activities: Music and Song

Figure 1.--These DJ boys are a unit music unit, learning to become a marching band. Notice the bikes in the background. This is probably not a camp scene. The boys are probably on a unit outing. Some of the instruments were not used for a marching band.

Music and singing was an important HJ activity. Drum and bugle corps were often associated with HJ pagentry. We do not notice larger orchestras and bands. We understand some were formed, but they do not form an important part of the photographic record. They were not useful for ordinary HJ activiyies. But we karge numbers of images of HJ boys with drums and buggles. This seems less true for the girls. Drums seem to have been a special favorite with the HJ. Boys began to learn to master these instrumnts in the DJ. The music activities were an area in which boys not atletically inclined could excell. Such boys might be subjected to hazing when they had trouble keeping up with other boys in physical activities. The music activities not only provided them an area in which they could pursue an interest in music, but provided a way of avoiding some of the activities in which some found it difficult to compete. It was also a way of renewing Germany's martial spirit. I'm not siure if it was Hitler or Giebbels that wrote about the impact of a simple marching band on the German spirit. I need to find that quote. Von Schirach had no doubt about the importance of music in saping the minds of the boys he was assined to mold. And as part of the program he designed, hegave a special importance to music and group singing. HJ prgamizers were instructed, "... precisely during celebrations and singing events [that] we have an excellent opportunity to have a political effect wide beyond the typical formation … Songs possess the strongest community-building power. Thus we use them deliberately at those moments when we want to waken the consciousness of being part of a community, in order to deepen the power of such an experience." Schirach chose Wolfgang Stumme to over see the HJ music program. Schirach correctly saw the importance and power of music and song as part of the HJ's ideological training effort. Schirach even penned HJ songs himself. Music was a prominent feature. And the HJ did not only use boys that had music skills, but has an active program to train young musicians. There was also fomal vocal training. In addition to unit drum and buggle corps, the HJ formed aznd trained hundreds of HJ music groups. They performned at birthday parties for high-ranking Party officials. Hitler's birthday was a national holiday. Thus Gaulitiers and other important Pasrty officials wanted their birthday's celebrated. The HJ boys anf BDM girls also were popular participants in Party nd civic festivals. There were even some international performnces. But it was the ability of group singing in building group cohesion and obedience that attracted Schirach's artention. Mamy songbooks were published duing the NAZI era precisely for this purpose. The HJ adapted many Scouting fratures, but the musing and song component was more of a featire of Communist and Socialist groups.