The chilling photographs show how teenagers in Nazi Germany were brainwashed into supporting the fascist cause at Hitler Youth indoctrination camps.
The rare images capture the boys marching, standing guard and having their heads shaved in accordance with military rules.
They were compiled by a 15-year-old while he carried out his training over the course of eight months in the year before the outbreak of the Second World War.
The photo albums, which were looted by an Allied soldier at the end of the war, are now going up for auction in California.
They originated from the 'Landjahr', the rural training camp for boys aged between 15 and 18 who had joined the Hitler Youth.
During the war, members were drafted into the German fire service before becoming part of the military reserve and then acted as the last line of the defence of Berlin.
Some of the photos show the 'soldiers of tomorrow' in uniform, complete with a Swastika armband and long shorts.
They are depicted marching in regimented order with a drill sergeant-type figure walking alongside them.
Another photo is a group shot of dozens of members stood in a canteen with a giant Swastika flag above their heads.
There is a picture of two boys aged about 14 getting their hair shaved short in military fashion, while others show boys studying diagrams about how to improve their physical fitness.
The two albums were compiled by Friedhelm Huhn, who carried out his training as a teenager between April and December 1938.
It is not known what happened to him during the war, but it is believed the albums were taken as a souvenir by an Allied serviceman at the end of the conflict.
The albums - along with Friedhelm Huhn's ID cards and Landjahr uniform patches - are now being sold by auctioneer Nate D. Sanders, which is based in Los Angeles.
'In the last days of the war the Hitler Youth was mobilised in the German version of the Home Guard and fought on both eastern and western fronts. A lot of them were sacrificed in Berlin, some as young as 12 or 13.
'The last Nazi newsreel film out of Germany in the war showed Hitler handing out gallantry medals such as the Iron Cross to members of the Hitler Youth for distinguishing themselves in battle.'
The albums, which measure 10in by 7.5in, have a pre-sale estimate of £750 and are being sold on February 27.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... Nazis.html
Pictures from a Hitler Youth camp
Re: Pictures from a Hitler Youth camp
The photos on the bottom look (to me) like they were taken in Leipzig. Isn't that the huge memorial to victory over Napoleon in the background of that one photo?
- Maxschnauzer
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Re: Pictures from a Hitler Youth camp
Ideology aside, had my Boy Scout camps been that rigorous I would have been much better prepared when I began my Army Basic Training, which I guess was part of what the Hitlerjugend were all about.
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Max
Max
Re: Pictures from a Hitler Youth camp
SteveFBS,
Good point. I was wondering where this youth camp was - the DM article gives no clue, if it is known.
Good point. I was wondering where this youth camp was - the DM article gives no clue, if it is known.