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Childhood in Nazi Germany

Childhood in Nazi Germany

A page of a colouring book for young child about the Hitler Youth, produced in Germany in the 1930s.

A page of a colouring book for young child about the Hitler Youth, produced in Germany in the 1930s.

Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections.

The Nazis aimed to indoctrinate the younger population was through reforming the education system.

They wanted to de-intellectualise learning: they did not want education to provoke people to ask questions or think for themselves. They believed this approach would instill obedience and belief in the Nazi worldview, creating the ideal future generation.

This educational resource focuses what life was like for children growing up in Nazi Germany.  It is expected that this educational resource would be used as part of a scheme of learning exploring the Holocaust.

Please use the links below to download the worksheet and primary sources.

All sources are courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library and can be reproduced for educational purposes only. The Wiener Holocaust Library should be acknowledged in all reproductions.

 

Downloads

To download the PDF worksheet click on the link below. To download images, click onto the
desired image and press ‘download’ at the bottom of the picture.

Child in Nazi Germany Worksheet and Activities
A page of a colouring book for young child about the Hitler Youth, produced in Germany in the 1930s.
A mathematics exercise from a Nazi school textbook discriminating against disabled people. The exercise is titled ‘what is the cost of care for the hereditary sick?’. The exercise aimed to show schoolchildren in Nazi Germany that disabled people were a financial burden on the state.
This book is about a journey made by members of the Hitler Youth to Norway.
Antisemitism underpinned all aspects of education under the Nazis. As a result of this, many children drew stereotypical drawings such as this one, showing a Jew under the title ‘Itzig’, a common German antisemitic slur. The caption reads ‘made himself a good deal again’, referring to the antisemitic story that Jews conducted dishonest business.
Photograph showing members of the Bund Deutscher Madel (The League of German Girls), a Nazi organisation for girls, performing acrobatics.
A children’s game produced in Nazi Germany. The blocks can either be arranged to spell out ‘Hitler’ or can be arranged to form a swastika.
Photograph showing members of Nazi boys’ organisation Hitler Jugend (The Hitler Youth) marching.
This drawing was created by a young girl, Gerda Nabe, in one of her school textbooks. The drawing shows the infamous Nuremberg Laws, explaining how to define if a person is a Jew.