Hitler Youth Werwolf

[Germanicus]

The following is an interesting piece written about the Hitler-Youth of the Volkssturm and the Werewolf movement I discovered on a Russian website. I apologise for any translation errors.

Werewolf. By Ruth Fraiger

Hitler-Jugend and the Werewolf Movement.

Partisan Hitler Youth Program

In the autumn of 1944, the leadership of the Hitler Youth finally decided to use the fanaticism of the youth. Members of the State Council long ago longed to begin a systematic struggle against "foreign invaders" and internal enemies of the Reich. The leaders of the Hitler Youth planned to go the track, trodden by the SS division of the same name, wishing to turn the youth movement into a full-fledged military organization. In August 1944, the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Youth Leaders, Helmut Mockel, initiated the initiative to train 100,000 boys, of whom it was planned to create special "self-defence units". These detachments were to fight anti-fascists and enemy guerrillas operating on the outskirts of the Reich. In the autumn of 1944, they were supposed to put these young men under arms, fully equip them and send them to fight against the French partisans.

On the eve of the creation of the Volkssturm, the leadership of the GY was going to create "Combat detachments named after Herbert Norkus", named to the part of the Hitlerjugend martyr who died in a street skirmish in 1932. However, these formations of the people's militia were never destined to appear - the party leadership began to implement a project called Volkssturm. To the great disappointment of the imperial youth leadership, 300,000 adolescents were not assigned such a big role, as the upper GJ counted on it. No less disappointment was expressed by fanatical adolescents themselves, when they got into the so-called Volkssturm of the Third Wave, which was created in the spring of 1945, that is, when the Third Reich was literally breathing on ice. Such measures were by no means an accident, but a certain precaution. In the leadership of the Nazi party, it was reasonably believed that constant contact with older people, more soberly assessing the situation, could undermine the morale of adolescents. But never the less the Imperial youth leadership managed to achieve certain concessions. October 30, 1944, it was decided that from the young men born in 1928 it will be possible to form separate armed detachments that would carry out their activities with the corresponding regional leaders of the State. That is, as you can see, these small formations were absolutely independent of Volkssturm, although formally they belonged to the people's militia. These detachments actually became the basis of the so-called "tank destroyers", which could be found in any part of Germany (we'll talk about them in more detail in the third part). Given the unconventionality in tactics and style of combat, "tank destroyers" can be safely attributed to the same category as "werewolves." In principle, the leadership of HG used Volkssturm for cover. In Northern Germany, British troops captured far more than one youth unit of "fighters". All of them had bandages and patches of Volkssturm, although members of this organization never carried out actions behind enemy lines.

In addition to Volkssturm, the Hitler youth leadership also showed interest in the formation of partisan groups and reconnaissance detachments that were to operate in the territory occupied by the Allies. Already in the summer of 1944, many Hitler Youth activists were cut off from schooling and their public duties. They passed special training, after which they had to cross the front line. One fifteen-year-old boy, captured by the Allies, talked about his training in a special camp, where between July and September 1944, another 400 teenagers received special training. Teachers and instructors in this camp were German and Flemish SS men. According to the directive of the higher police and SS leadership of the Rhine Westmarch, All the young men from GU were to get the skills of guerrilla warfare. Later, such an order issued and the Imperial youth leadership, extending its effect to the whole of Germany. Similar initiatives have already been shown from below. In Koblenz, local leader Hitler Youth Schneider insisted that all young men of the 1929-1930s were to be mobilized to participate in partisan detachments. This initiative was supported in November 1944. On the other hand, there is evidence that says that only the most fanatical members of the State Department have been recruited. And the geography of the activities of such camps was limited to West Germany. Such undertakings aroused political enthusiasm among the local leadership of the Hitler Youth, who watched in horror as the parts of the Allies approached their native lands.

But when this initiative began to be realized, the leadership of the Hitler Youth was waiting for another disappointment - all the youth partisan detachments had to obey the "Bureau of Pratsman", in effect becoming one of the components of the "Werwolf". From the organizational point of view, this step was quite logical. By the end of 1944, it became apparent that there was a need for coordination between the SS and GY. This would not only avoid unnecessary material costs, but also put an end to duplication of functions. As a result, in early 1945, a closed conference was held in Potsdam, in which representatives of the SS and the Hitler Youth attended. In fact, the parties were represented by Pruitsman and Cloos. During the negotiations, an agreement was reached that the staff of the Kloos department would be subordinate to the "Bureau of Prutzman." From that moment on, all the youth guerrilla formations became units of the Werwolf. After this meeting, Kloos and his co-workers moved to Rheinsberg, where they were disguised as the recruiting center of the SS Hitler Youth. Himself, Cloos was now represented as a special commissioner of the Imperial Youth leadership. In practice, representatives of the Hitler Youth were free in their actions. Representatives of Kloos traveled around West Germany, independently agreeing on further work with police and SS ranks. On January 25, 1945, Kloos's activities were expanded, he now had to create youth guerrilla groups in East Germany. Since that moment, adolescents from subversive groups have come to be called just like SS men - "werewolves." As if accidentally among the youth began to actively spread the book Lons. It was a very true move - inspired by the book, the youth simply burned with a desire to become "werewolves."

Despite the fact that Kloos acted under the signboard of "Werwolf", his employees were not going to somehow coordinate their actions with the SS leadership. The Hitler Youth continued to train young men (this time called "werewolves") in their own camps. GY functionaries, as before, conducted an active recruitment campaign through their own educational institutions, about which Prutzman hardly knew anything. It is not surprising that the employees of Bureau Prutzman often complained about the lack of cooperation between the two wings of the Nazi guerrilla movement. The SS tried to put an end to the activities of Kloos, close the youth camps and give them to the SS, but the undertaking failed.

On the other hand, young "werewolves" believed that their project was still overseen by the Imperial youth leadership, recruitment in young "werewolves" was carried out by commissioners from the Gau. The process itself was fundamentally different from the search for volunteers, which was carried out within the framework of the SS. In the Hitler Youth it looked like this. Above in the regional offices descended order - to select an average of six to twelve teenagers in order that they were specially trained. Candidates for "werewolves" were to be loyal to the regime, to be smart, but not to be activists who were known throughout the district. In the number of such "volunteers" were girls. They should have been well acquainted with the technique, since they were supposed to be trained on a radio operator. Other girls simply worked as typists and employees in the "Werewolf" of Kloos. Not all regional leaders of the Hitler Youth were involved in the preparation of the "werewolves". For example, in the territory of Nordmark (Frisia and Schleswig-Holstein) only five of the existing twelve regional leaders of the GY in preparation for the "werewolves" were involved. Four districts were assigned to each of them. In the areas along the Rhine, the training of young "werewolves" was perhaps the most active. To this end, special brochures were even printed in Wiesbaden.

After such a specific recruitment, children entered preliminary courses, after which they were sent to specialized camps. All the issues of training and training of teenagers were supervised by specialists from the battalion "Albert Leo Schlagueter", who simultaneously obeyed both Cloos and Pruitsman. Two boys captured by the Americans showed during interrogation that they were trained first in a sports school and then in a camp called "Roda Ron" where they were taught the skills of sabotage and subversive agitation. When training sabotage the emphasis was placed on the breakage of telephone lines. In other camps, more attention was paid to military training. In camps near Palatinate and Waldmore, the SS instructors taught 15-16-year-olds to orientate themselves on the terrain, after which they went on a weekly course, During which children were introduced to various types of weapons: Mauser rifle, submachine guns, machine guns, grenade launchers, etc. In conditions when the Wehrmacht was sorely lacking in ammunition, the Hitler Youth had only plenty in the camps. They could almost train round the clock in shooting. At the end of the training SS instructors formed small groups, which usually consisted of three to six children. In other camps, the training of radio operators was under way. Young men, well versed in radio engineering, have always been in demand in the "Werewolves." They fell into both youthful and adult partisan detachments. Such specialized training took place at least in one camp, which was located in the town of Enigen, near Reutlingen. An interesting fact: the children who underwent training were dressed in the shape of the African Corps. Those of the GY members, Who did not get into the camps, received detailed instructions on how to behave in the occupied territories. They had to distribute leaflets, the caches with which were prepared in advance. In addition, they were ordered spontaneous sabotage: "Take everything you can from the enemy. The front line depends on the situation in the rear of the enemy. The more you do harm, the more you will do for your Motherland. "

At the end of 1944, youth units began individual attacks to the rear of the enemy. Some of these "saboteurs" were almost immediately captured by the Allies in Eastern Belgium during the Ardennes operation. The seized partisans from the Hitler Youth showed that they were either recruited unofficially (they decided to launch acts of sabotage on their own initiative, using instructions issued in the autumn of 1944), or they were thrown into the enemy's rear at the initiative of the regional leader Walter Dennis. Some of these boys, who got weapons, still managed to cut off American lines of communication, to shell out transport vehicles. In one case, the young "werewolf" delivered V. Dennis valuable information about the location of the American artillery and some army units. Such self-sufficient detachments were very active during the German counter-offensive in Alsace, where they acted as scouts and saboteurs. As a result, the Americans regarded the activities of such detachments as "a very significant threat."

As soon as the American troops were able to go deeper into the territory of the Rhineland, about a hundred youth detachments were sent immediately behind the front line. Here are just brief summaries for February-March 1945: two young men detained while watching the road Gangelt-Gailenkirchen; Two young guerrillas were detained by soldiers of the 104th US Infantry Regiment; Ten members of DG were captured by officers of the 7th Armored Regiment; Five radio operators from the "Union of German Girls" arrested in Cremfeld, after they were booked; In the vicinity of Bonn, on March 18-22, 15 young "werewolves", equipped with equipment for sabotage, were detained. This list can be continued for a very long time. In one case, a child who was a pimph (an organization that preceded the Hitler Youth) killed an American soldier. The witness of this event recalled: "We stopped to rest, when a little boy, 9-10 years old, asked a soldier for a chocolate. This boy was very cute, so no one paid attention when he reached into his pocket. But from his pocket he pulled out a pistol and shot a soldier in the stomach. "

A lot of young men were in special detachments formed by the leadership of the State Department in the Riparian regions, namely Kirsch in Bonn and Schneider in Koblenz. Having shown initiative in March 1945, they sent several young reconnaissance and sabotage groups across the Rhine. The river was usually crossed by rubber boats. Young "werewolves" "excelled" in Cologne, where they made several attacks on American soldiers. The Wehrmacht officers, who were familiar with Schneider, highly appreciated his activity. In one of the army reports it was said that this leader of the Hitler Youth had gathered more than a hundred people who were very determined. In addition to direct attacks on Americans, these boys specialized in disabling vehicles - they mixed sugar in gas tanks. In mid-March 1945 it was decided to expand the activities of these units, and Schneider received explosives from the Wehrmacht. From now on, the children had to engage in larger diversions.

After the Allies managed to cross the Rhine, they ran into numerous groups of young "werewolves." The district of Bonn was simply inundated with youth formations created on the initiative of Kirsch. In the town of Diet, the Americans detained five well-armed teenagers who showed that they were only part of a detachment of young saboteurs who numbered more than two hundred people. Arrested on March 31, 1945 in Bensheim, members of the Hitler Youth gave similar information - they were listed in a detachment of 250 teenagers, each of whom vowed to kill the Americans. On April 15, ten young men were captured in the same Bensheim, who were waiting for further instructions from the regional leadership of the GY. All the children turned out to be fanatical National Socialists who did not even want to hear about the possibility of the existence of other political doctrines.

By the end of April, the Allied forces were able to gain a foothold in areas where the most active actions of young Nazi guerrillas could be expected. Despite all the reports and information received by the army counterintelligence, the Americans did nothing to reduce the activity of youth from the State Department. On the contrary, they only aggravated the situation and provoked discontent. In April 1945, a "conspiracy" was opened in Alsfeld, which consisted of seven boys, who were eager to seize weapons and start a guerrilla war. At all of them for the collar of the collar were found badges of the Hitler Youth. Despite the fact that they did not have time to commit any attacks, they were shot. In Magdeburg, the number of murdered and shot teenagers was not accountable. They were executed when they were detained with weapons in their hands, there is no need to speak about the attacks. Violence led to more radical actions. There was a case when the teenagers lured an American transport convoy in ambush, after which they threw grenades at it, causing considerable damage to technology and manpower. In Saxony, a group of young guerrillas entered the parking lot, where German trophy equipment was located, and put it out of action. Near Hanover, a boy died who became a kind of Nazi kamikaze. He approached the tanks with fuel, but the bomb exploded earlier than he could cause significant damage to fuel supplies. In the Rural town of Dislaken and the Swabian settlement of Memmingen, a nine-year-old girl shot two American soldiers. In Kalba, one of the Hitler Youth members aimed at an American officer with a pistol, but was shot before he could pull the trigger. This incident made a depressing impression on the local population. Near Oldenburg, British soldiers were able to catch young "werewolves", who, behind a haystack, alerted several grenade launchers. In the rear of the Ninth US Army, a fourteen-year-old boy blew up a bridge in the center of Düsseldorf so professionally that many Americans died. The saboteur was detained by intelligence and taken to the army headquarters, where they could not believe for a long time that this terrorist act was the child's handiwork.

One of the "hot spots" of Germany was Altmark, a wooded area bordering the Elbe. In the Altmark forests, not only the "werewolves" were found shelter, but also the scattered remnants of the Wehrmacht units. According to an American journalist who visited this turbulent region in April 1945, "he was literally crammed with youth and the so-called" werewolves. " A characteristic feature of the "werewolf" detachments in this area was that adults and adults were the children and adolescents who were the actual commanders of the partisan formation. One of the most active was the partisan detachment operating in the vicinity of Stendel. In Tangermunde several young "werewolves" fired from the ruins of the American transport column. The Americans responded by opening a chaotic fire, watering all the surrounding houses and ruins from all kinds of weapons. They did not see where the snipers had settled, and so they shot at everything that moved. One of the goals of the "werewolves" was achieved - the local population did not conceal their hatred of the Americans.

There is evidence that the Red Army also faced young "werewolves" at the time of entering Germany. Here, as on the Western Front, the adolescents used to conduct reconnaissance. The two boys who acted on the Oder front were awarded the Iron Cross, when they were able to obtain important documents behind the front line. Or another example: On February 4, 1945, a youthful partisan detachment from the besieged city of Elbing managed to destroy a Soviet tank. This squad continued to operate for almost a month, until it was neutralized by parts of the NKVD. Partisans were three teenagers, dressed in civilian clothes. From all weapons to this point they have only a few pistols.

The only successful attack on the Red Army, which was undertaken by young "werewolves," was a sortie in the industrial city of Hindenburg (Upper Silesia). It was very loudly screamed in Nazi propaganda. According to official German statements, the "combat group" HJ, established after the occupation of the city by Soviet troops, decided to "avenge the outrage and looting." Teenagers, armed with machine guns and grenades, were able to surround the school where the Red Army soldiers stopped to stay. The school was peppered with grenades. After the explosions, the building collapsed, buried under the wreckage of 60 people.

Партизанская программа гитлерюгенда - Вервольф. Осколки коричневой империи - Фрайгер Рут - Ogrik2.ru - Читать книги онлайн

 

[Germanicus]

The following is part 2 of an interesting piece written about the Hitler-Youth of the Volkssturm and the Werewolf movement I discovered on a Russian website. I apologise for any translation errors.
Werewolf. Ruth Fraiger

Hitler-Jugend and the Werewolf Movement

Regional differences

Little is known about the organizational aspects of the training of youth guerrilla groups in the last days of the Third Reich. Therefore, let us focus on four examples that can serve as a graphic illustration. In the West district, the westernmost division of the Hitler Youth, Gustav Memminger, the head of the press and propaganda department under the Imperial youth leadership, was engaged in the implementation of the partisan program, one of Joseph Goebbels's close friends. Memminger began to fulfil these duties in February 1945. At the end of the same month, he sent out instructions to the local leaders of the Rhenish HJ for preparing "resistance" cells and weapons caches, which young partisans could use to fight the Allied forces. Special representative of the Imperial Youth leadership Kloos did his best, in order to create a special school for the preparation of "werewolves" in the vicinity of Bonn. In the Saar and Palatinate, where the military situation was most tense, almost immediately began the practical implementation of the program.

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that Memminger's activities gradually began to move to the east from the west. First, it was due to mass evacuation. Secondly, it was dictated by the intention to create new guerrilla detachments from teenagers, who could undergo more thorough training. They were decided at the most critical moment. This amended plan of action was brought to the attention of the Rhine leaders of the Hitler Youth during the meeting of SS Standartenfuhrer Max Keller with Gauleiter Joseph Broekel. Since that moment, the main goal of the local leaders of the State Duma was to urgently place under the gun 20,000 youngsters who were supposed to cross the Rhine at various places. Some of these "volunteers" tried to avoid getting into partisan detachments. In order to stop the flow of "deserters" The leaders of the Hitler Youth were entitled to conduct executions at their own discretion. This also applies to simulators. Despite such tough measures, only 3,000 people were mobilized. However, most of them did not take part in hostilities. This teenage army first retreated from Reinland to Odenwald, and then moved to Thuringia under the onslaught of the Americans.

The most important project, realized by the leadership of the Hitler Youth in Rheinland, was the creation of the Battle Group "Kurfurst Baldwin." It was formed on the initiative of a middle-level functionary from the staff of the State Department, Rolf Karbakh. "Baldwin" carried out its activities within the military district XII. Two main tasks were set before him: the protection of his region from the Allies and sabotage in the occupied territories. The Baldwin units operated mainly in the counties of Hunsrück and the Eifel. Here they enjoyed the support of local rangers and forest rangers. One of Karbakh's ideas was to use for the guerrilla warfare the tunnels that stretched for the most part of Rhineland. It should be noted that the teenagers did this very successfully. For example, in Hunsrück Gü-werwolfs managed to destroy an ammunition production plant and a fuel base, which was built by the Allies. The same adolescents in the Hunsrück-Hohenstraße section produced repeated blasts of the railway tracks. Strange as it may seem, counterintelligence of the Allies did not pay any attention to the diversions organized by Baldwin.

Despite the success of the Baldwin group, Karbach failed to achieve recognition. His fanaticism aroused fear even among the most consistent Nazis. Many considered him not quite a normal person. Even on the condition that the creation of Baldwin was given Himmler's personal "blessing," Karbakh was never able to climb the ranks. Local Gauleiter generally recommended not to deal with him to all officials. Berger did not give Karbah permission to conduct recruitment among the young men selected for service in the Waffen-SS. The leadership of the SS even took such a step as convincing the commander of the military district, General Osterkamp, ​​to postpone the realization of the ideas proposed by the fanatical Karbakh. Soon, Karbach left Rheinland in order to take up a new post in the Imperial youth leadership. Very illustrative illustration - to remove a person from his post could be, In the "Nordmark" preparations for guerrilla warfare were even more spontaneous.

Here, the local functionary Hans Colling was working on the creation of the Werwolf units of the GUU members. Active recruitment, he began only in March 1945. For the training of adolescents, he planned to set up a special camp in Schoenberg (Schleswig-Holstein). The first units of young "werewolves" were created only in late April 1945. They had almost no weapons. The only means for sabotage was the explosive, the truck of which it was possible to get in the south of the country. The explosives were immediately distributed to secret places, the location of which was known only to the leaders of partisan groups. It is possible that some of this material still used against the British. However, most of the young "werewolves" were forced to retreat to the Segerburgh Forest, where a kind of miniature partisan base was built. Hans Colling himself continued his activity until October 1945, until the British counterintelligence defeated his refuge, located in the Luneberg Wasteland. During the assault, a firefight began. One of the British was killed, but Colling himself was captured alive. He had his plans for subversive groups removed. But in many other cases, the partisan units simply did not begin to act.

The leader of the Hitler Youth in Eutin, on the eve of the British offensive, dissolved the Werwolf detachment, ordering his subordinates to return home. This youth leader believed that guerrilla actions can only frighten civilians. Until the British counterintelligence defeated his refuge, located in the Luneberg Wasteland. During the assault, a firefight began. One of the British was killed, but Colling himself was captured alive. He had his plans for subversive groups removed. But in many other cases, the partisan units simply did not begin to act. The leader of the Hitler Youth in Eutin, on the eve of the British offensive, dissolved the Werwolf detachment, ordering his subordinates to return home. This youth leader believed that guerrilla actions can only frighten civilians. Until the British counterintelligence defeated his refuge, located in the Luneberg Wasteland. During the assault, a firefight began. One of the British was killed, but Colling himself was captured alive. He had his plans for subversive groups removed.

Yet in many other cases, the partisan units simply did not begin to act. The leader of the Hitler Youth in Eutin, on the eve of the British offensive, dissolved the Werwolf detachment, ordering his subordinates to return home. This youth leader believed that guerrilla actions can only frighten civilians. But in many other cases, the partisan units simply did not begin to act. The leader of the Hitler Youth in Eutin, on the eve of the British offensive, dissolved the Werwolf detachment, ordering his subordinates to return home. This youth leader believed that guerrilla actions can only frighten civilians. But in many other cases, the partisan units simply did not begin to act. The leader of the Hitler Youth in Eutin, on the eve of the British offensive, dissolved the Werwolf detachment, ordering his subordinates to return home. This youth leader believed that guerrilla actions can only frighten civilians.

Examples of such confusion, which engulfed the local leaders of the HJ on the eve of the collapse of the Third Reich, could also be observed in the vicinity of Brandenburg. By early April 1945, officials were forced to admit that the Red Army would still be forced to force the Oder. It was decided that the entire central part of East Germany should turn into a continuous battlefield. At the same time, 30 local leaders of the State Council met in Brandenburg. It discussed the creation of youth detachments "Werewolf." The coordinating figure was a mysterious person, which in the documents of the KVD was designated by the letter "F". Particular attention was paid to the very nature of the future partisan movement. Although the meeting had only a few weeks to prepare, almost all began to actively form squads. One of them managed to recruit 150 teenagers, which was a good result. Then everything went according to the scheme: the creation of caches, the training of radio operators, the acquisition of weapons.

But, when the Red Army began its victorious offensive, many of the commanders in panic disbanded their troops. In Beltsig, the local leader HJ simply fled, actually throwing his wards to the mercy of fate. But, on the other hand, in Rathenow, a detachment of thirty HJ "werewolves" fought a fierce battle with Soviet troops, destroying several tanks from grenade launchers. When the remnants of the Twelfth Army, pressed to the Elbe, were ready to surrender, the "werewolves" still continued their resistance. They naively believed that the British would oppose the Soviets. The resistance of the "werewolves" put an end to the hopes of the German officers to save their lives. In early May, a delegation of Wehrmacht representatives appealed to adolescents with a request to stop resistance. They were informed that England was not going to start a "crusade" against the USSR. Even this did not work. Soviet artillery razed to the ground a site where young fanatics took refuge.

Региональные различия - Вервольф. Осколки коричневой империи - Фрайгер Рут - Ogrik2.ru - Читать книги онлайн

 

[Germanicus]

The following is an interesting piece written about the Hitler-Youth of the Volkssturm and the Werewolf movement I discovered on a Russian website. I apologise for any translation errors.

The Axman Plan from WEREWOLF. SHARDS OF THE BROWN EMPIRE

At first glance, the post-war activities of the HJ "werewolves" were no different from the attacks undertaken by the SS "werewolves." But there was one moment that fundamentally distinguished the fate of the young "werewolves" from the SS men from the "Bureau of Prutzman." It is a question of the fact that the leadership of the Hitler Youth has prepared in advance and thoroughly the preparations for action in the conditions of the defeat of Germany. In the Bureau of Prutzman we could not find even a hint of such training.

Among the Nazis, Arthur Axman was the only person who not only assumed the probability (and not hypothetical) of the full occupation of Germany, but also began to prepare for it in time. In March 1945, he began to develop a detailed scheme, according to which the Hitler Youth could at once move to an illegal position. This "plan Axman" began to be realized already in the beginning of April, 1945. It was then that the headquarters of the Imperial Youth Leadership was transferred from Berlin to the Bavarian Alps, to the town of Bad Toly, where one of the educational establishments of the Hitler Youth was located. Aksman's plan was to keep the "colour of the nation" by evacuating 35,000 of the most active and loyal members of the HJ to this hard-to-reach place. From this alpine area, which was to turn into the last bastion of the Reich, Adolescents had to raid in the nearby areas of Germany and Austria. Axman foresaw the inevitable conflict between the Western powers and the Soviet Union. Therefore, for him, the maximum task was to preserve a combat-ready Hitler Youth, which was to act together with the rest of the West against the Soviets. It was necessary to just wait out a difficult moment in the history of Germany.

In order to start implementing such a titanic idea, Axman sent his agents to various areas of the Reich: Erich Schroeder went to the north of Germany, Ernst Overbeck - to the western regions, Hans Winter to the southeast, and Gottfried Grismeier was sent to Austria and Bohemia. The latter was entrusted with a special mission - he was to prepare ways of retreating to the south of the Reich. Preparation was conducted in conditions of complete secrecy. When, If the evacuation of adolescents was impossible, they should have waited for orders, remaining in their places. Грйсмайер, having appeared in Bohemia, has incurred additional duties on education and ideological preparation of the future partisans. On 5 May, together with other leaders of the State Council, he met in the town of Prachatice with individual SS officers. At the meeting it was decided to create a new ("young") National Socialist movement, which came up with an uncomplicated program consisting of 10 items.

A certain number of HJ "werewolves" still managed to reach the southern mountains, where they were instructed to prepare for partisan actions, as well as expect a conflict between the West and the USSR. Some local functionaries of the youth organization took these orders with delight. They were dominated by illusions about the possibility of confronting the advancing Allies and the Red Army. The Tyrolean leadership of the Hitler Youth believed that it could successfully lead a guerrilla war, since the youth knew the local mountains well. Most evacuated "werewolves" tried to compensate their inexperience with fiery enthusiasm. After the war, one of the participants of these events, the functionary of the Union of German Girls, recalled: "It seemed that no power on earth could destroy our partnership of Hitler Youth leaders. I was looking for salvation in the idea, which now acquired a new sound. But no one knew what our real political goal was. We just wanted to fight for our idea ... I do not remember keening about the disaster that fell on our shoulders. These troubles were something insignificant compared to our heroism. " In the Bavarian Alps, in the town of Sigdorf, the local leadership of the State Department consoled themselves with the thought that the Americans were weak soldiers, second-class people. In the end, they believed that they could easily cope with the American occupation of 60,000 fanatics from the Hitler Youth. When the mobilization of adolescents began, one of the local leaders of the Volkssturm expressed scepticism about the advisability of fighting the Americans. In response, an arrogant statement was made: "Do not compare us with yourself! You are old! " But no one knew what our real political goal was. We just wanted to fight for our idea ... I do not remember keening about the disaster that fell on our shoulders. These troubles were something insignificant compared to our heroism.

The training of future young guerrillas took place in a variety of places. For example, as early as February 1945, a special school for GD personnel was urgently established in the vicinity of Benediktbeuern. This particular educational institution was taught by servicemen of the mountain-infantry regiment stationed in Garmisch. In April 1945, one of the instructors, Sergeant Max Roytman, was instructed to form detachments of the Werwolf. Should help him in this endeavour was the local forester and functionary GY Muller. Anticipating the inglorious end of the war, this detachment gathered weapons and foodstuffs from all over the district to create several hiding places. When Germany surrendered, these stocks were used spontaneously by the formation of the students of the GY school, located in Bad Tolz. It was a very large detachment of 250 fanatical youths. "Special School" existed in the vicinity of Salzburg. At the initiative of the SS, youth education was active in Carinthia. In Bad Reichenhall, there was an institution that trained communication teens. All of them were evacuated from Upper Silesia and the Sudetenland.

On the Eastern Front in Austria, the head of the State Council, Hans Lauterbaker, organized a special "combat group" that duplicated the functions of "Werwolf." This unit included two battalions, staffed by fanatical teenagers, led by Wehrmacht officers and Waffen-SS. The "combat group PO" took an active part in the battles for Vienna. When it became clear that the Austrian capital would not be able to be held, on April 17 the remnants of this formation retreated to the west. But previously a partisan team was formed from the group, which was thrown into the rear of the Red Army. Despite the shortage of fuel, similar guerrilla units in Eastern Austria were no exception. In this region, "werewolves" were quite active, bringing a lot of trouble to the Soviet units. They saw the main goal of drawing in units of the Red Army in the main theatre of operations - so the teenagers tried to help the Wehrmacht. On the eve of the fall of Vienna, seventy members of the State Department were able to choose from it. Settled in the Vienna Woods, this small unit was gradually replenished with water from the defeated units. Moreover, contrary to popular belief that the ROA at the end of the war tried to resist the Nazis, this group was joined by a sufficient number of Vlasovites. On April 13, this combined detachment attacked the workshops in the Litzendorf district, where Soviet tanks were being repaired, three tanks and several armoured vehicles were destroyed during the attack. On April 18, this formation attacked a transport convoy in the vicinity of the city of Hagenenstein. The next night, an unsuccessful attempt was made to mine the road near Eichengran. When this diversion failed, the detachment blew up the island, which was located slightly to the east. Then the railway station in Rekavinkel was destroyed, which was used for the standing of Soviet troops. On April 21, teenagers from this partisan detachment ambushed the Soviet convoy - three trucks were destroyed. A few days later several Soviet trucks were fired and pelted with grenades. At the same time, a small detachment of the Red Army was killed, which stopped in the Kaumberg forest. On May 1, the Soviets decided to present a "surprise". In Heinfeld, the partisans interrupted the protection of the fuel depots and blew them up. By this time, the partisan detachment was reduced to the level of a handful of adolescents who spent most of their time trying to hide from the NKVD units. On May 5, they were able to cross the front line. But then they were disappointed - they found out, That Dönitz forbade any guerrilla adventures. But, despite this, the new head of Germany received the squad leader, 16-year-old Alfred Bort, who was awarded the Knight's Cross. But for this teenager the war has already ended.

Small partisan detachments also operated in the Western Alps. In addition to teenagers, they were partially manned by SS men. With these "werewolves" collided American armored units, when they crossed the "northern mountain passages". These young fanatics intimidated the civilian population, spreading leaflets with threats. But their traditional tactic was an unexpected attack. As a rule, American soldiers, driving along the road, did not pay attention to playing children. It was worth them to go forward, as "playing children" opened fire on them from the rear. An American officer recalled: "The world for these children from the Hitler Youth has collapsed before our eyes. Soon nothing would be left of him ... Without the opportunity to become real soldiers, to wear uniforms and fight in the composition of the active military units, the children decided to show, That they are still capable of sacrificing themselves. There was one boy, whom we managed to take prisoner. His grenade got into my tank, but did not explode.

I was amazed that this jerk could endanger my life, I jumped out of the tank, grabbed him by the breasts and started yelling. When I let him go, the boy fell on the grass and started screaming hysterically. He said that he had to die in the name of the Fuhrer. " Such incidents were not always resolved by peace. In Wellendorf, a teenager who came from Berlin killed several French soldiers with a grenade launcher. He was caught and shot on the spot. In the town of Sharding (Upper Austria), the Americans captured a detachment of teenagers. All of them were immediately killed, and the bodies were thrown into the river.

In some cases, fanatics managed to retreat deep into the mountains. In the vicinity of Benediktbeuern for a long time after the surrender of Germany, there was a partisan detachment consisting of teenagers and several SS men. Their commander, Reutimann, undertook repeated forays, during which massacres were carried out against the Germans, who dared to cooperate with the occupation authorities. These "werewolves" left their shelters only after in July 1945 the American units began combing the surrounding mountains. Some of the members of this detachment were captured when they descended from the mountains to get supplies or to carry out reconnaissance. In the summer of 1945, Johannes List was captured, in the opinion of the American intelligence services, one of the most dangerous leaders of the HJ-Werewolves. He was arrested when he tried to visit his wife. Leaf was one of Arthur Axman's associates. Axman himself, who was in Berlin until the end of the war, managed to escape from the Soviet ring after Hitler's death. For more than seven months he was hiding in Bohemia and South Germany, maintaining contact with the combat groups of his charges. Despite the careerism that he showed in the Third Reich, he could not be denied courage. During his illegal situation, he made numerous trips around Germany, trying to coordinate the actions of partisans and underground members. Axman was arrested when he tried to cross the border of the American and Soviet occupation zones. Which he showed in the Third Reich, he could not be denied courage. During his illegal situation, he made numerous trips around Germany, trying to coordinate the actions of partisans and underground members. Axman was arrested when he tried to cross the border of the American and Soviet occupation zones. Which he showed in the Third Reich, he could not be denied courage. During his illegal situation, he made numerous trips around Germany, trying to coordinate the actions of partisans and underground members. Axman was arrested when he tried to cross the border of the American and Soviet occupation zones.

The genius of the "Axman plan" was that, even in the occupied territory, GW-Werwolf could safely continue its activities. For this purpose, a corresponding financial base was created prudently. First of all, Axman appointed his deputy and leader of Dresden GJ Frank as the leader of the military-political wing of the Alpine "werewolves." In order to organize the production of agitation literature, he was allocated 50,000 Reichsmarks. But much more was in the hands of Axman's economic adviser Willie Haydemann, a former schoolteacher. He was given 1.5 million Reichsmarks, with which Heidemann went to the Alps. He was appointed head of the so-called economic section of the HJ-Werwolf. His task was to establish a business, the profit from which was to go to finance the partisan movement. To create the appropriate legend, Heidemann strictly forbade contacts with active "werewolves." He had to create his own enterprise, which for the species would actively cooperate with the Americans. On the eve of the surrender of Germany, the imperial treasurer handed the GD functionary Dreblov 10 million Reichsmarks. Most of this money was intended for Heidemann. When Dreblov died in October 1945, control of this money passed to another employee of the central apparatus of the Hitler Youth, a certain Kowalski. Both these functionaries were closely acquainted with Heidemann, and on the eve of the defeat were under his command. He had to create his own enterprise, which for the species would actively cooperate with the Americans.

With money and clear instructions Heidemann arrived in Bad Tolz. In late April 1945, he made the first major investment and bought a transport company, Tessmann and Sons, which had branches throughout Germany. The company's management officer SS Liebens did not see any prospects for his company, which was badly damaged during the massive February bombing. So he was happy to sell his business to Heidemann. The same bought it for a meager amount of 10 thousand marks - provided that Leibens himself remains his partner. "Tessmann and Sons" later became the main cover for Heydemann's activities. Since the company was a transport company, it was possible to significantly expand the communication network of "werewolves". Heidemann himself did his best to get into the confidence in the occupation authorities. He even personally met with General Patton. Moreover, a cunning underground worker involved in his business some American officers. In the frequency, such was Captain Goodloo, who tried to ensure that his business did not burn out, and, not suspecting the true intentions of Heidemann, he provided about the necessary documents. Meanwhile, Heidemann himself maintained a constant connection with Franke, providing all the necessary Nazi guerrillas throughout South Germany. This underground man proved to be a talented businessman. In the summer of 1945 he was able to acquire six more companies. Engaged in "business", he traveled unhindered through the British and American zones of occupation. In addition, he started extensive contacts in a major German business. In particular, acquaintance with the family of Krupp allowed him to penetrate into the Ruhr.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the HJ-"werewolves", hiding in the British zone of occupation, decided to step up. The key figure here was Willy Lokhel, who at the end of the war moved to Oldenburg. Here he had to wait for instructions for further action. But time passed, and orders did not arrive. By July, 1945 Лохель has decided, that it is time to pass to independent actions. On his own initiative, he restored contacts with his comrades in the Hitler Youth. After several meetings, he compiled a pretentious program for the "future German youth", which consisted of 12 items. Lokhel himself in his work emphasized the restoration of contacts, the forgery of documents, the collection of information, which later was to serve the revival of the National Socialist movement. Such intentions were supported by other prominent figures of the State Duma, Which were also located in the British zone of occupation: Kurt Badaus and Ernst Overbeck. These activists of the State Duma together with their entourage, after the defeat of Germany, secretly controlled the remnants of the Hitler Youth. They even created an illegal organization called "The True Society". Unlike the American zone of occupation, the political and economic aspects of the resistance were very poorly developed here. Without significant financial injections, similar to those that enabled Heidemann to acquire the firm Tessmann and Sons, their plans were doomed to failure. Lokhel planned to ensure the future movement of money thanks to beekeeping, the sale of handicrafts.

But the most active figures (like Badaus) quickly realized that the success of their conspiracy largely depends on Heidemann's good contacts with the southern wing of the HJ-Werwolf. To some extent they managed to establish communication. Gustav Memminger, the leader of the Rhine HJ "werewolves" became responsible for maintaining the connection between the southern and northern wing of the HJ-Werwolf. Ernst Overbeck helped him to establish contacts directly with Arthur Axman. At the beginning of November 1945, Axman himself entered the British zone of occupation, where he met with Overbeck and Memminger. In the winter of the same year, he made an inspection trip to Lubeck. Despite all the efforts, the leaders of the northern wing of HJ-Werwolf did not get the funding they so much expected. Heidemann was not inclined to part with his own resources. He made it very clear at a meeting with the leaders of the northern wing, which took place in Kassel, that he did not receive an assignment to finance the "werewolves" that operated in the British zone of occupation. Such financing could be possible only when he, Heidemann, achieves a certain success and can consistently provide all the necessary underground workers in southern Germany. After that, Lokhel tried to meet with Kowalski, but the latter also refused. None of the southern leaders of the HJ-"werewolves" did not want to part with the money.

The most noteworthy in this situation was Heidemann's conservatism. He was frightened by several large-scale American shares, which they held in the summer of 1945. Operation "Double Shah" was directed against "werewolves". Heidemann managed to avoid exposure only because he worked as a typist in the American occupation administration. He rightly believed that in response to such sweeps, the "werewolves" would respond with yet more fierce attacks. As a result, Heidemann began to actively oppose any radical resistance. Military sabotage, he considered empty. He covered his cowardice with the desire to achieve the main goal of the "Axman plan", namely, to preserve the "national essence" of the Germans. He hoped to achieve this by integrating his company into the economic system of the new Germany.

The basic principles of the future political movement were developed by Memminger. They reached us, because they were seized during a search in his apartment. In his program of a "national conspiracy," Memminger noted, like Axman, that the main goal was to preserve the essence of the German people. In Germany, since it - according to Nazi phraseology - in 1933 abandoned imperialistic goals, a new national solidarity was to emerge. The country, which preserved its national unity, had to take into account the interests of other nations. In this respect, it became the main bastion of the struggle against Bolshevism. "The past twelve years have not gone in vain, since many of the national-socialist principles and achievements are now used by the current parties." As for practical issues, Then a new movement was to prevent the denazification of the country. To count on the success of the new movement, it was necessary to preserve the unity of the former National Socialists. For this purpose, it was planned to create a single control center, an ideological headquarters. In the conditions of the illegal existence of the movement and its headquarters, there were no plans for the existence of various organizational forms. The main goal at the initial stage was the consolidation of all known personalities who remained loyal to Germany. These people should not be politically compromised. According to Memminger, the main means to achieve these goals was mutual economic support and clandestine propaganda. For this purpose, it was planned to create a single control center, an ideological headquarters. In the conditions of the illegal existence of the movement and its headquarters, there were no plans for the existence of various organizational forms.

As we can see, the military-political wing of the HJ-Werwolf adhered to the same principles as Haydemann. Probably, he received from Franke approval of the plan, which assumed the transition of the movement from sabotage to political actions. Although it is possible that some of the most radical elements have remained faithful to the principle of direct action, which caused a certain tension between the economic and military-political wing of the GRU-Werwolf. Americans, for example, believed that both Lokhel and Badaus in their plans were oriented toward sabotage, although the British occupation authorities were satisfied with their testimonies, that they avoided extremist actions, preferring legal methods of work (as far as possible). It was even alleged that many "werewolves" were ready to cooperate with the Western powers. At least, The United Party of Germany cooperated with "national conspirators". It attracted numerous youth groups, for example "Edelweiss-pirates", to later sabotage exclusively in the Soviet zone of occupation. But the documents found in 1946, spoke about something else. The agents of the United Party of Germany prepared an explosion of the British military headquarters in Bad Ouenhausen. Another "national conspirator" from the British zone, the SS officer Pimoller, created his own "secret army", which he called "Blue Falcons". It consisted of several hundred people, mostly former SS members and HJ members. A distinctive feature of the "falcons" was a blue shirt and blue trousers. Members of this organization had many weapons caches. It was the Blue Falcons who used the number 88 as a greeting. It was a conspiratorial greeting "Heil Hitler!". The number 88 meant a double repetition of the Latin letter H, which was the eighth in the German alphabet.

HJ-Werwolf was so significant that very soon attracted the attention of the Allies' counterintelligence. Already in June 1945, American intelligence agencies had suspicions about the subject of cooperation of the firm "Tessmann and Sons" with "werewolves." Several agents were introduced into the transport company. By the autumn of 1945, the American occupation authorities had received enough evidence of what the real activity of Heidemann's firm was. It was at this time that the British counterintelligence began to work on the Nazi underground in its zone of occupation. She managed to get into the hands of one of the leaders of the northern wing of the HJ-Werwolf, Gunter Ebeling. By the end of 1945, the Allies received lists of members and sympathizers of the HJ-Werwolf. In total, there were 1000 names from the American zone of occupation and 1500 from the British. As a result, a joint operation was planned in which both British and American special services were to participate. This action was codenamed "Childhood". Its implementation took place in the winter of 1945/46. After this operation, in the hands of the Allies, all the least important leaders of the HJ-Werwolf turned out to be. Axman and his assistants Memminger and Oberbeck were captured in December 1945. An interesting fact: they detained them as business partners of Heidemann, without even guessing what a large fish was in the net. After the first interrogations, it was decided to eliminate one of the shelters of the "werewolves", which was located in the Alps. After a four-hour ascent, the Americans, blinded by the blizzard, found refuge in the partisans. In it there were only two teenagers and a hiding place with weapons. Grandiose operation did not work. On January 7, 1946, Heidemann and his company's employees were arrested. At home, Haydemann was found half a million marks, which were not even extracted from the cellophane packaging of the Reichsbank! In February 1946, the British services neutralized the leaders of the "national conspiracy". In order to finally eliminate HJ-Werwolf's network, another large-scale operation was carried out at the end of March. In its course 800 people were seized. This time everything went not so smoothly. Many of the arrested were fanatical National Socialists. When they were arrested, they resisted fiercely. In some cases, a shooting started. Despite all these measures, some of the offshoots of the movement continued to exist. The Unified Party of Germany, the "Blue Falcons" and the group remained intact, Emerged in Schleswig-Holstein around the regional leader of the Hitler Youth, who at one time was evacuated from East Prussia. Their liquidation occurred a few months later.

Operation Childhood destroyed the youth underground - the last fragment of the Third Reich, which retained its legal capacity. Not so long ago, a series of articles appeared in the German media outlets, unanimously condemning the HJ "werewolves", although the regional peculiarities of this movement were not taken into account at all. The British counterintelligence officers themselves assumed that the Lohel-Badaus-Overbeek group did not stand on extremist positions. This becomes obvious if one compares their plans with the activity of the southern wing from the American zone of occupation. On the other hand, the northern wing arose much earlier, although it did not have serious financial support. Gustav Memminger in November 1945 warned the representatives of the northern wing about the mass arrests that took place in the south of the country. But the British always looked at security issues through their fingers.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize - there is nothing surprising in that the Hitler Youth made the most titanic efforts in order to survive. This zeal has not been shown by any official structure of the Third Reich. A lot of historians adhere to the point of view that National Socialism was able to gain a foothold in the political landscape of Germany precisely thanks to the youth. The GD itself was designed as a mechanism that could support the energy of the Nazi movement. Thus, it was quite natural that the regime at a certain point turned to the services of its youth organization.
It is still unclear whether the German youth demonstrated their zeal for the struggle against the "invaders". Above, many examples have been cited, when in certain places many adolescents simply burned with a desire to resist the enemy. But there were other regions and areas where we could observe a completely different picture. It can be assumed that a significant part of the youth who survived the last months of the war turned out to be "cured" of Nazism. Cases of disappointment in the perishing regime, probably, were more numerous than examples of heroic self-sacrifice, to which adolescents in the detachments of Werwolf and Volkssturm were. One of the officers of the East Lancashire Regiment, who fought in the north-west of Germany, was constantly amazed by the following fact.

In one town German boys could fanatically fight, as for the post-war organization liquidated during Operation Childhood, it involved not so many adolescents. Its management was in the hands of quite adult people who were trying to preserve a structure that could appeal to the youth in an uncertain future. Some of the leaders of the "national conspiracy", rallying mainly around Horst Voigt, planned to infiltrate into a wide variety of youth organizations in order to work peacefully with teenagers.

Surveys conducted by the Allies after the war showed that frankly Nazi sympathies in the youth environment disappeared surprisingly quickly. American surveys among German teenagers, held in July 1945, found that most German teenagers were willing to accept American values, but at the same time subconsciously gravitated towards authoritarian democracy, which was explained by a subconscious orientation toward national-socialist "truths". The most important conclusion was that 75% of the youth had abandoned their former leaders. Moreover, the youth did not agree that the former HJ functionaries would be included in the leadership of the new youth organizations. The wave of post-war street crime also received a political assessment. Many young people believed that National Socialism was responsible for these crimes, The Hitler Youth proved to be an effective tool only in a dictatorship. After the collapse of the Hitler regime, no more than 5% of German teenagers were involved in various cliques and underground organizations. The activities of the HJ-Werwolf in 1945 failed. Leaders of the Hitler Youth did not manage to mobilize the youth.

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[Germanicus]

Hitlerjugend: An In-Depth History: 1945 - Final defeat by Arvo L. Vercamer

The HJ and the Werewolves:

In February of 1945, German political leaders believed that there was a need to create a "rear area" guerrilla force, especially between Berlin and the Oder/Neiss rivers. "Werewolves", who by now came from about the only remaining pool of bodies available - the HJ/BDM - were told that they were now going to transform themselves into "Nationalist Socialist Partisans" who would attack Allied and Soviet rear areas as they best saw fit. Ironically, the German OKW elected to base the structure of the HJ Werewolves on the Polish resistance effort. Reinhard Gehlen (FHO) was the lead officer of this undertaking; in fact it was his idea. In the short time available, available HJ members were provided with all of the basic training they could absorb; sabotage, clandestine communications, assassination, infiltration, etc.

Available evidence indicates that a number of these HJ/BDM cells actually caused the Soviets many problems in their rear areas as they advanced towards and approached Berlin. Many individual HJ Werewolf groups continued to operate in both the Allied sectors and Soviet sector well after May of 1945, performing primarily sabotage missions more than actual assassination or combat missions. These few were blindly obedient to Germany's political leaders to the very end.

The HJ and the Volkssturm: Towards the end of 1944, the Reichsjugendführung announced its third (and final) call-up of HJ members to serve the nation in a military capacity (those born in 1928 and 1929). One of the first units created from this effort in January of 1945 were the HJ - "Panzervernichtungs-Einheiten" (HJ anti-tank formations). Members were essentially "volunteers" taken from the WEL's, so they often had a little exposure to what they could expect. The boys, often no more than 11 years of age, were quickly trained to use the latest anti-tank "Panzerfausts" and sent to the front lines.

In March of 1945, Martin Bormann recommended that BDM girls and ladies be given guns and sent to the front lines to help defend Germany. His goal was to create as many "Frauen-Batallionen" as he could. Reichsjugendführer Artur Axmann was vehemently opposed to this idea. No one could tell what horrors would befall on armed German girls and women should they ever be wounded or captured in combat by the enemy; especially by the Soviet forces. Although later, Axmann somewhat relented to Bormann by allowing BDM members to be trained on how to use pistols - but only for self-defence purposes and not for offensive actions.

Many HJ members fought as active combatants in places such as Berlin, Breslau, Danzig, Königsberg, etc., fighting the advancing Soviet forces with no more than a few Panzerfaust in their hands. While the young HJ soldiers often fought bravely, most were eventually slaughtered in combat. One of the last motion picture films taken of Adolf Hitler shows him awarding medals to members of the HJ defending Berlin outside of his bunker at the Potsdamer Platz. The name of the 12 year-old boy in the now famous newsreel was Alfred Czech; he apparently rescued 12 wounded German soldiers while under Soviet artillery and MG fire in addition to exposing a Soviet spy in Oppeln - for that, the Führer gave him the EK I. Two of the boys in the newsreel were awarded the EK I, the rest, the EK II.

After the Allied authorities had a chance to sort out the various German adult and youth organizations, civilian and military, they were able to render a decision regarding the Hitler Youth movement. It was not declared to be a criminal organization, though as a movement, the HJ was officially disbanded by the Allies.

Hitlerjugend: 1945