Those poor, helpless kids

The Hitler Youth is difficult to overestimate in terms of its significance in developing the Nazi regime. Alice Hamilton emphasizes the importance of children in the Nazi regime early on in her article. She explains that she witnessed many public gatherings and demonstrations, involving children, which centered around the swastika and Nazi Party. This notion reminded me of the scene in Hitler Youth Quex when the boy is taken to his new room in Berlin. The officer had just finished having the infamous “our Germany” conversation with Heini’s father, and the following camera shot shows the two (Heini as well as the older Nazi member) happily going into a building with a swastika draped on the outside. Because of the timing of this shot, it definitely gives the impression that “our Germany” must be connected with ideals of a swastika, especially after considering that the boy’s refuge is in a building that supports the party.
Another element of Hamilton’s article struck me as significant. She explains that the generation of Germans that were children during the war, were those that had never had much. Their fathers had perhaps fought in World War I, but their childhoods were filled with ideas of hopelessness and oppression, maturing in a society that can do nothing with its workforce. Hitler Youth Quex appeals to this group of individuals; Heini’s father explains to the Hitler Youth representative recruiting his son, shortly before the “our Germany” comment, that employment has been difficult to acquire since being injured. This injured, incapable German is able to have some of his burdens relieved by the Nazi Party, as the Hitler Youth offers to take care of his son. This part of the film speaks directly to the generation of people that have only seen unemployed and/or distraught parents, and projects the Hitler Youth as a saving grace. Kuhle Wampe also has shows an unemployed father who is struggling to find work, but the film fails to offer the family any sort of redemption from their social oppression. I think this distinction between the two films, especially considering Hamilton’s arguments, helps to understand why Hitler Junge Quex had a more substantial social impact than Kuhle Wampe.