Question

Hitler was frantically interested in the youth of the country. He felt that a strong Nazi society could be established only by increasing the number of 'good German' children and by teaching them Nazi ideology. He wanted to promote sports such as boxing among them.

Give three values which can be reflected in the game like boxing.

Answer 1

Hint: Adolf Hitler, who headed Germany's Nazi Party, was the twentieth century's greatest and hated dictator. Any non-Jewish boy that grew up in Germany at the time was obliged to become a member of Hitler's Youth. Children who became a part of Hitler's youth were seen as those who would bring a promising future to Nazi Germany.

Complete answer:
The Hitler Youth was the Nazi Party's youth organization in Germany. It was the only authorized boys' youth organization in Germany from 1936 to 1945, and it was partly an unofficial military group; there was a 'Hitler Youth proper' for male teenagers aged 14 to 18, and also a 'German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth' for boys of ages 10 to 14.

The boys in the youth went through military exercises and were taught how to use firearms. In the summer, they worked in the fields and competed in sports, particularly boxing. The physical challenges and competitiveness appealed to some of the boys. Others, on the other hand, find the relentless emphasis on preparation for war and compromising themselves for the sake of the nation exhausting and alienating.

Some of the values that Hitler believed could be imparted to the youth from boxing are:

(i) Hitler claimed that iron-hearted children could be modelled through boxing and that this sport could make them tough youngsters.
The boys of the youth were required to be the builders of the future Nazi Germany community. Nazism believed in giving no mercy to anyone who went against the Nazism policies, so the future organization had to maintain the same level of relentlessness. For this purpose, it was necessary that the boys learned to be strong hearted and prepared to face anything.

(ii) The game has the potential to make them tough enough to deal with any scenario.
No matter what troubles they faced during war, they should be able to deal with it and overcome it, for this reason, boxing seems to be the best sport since in boxing success comes only through a great deal of suffering.

(iii) Promoting masculinity in young boys was very important to Hitler, because he believed that only the most masculine of boys could be the leaders of a country.
Boxing makes one tougher and it brings out the man in any young boy. This sport is able to challenge a person’s strength both physically and emotionally. Boys would gradually develop a higher sense of their masculine traits while training for a sport like boxing.

Note: Through Hitler Youth groups, the Nazi state attempted to establish a uniform youth society. However, some young people declined to take part. This was often a political or religious expression. Occasionally, their rejection was motivated by teenage revolt or self-expression.