Description
Book SynopsisFounded in 1922 the Hitler Youth movement was the second oldest Nazi group. Comprising male youths aged 14 - 18, by December 1936 membership stood at over 5 million. During the Second World War the role of Hitlerjugend evolved from assisting with the postal, train and fire services into full war fighting. Recruits went into units such as the elite 12th SS Panzer-Division 'Hitlerjugend' and we see graphic images of this Waffen-SS force in action both on the Eastern and Western fronts. Even as the Nazi cause faced inevitable defeat these units fought with fanatical and disturbing bravery and after defeat in May 1945 elements carried out guerrilla actions in the Bavarian and Austrian mountains. The reader will find much original material on this legendary but distasteful Nazi organisation.
Trade ReviewHow Nazi boy soldiers fought advancing Allied troops in the final days of the Second World War is described in a new book about the Hitlerjugend. Founded in 1922, the Nazi youth movement boasted five million members by the time war broke out in September 1939. The book, HitlerA fs Boy Soldiers (Pen and Sword: GBP12.99), tells how these German youngsters, after the fall of Berlin, fled to the mountains of Bavaria and Austria in the hope of continuing resistance as partisans. Using rare, mostly unpublished images, author Hans Seidler traces the development of the Htlerjugend into tough fighting formations. One caption to an action picture explains that with so many youngsters in fighting units, their officers replaced the usual cigarette ration with sweets until the boys were old enough to smoke. Dover Express & Folkestone Herald Another great release from Pen and Sword in their Images of War series. The book tells the compelling story of the rise and fall off this well known division during the years before and during WWII. One can only imagine how the Allied forces felt when they met this formidable fighting formation. Rare and often unseen black and white images are used like in any other release in this Images of War series. Inscale
