Hitler Youth: Chapters 3–4

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
This nonfiction work tells the story of the Hilterjugend — a group of German youths who were indoctrinated with Nazi policies and beliefs, making them an important part of the Nazi's World War II efforts.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Chapter 2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6, Chapters 7–8, Chapter 9–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. prosperity
    a state of growth with rising profits and full employment
    Just as her sister Inge and brother Hans did, she believed that Hitler would help Germany achieve greatness, fortune, and prosperity.
  2. alienated
    socially disoriented
    In school, Sophie felt alienated because she could not confide in a classmate or teacher.
  3. stifled
    held in check or kept back with difficulty
    But for now, Sophie was stuck in high school, feeling frustrated and stifled.
  4. implement
    pursue to a conclusion or bring to a successful issue
    They threw out old textbooks and implemented new ones.
  5. espouse
    choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.
    Dressed in full uniform, entire Hitler Youth squads—as many as one hundred boys—showed up at classroom doors to intimidate teachers who did not espouse the Nazi worldview.
  6. parochial
    relating to or supported by or located in a parish
    Catholic parochial schools and Protestant denominational schools were also affected.
  7. eugenics
    the promotion of controlled breeding in human populations
    Nazi teachers changed the curriculum, adding two new subjects: racial science and eugenics.
  8. inferior
    falling short of some prescribed norm
    The students were taught how to identify Jews by learning the physical traits that the Nazis claimed characterized “inferior” people.
  9. hostile
    characterized by enmity or ill will
    The racist teachings and attitudes made school a hostile environment for Jewish students.
  10. intrepid
    invulnerable to fear or intimidation
    “A violently active, dominating, intrepid, brutal youth—that is what I am after,” he said.
  11. indifferent
    showing no care or concern in attitude or action
    “Youth must be indifferent to pain. There must be no weakness and tenderness in it.”
  12. exemplary
    worthy of imitation
    At age twelve, Jungvolk members who held exemplary Party Record Books and who displayed outstanding leadership qualities were selected to attend one of three types of elite schools established by the Nazis.
  13. elite
    a group or class of persons enjoying superior status
    The Order Castles were prestigious finishing schools for the Nazi elite.
  14. unprecedented
    novel; having no earlier occurrence
    But Hitler’s superior Aryan-race theories were shattered by a young African-American college student named Jesse Owens, who won an unprecedented four gold medals in track events.
  15. liberal
    having political views favoring reform and progress
    The banned books included titles written by Jewish authors as well as authors considered “liberal” by the Nazi Party.
  16. clandestine
    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
    To continue reading their favorite books, the Scholl children formed their own clandestine reading circle and shared forbidden books with others.
  17. crude
    not carefully or expertly made
    On windows and doors, the Star of David, a symbol of the Jewish religion, was crudely painted in thick yellow
 or black paint.
  18. patronize
    be a regular customer or client of
    In Berlin, Storm Troopers and SS campaign to convince customers not to patronize Jewish-owned shops.
  19. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    That afternoon, ten-year-old Alfons Heck watched as army trucks careened into the marketplace of Wittlich, a small town in the Rhineland area of western Germany.
  20. wield
    handle effectively
    Wielding rubber clubs, the Storm Troopers and SS men fanned out.
  21. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
    Alfons watched as people he knew stole the shoes. Noting the irony, he said, “The shoes were picked up in minutes by some of the nicest people in town.”
  22. rampage
    violently angry and destructive behavior
    The rampage continued as the Storm Troopers and SS stormed the synagogue.
  23. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    They smashed the intricate lead-crystal window above the entrance and flung furniture through other windows.
  24. distraught
    deeply agitated especially from emotion
    Distraught, Bert wanted to see the destruction for himself.
  25. perpetrator
    someone who commits wrongdoing
    Though most of the perpetrators were Storm Troopers and SS, many Hitler Youth joined in the attacks on Jews and Jewish property.
  26. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    “That day could have been the day for the German people to rise up in solidarity to support the Jews,” says historian Daniel Jonah Goldhagen.
  27. wreak
    cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
    Alfons Heck described the sensation of watching Storm Troopers and SS wreak pain and destruction.
  28. spontaneous
    said or done without having been planned in advance
    The next day at school, Alfons’s teacher, Herr Becker, explained the riots to his students, saying, “Destruction is never pretty, but this was a spontaneous action of the people to show international Jewry that it can’t get away with the murder of German diplomats.”
  29. retaliation
    action taken in return for an injury or offense
    Herr Becker was referring to the Nazis’ claim that the riots were an unplanned uprising in retaliation for the murder of a high-ranking Nazi official by a Jew.
  30. stricken
    affected by something overwhelming
    It was true that a young Jewish man, grief- stricken over the Nazis’ mistreatment of his parents, had shot and killed the official, but the riots were not spontaneous.
  31. pogrom
    organized persecution of an ethnic group, especially Jews
    In actuality, the pogrom—the massacre and brutal treatment of helpless people—had been carefully planned, organized, and carried out by the Nazi government, namely by Joseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda.
  32. staggering
    so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
    The physical damages of Kristallnacht were staggering. The Storm Troopers, SS, Hitler Youth, and others had destroyed hundreds of millions of reichsmarks (German currency) in property.
  33. assets
    anything of material value owned by a person or company
    “I would have rathered you had killed two hundred Jews and not destroyed such valuable assets,” said Hermann Göring, founder of the Gestapo.
  34. instigate
    serve as the inciting cause of
    Two days later, the Nazis ordered the Jews to pay one billion reichsmarks (about $400 million) as punishment for the Nazi official’s death, which they claimed instigated the riots.
  35. pension
    regular payment to allow a person to subsist without working
    For many, it also meant giving up their shops, their businesses, their pensions, and their life savings.
  36. quota
    a prescribed number
    To restrict the number of Jewish immigrants, they toughened their immigration quotas.
  37. embassy
    a building where diplomats live or work
    Bert Lewyn and his father stood in line at the Bolivian and then at the Chilean embassies, trying desperately to apply for a visa to South America.
  38. decree
    a legally binding command or decision
    That year, the Nazis forced Jews to wear the yellow Star of David. The Star Decree made every Jewish man, woman, and child bait for attack.
  39. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    The United States also denied entry to the refugees. Thus, the ship was forced to return to Europe, where several European countries were cajoled into accepting the passengers.
  40. conscience
    a feeling of shame when you do something immoral
    Some Hitler Youth had twinges of conscience over the treatment of the Jews.
Created on Thu Aug 25 11:15:07 EDT 2022 (updated Tue Oct 18 11:32:50 EDT 2022)

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