The White Rose, Part 1: I remember the time.

» biogardener - I remember the time.

I remember the time. I was close to my mother, and she cried a lot in those days, mainly because she was angry with what was going on and because she felt helpless to do anything about it. I have to correct one thing you say in the article. No one "joined" the Hitler Youth. Attendance was compulsory. I was too young to attend, but my older brothers were not. I believe that the meetings happened two evenings a week. The last straw for my mother came when the boys came home with their uniforms covered in mud, because the leaders decided that a rainy day was the best time to drill the boys on how to creep through a mine field. That was the last time my mother allowed them to attend those compulsory meetings, and the backlash was immediate.

Whether a protestor survived those years or not depended mainly on the person they crossed. Some were more humane than others. My mother got away with her little protest. Others did not. As a matter of fact, I have never heard of any other mother who protested Hitler Youth attendance.

-- posted by biogardener