CHAPTER 3
SERVING MEIN FOHRER
winf afternoon of April 20, 1938, Adolf
Hider's forS'-ninth birthday I ws Norn iDto,/u,r@&, the
junior bnnch of the Hitler Youth. When I raised three
lingers of my right hand to tle sky i. th€ oath to dg
hii?Er, m) left hand gripping l}te nag of my unit. rn) spine
On the cool,
tingled.
iD the Hilet.looth tr do nt Auy
tin6 in lova ndJaitifil^$
"l p'oniv
or all
to help the
Frfirer-n
help ne God."
The last line carried a message that tumed otrt to be
true for many of us:
.
I
I
"Our baanet nezns nore
19
I
than deorh."
This bond of death, pledged by Alfons and millions of other
young cermans, was rootd in a deep lwe for the Fatherland.
De:ll:,Alabd iibq Alles (G$many Over All) the national anthem
proclaimed. Now, with the dear Fatherland supposedly
threatened by the evil Jelvs and gpsies, millions of German
teens rallied to its rescue. The Hitler Youth broryht them
I
I
nu
PARALLEL JOURNEYS
as one strong force, ready to fight for th€n Fiilrl.
Perhaps because he himself had droPped out at an early
together
Adolf Hider did not consider school the most important
part of a child's education. Far more important was the
/u,r@& goung Folk), which children could join when they
turned ten. Starting at age six, they could become PiDpJ6,
apprentices in th€Ju,r/o&. Careful reco.ds were kePt of their
performance. l-eaders wrote reports about the children's
age,
a*
and-most important-their understanding of Nazi beliefs. If their rccords
were good, they would be admitted to the -/uagvo?}. But
progrcss in
etics, camping, behavior,
before they could join, they must ffrst pass
a
Mu'probe, or test
of courage.
Tlrc members of my s.id', a unit of about forty to fffty
bop, were required to dive head lirst off the three-meter
boaid-about ten feet high-into the town\ swimming
pool. There were some stinging belly flops, but the Pain
was worth it. Wlen we passed the test, the {ifteen-yeaold leader of our compmy Landed us the cowted dagger
with the inscription "Blood and Honor" on its blade,
meaning that we were fuily accepted members of the
Children didn't need their parents' permission to join the
Hider Youth. In fact, m adult who tried to Leep a child {iom
joining could be sent to prison. Nazi teaders didn't encourage
parents to hav€ t]rcir children ioin lnstead they sPoke direcdy
to the children, building ir them a bwning desire to b€ Part
of this great new movement. "You are a suPerior race of people," Hider Youth leaders pr€ached to their young recruits
"It is natural that you should rule the world."' All this praise
20
Sdri!, Mein Fiihrer
and promise of a glorious tuture insPired miuions of children
to join.
Parens who didn't agree with Hider Youth leaders' ideas
found themselves powerless to change their children's minds.
Alfons's father was one who didn't agree. On a rare visit to
the family farrn, Jakob saw his son in uniform for the iirst
Wildly he shook his fist at me. "You have atl the makings
of an arrogant Nazi," he shouted. "They're Soing to bury
you in that monkey suit, Du re.ddDnt r ldidr." But I looked
coldly through hin and walked away. I was beyond his
cr&y ranting and ravinS.
It
t
l
Girls as well as boys were attracted by the power, gtory,
and importance that the Hider Youth prom:sed While boys
served in the /uagrc*, girls became/uagmadel (oung Maidend. Their uniforms were white blouses with ties and tuIl
blu€ skins, often highl€hted by the not-tdo-lady'ike hea9
marching shoes. Boys' uniforms looked much like those of
the SA, th€ Storm lioopers. Around the upper left am of
their brown shirts th€y wore an armband beanng the black
Nazi swastika inside a white diamond, on a field of red and
white. Pants were black, bermuda short length, and were
worn with white knee socks.
cirls' training was much the same as boys and included
long hours ofmarching ud hikjng. Bur $ere "as one impor
tant difference. From the beginning, girls were taught that
their most important duty to the Fatherland was to become
mothers of healthy Aryan German babies. It was best if they
could rnarry and then become motiers. But often motherLood was str€ssed so strongly that girls became pregnant
2t
PARALLEL JOURNEYS
before marriage-as part of their "duty" to th€ Fatherland.
Within the Hitler Youtl, there were swerai divisions, just
as there wer€ in the Welmaclr or reglar army. Alfons
belonged to the Faghreazug, the drum and fanfare platoon.
D
ring parades, the Id4JAE z,g almys preceded any large
units of the Hitl€r Youth in order to set the marching
rhlthn. Hundreds of boys were arraDged in fornation
ahead
of the flawles* eoose-steppine soldiers who fol-
lowed. The Weirmocir tried to keep cordial relatiom with
the Hider Youth because we wde its pool of tuture manpower There was noer a single raly without us. We wele
the icing on the cake.
Such fanfare at public gatherings delighted the German
people, and Hider's men wer€ masters at it. When the Nazis
staged an event, it was always a spectacular show For Alfons
Hecl the summer of 1938 ended in the grandest show of all.
"before which werfhing else in my short life paled. . . . lt
would bind me to Adolf Hider until the bitter end."
Although he had been a member of the_/uagrc* for only
ffve months, Alfons r*as chosen to att€nd the Nuremberg
Party Congress or tuicnspa"eiror, the "high mass" of Nazism.
For centuries Nuremberg, in the southern state of Bamria,
had been the showcas€ city of German history The Nazis
used it as the annual gathering spot for hun&eds of tiousands of loyal followen. A huge tent city was set up, and for
se\€n da)r people attended rallies praising Adolf Hider, the
pow€r of the Nazis, and the glory of the new Germany "Even
for a ten-year-old," recalled Alfons, "it was a near feverish,
weekJong high that lasted into one's dr€arns."
The Day ofthe Hider Youth was Saturday, September 10:
22
SePt
,
Mein Fiihrer
Shordy befo'e noon, 80,000 Hider Youth were lined uP in
row. a. long r' rhe enrire .tadium. I he tenrion mong u.
tingled into ou tingertiPs. when Hider finally appeared,
we grected him with a drudering, triPle 'sre, Heil " (Hail
to Victory) and it took all ofour disciPline to end it there,
as
we had been instructed.
Hitlea the superb actor that he was, a]ways began his
.peeches quierJy, almo.r mdn lo md Then hi' voice ro.e.
took on power and his riSht nst Punctuated rhe air in a
series
of short, powertul Fbs "You, ny youth,"
he
shouted, with his eyes seeming to stare .ight at m€, "are
our nation's most precious guarantee for a great future'
nw order
under National Socialism! You, my youth," he screamed
hoarsely, "never forget that one day you wilJ tule the
You are destined to be the leadere of a glorious
For minutes on end, we shouted at the toP of our
dom our faces: "Sie| H.11, Si.8
Heil, Sjeg HeiI!" From that moment on, I belonged to
lungs, with tears streaming
Adolf Hider body and soul.
I
Three days later, during Nazi Party Day ..remonies at
Nuremberg, speaking on the theme of Greater Germany,
Hider issued a warning. He was talking about the neighboring
country of Czechoslorakia and the Germans uho lived in its
northern region, the Sudetenland. He spoke of "the oppression," the unfair treatment, that Sudeten Germans we.e suffering at the hands of the Czech government "lftiese tor-
tured creatures cannot gain rights and
assistance by
themselves," he warned, "they can get both fiom u*."'
Alt this talk of oppression was just an excuse. Wlut Hider
realy wanted was to invade Czedroslorakia so he could gain
23
T
PAR,{LLEL JOURNEYS
more land, Ier€nslduD, for his people. And the rrih.r was
used to getting what he wanted.
Just six months earlier, at dawn on March 12, German
army troops had crossed into Austria, the border €ountry of
Adolf Hitler's birth. His purpose at that time, he claimed,
was "to restore my dear hometand to the cerman Reich."r
Most Austrians welcomed the &i[rer. They were delighted
with what they called,Anscllus or "reunilication of the Germann people." Austnans and Cermans were now one again,
as they had been earlier in history. It was a quiet takeover.
Without losing one life, Adolf Hider added nine million people and vast new lands to the Third Reich.
Now, as he prepared to enter Czechoslovakia, people
remember€d the Austrian ,4ns.ilu$. Many began to ask thern-
just how far the Fulrcr planned to go. But Hitler was
qui& to promise that this would be his last move into other
countries. Once he gained back the Sudetenland, he assured
them, he would seek no new terrjtory. Common people and
world leaders alike believed him. That is why no one made a
move to help the Czechs on October 1, 1938, when German
selves
troops invaded the Sudetenland.
The Czech people did not welcome Hider as the Austrians
had done. But although Czechoslovakia had an arrny nearly as
strong as th€ t\l€ifudcir, it could not hold out against tbe Germans. within days, Adolf Hider had accomplished another
victorl and brought an additional three and one-half
miliion people und€r his control. With the S'rdetenland
under his belt, Hitler laughed off his promise of no more
invasions. Within six months, he had taken over all of
easy
Czechoslovakia.
Hider Youth members went wild with pnde and excite24
Sdid
Mein Fuhrer
ment. These easy victories were certain proof of the strength
and superiority of the Fatherland. It was obvious to most
teenagen that Hider was invincible-he could not be beaten.
In their minds, der Fnhrq was more powerful than God.
Alfons Heck was one
ofthoe frrn followers.
Death was merely an absEact idea to us youngst€rs. Germany was a country of sun flecked, unlimited prcmise. If
Hider had died that year, he would have been celebrated
of the greatest statesmen of German history,
his
hatred of the Jews. No wond leader o{ the
despite
tine approached Hider's ability to draw the praise of hh
people. I wtched women becone hystencal and faint
as one
shen he rrniled ar t-hem.
Hider's hatred ofJews didn't dampen his image in most
people's minds. Good Aryans paid little attenrion to their
herot darker side. Few of them objected to the many unfair
laws that were now being forced upon the Jews. One of the
newest demanded that all German Jew ue only Jewish lirst
names. If you were Jewish with a common ffrst name like
Karl or Heidi, tle Nazis said you must change it to som€thing
"obviously Jenish" like Abrahan or Saah so you could be
id€ntified more easily
All across Gomany the fate of the Jews was beginning to
look more and more bleak. Headlines like this one screamed off
the pages of tle vori6.id Seobocl'to, the Nazi Puty ne*tpaper:
]EWS, ABANDON ALL HOPEI
OUB AFT
I. JO I I\I IHAI IHLRII)\OT{HOLT
'.HROI I(;H
WHI'H YOII
CAN SLIP'
AlfonJs former scbool friend, Heinz Ermann, was among
tfiose whose families heeded the dire warnings. IJke thou-
2\
PARALLEL JOURNElS
sands
of other Jewish families, the Ermanns ftanticqlh took
steps to dip through the net.
One afternoon, Heinz came to our farm, all dressed up in
his best r€lvet suit, to say good-bye. "My Uncl€ Herbert is
tahng me witl him for a while," he said sadly. uncle Herben was a rabbi in the city of Cologne.
"tdq4€
thaCs best,
HeiE,"
said my grandrnother.
"lt'll
be nice for you seeing a big city." Heinzh father had
decided to send his only son away, since it was impossible
for
a
Jewish child to go unnoticed in a small
tou.
Sooner
or later, somebody in Wittlich would call Heinz a dirg
Jew<r worse-and his father wmt€d to spare him that.
My grandmother gwe us a piece of cake, normatly a
Sunday treat, and then we shook hands awkwddry ',aC
l4le&oelea, Frau Heck," Heinz said, but he iust nodded to
ne. we both knew that our Fiendship had ended. hter,
when I had to go through interviews for promotions in
the Hider Youth, I alwa)6 denied having had a Jew tor a
friend. Before long, Heinz had become tust a fleeting
26