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The Hitler Youth, and the Children Who Defied Hitler

Khalid Elhassan March 7, 2025 15 min

Hitlerjugend - Enthusiastic indoctrinated children at a Nazi rally — Enthusiastic indoctrinated children at a Nazi rally. K-Pics

6. Outdoor Activities as an Escape from the Nazis

Hitlerjugend opponents - Edelweiss Pirates — Edelweiss Pirates. All That is Interesting

Not all anti-Nazi youth groups used the title Edelweiss Pirates. The group in Cologne, for example, went by “Navajos”. However, all such groups shared some common traits. Foremost among them was the encouragement of free thinking. They also rejected the strict gender segregation of the Hitler Youth and League of German Girls, in favor of co-ed activities. Edelweiss Pirates frequently organized camping and hiking trips. The outdoors afforded them the freedom, while temporarily away from the plethora of snoops and snitches, to engage in prohibited activities such as singing or listening to music deemed “degenerate” by the Nazis, like jazz and the blues. They were also able to freely express themselves, and openly discuss topics and voice opinions that would have gotten them in trouble with the authorities had they been overheard by informants back home.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.