The Volkssturm was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 years, who were not already serving in some military unit. The Volkssturm comprised one of the final components of the total war promulgated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, part of a Nazi endeavor to overcome their enemies' military strength through force of will. Volkssturm units fought unsuccessful battles against Allied forces at the end of the war and on several occasions, its members participated in atrocities accompanied by German civilians and the Hitler Youth, which were overseen by members of the SS or Gaue leaders.
Volkssturm marching, November 1944
Publication of the decree on the formation of the Volkssturm, 20 October 1944, first page
second page
An SS Propaganda Company photograph of Volkssturm, 21 October 1944; only the men on the far left and far right end of the line appear to be uniformed members, with the far right being an Ordnungspolizei officer.
The Hitler Youth was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name Hitler-Jugend, Bund deutscher Arbeiterjugend in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was the sole official boys' youth organisation in Germany and it was partially a paramilitary organisation. It was composed of the Hitler Youth proper for male youths aged 14 to 18, and the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth for younger boys aged 10 to 14.
Hitler Youth members give the Nazi salute at a rally at the Lustgarten in Berlin, 1933.
Members of the Hitler Youth chosen by the NSDAP Office of Racial Policy
Uniform from the 1930s
Hitlerjugend camp in China in 1935, with permission of the Government of the Republic of China