CREATION AND ACTIVITY OF «ELITE» SCHOOLS IN GERMANY (1933–1945)

Abstract

The article highlights the activities of elite schools and their creation. It has been revealed that from the very beginning of its existence, the Nazi regime in Germany sought absolute power over all spheres of German life. The field of education and upbringing had a specific importance in the ideology of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (hereinafter NSDAP).
 Significantly, the ideologues of the Third Reich emphasized the non-class nature of their movement, and the main criterion for achieving personal growth of social peaks was not belonging to a particular class, not property qualifications, but a person’s own abilities and personal qualities. However, the main qualities were blind faith in the Führer, ruthlessness towards enemies, and cooperative personality. For the first time in the entire existence of Germany, young people had a sense of their importance. Never before in German history have youth been so needed, and, at the same time, so criminally used. Social selection began to play a fundamental role in society, so it is not surprising that it also affected the sphere of school and youth education. The emergence of elite schools that educated future generals, Gauleiters, and party officials was a logical reaction to the current regime in Germany.
 In Hitler’s elite schools, the dream of educating new German people-lords was to become a reality. In schools named after Adolf Hitler, national-political educational institutions, and Reich schools of the NSDAP, the regime wanted to raise capable performers who, as Hitler’s heirs, should have the future. Children were drilled, taught military affairs, and formed their worldviews. They were obliged to “believe, obey and fight”, to fulfill the role of political fighters. Young people, attracted by the opportunity to engage in various sports, to have rich leisure time, and to have a promising future career, entered elite boarding schools. There, they were brought up with unconditional loyalty to the regime. During the war, graduates of Hitler’s schools were often fanatics. Only one in two survived.