‘Fragt denn da ein junger Mensch nach?’: Would a young person ask that? Growing up in the Reichsarbeitsdienst in 1942

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article provides an original analysis of a young man’s diary from his time in the National Socialist Labour Service in 1942. It sheds light on what can be called the identity work of an 18-year-old, who struggled with the purpose of his service in the organization and his life during the Second World War. With an innovative reading focusing on masculinity, religion and youth, the article identifies three very different normative frameworks important in the diary. These are described as a Catholic’s, a soldier’s or a ‘working man’s’ (Arbeitsmanns) paths into adulthood. The analysis discusses how National Socialist imperatives were appropriated or rejected for the young man’s interpretations of these normative frameworks. The paper advances our knowledge of how young Catholics could (self)mobilize for the German war effort and interpret their service in a National Socialist organization by taking up the long-neglected perspective ‘from below’. Rather than attempting to create pure categories, it shows not only how different normative frameworks intersect in the diary, but also how they could be made to align to National Socialist imperatives (while) growing up in the Labour Service on the Eastern Front.