Alfons Heck

In their efforts to achieve this result, Nazi elites began their indoctrination of Germany’s youth almost from birth. Upon entrance into elementary school at age six, Heck was already beginning to feel its pressures It is no wonder that the Nazi elite chose to begin the assimilation process so early. Children at such a young age are far more susceptible to coercion and manipulation, especially in a school setting where teachers preach from a position of authority to children who are separated from the stabilizing force of their parents. The nature vs. nurture argument is still up for debate, but it must be nearly universally accepted that children are, as Heck states, “too immature to question the veracity of what they are being taught by their educators” . Children may question their teacher’s views once they are older, but at such a young age they are uniquely vulnerable. Emblazoned on the wall of his Gymnasium high school wall read the inscription, “the Jews are the traitors and our misfortune” . It is easy to see how such constant propaganda would lead Heck to a place where he would not have “even the slightest doubt that this was true”. Not surprisingly, by the time he was sworn into the Hitler Youth at age 10, he had already been conditioned to believe the two basic tenets of the Nazi Creed: “belief in the innate superiority of the Germanic-Nordic race, and the conviction that total submission to the welfare state-- personified by the Führer-- was my first duty” (Heck, 8). Looking back on his education under the Nazi Party, Heck developed a harsh resentment toward his teachers for abusing the power they were entrusted with. He writes, “not only had they allowed themselves to be deceived, they had delivered us, their children, into the cruel power of a new God”. By starting with the youngest, most malleable children, the Nazis were able to prepare Germany’s youth for their indoctrination even before their entrance into the Hitler Youth.
Reflecting on his