Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Memorial for the Cologne victims on Schönstein Str, next to the Bahnhof
Memorial for the Cologne victims on Schönstein Str, next to the Bahnhof

The Edelweiss Pirates (Edelweißpiraten) were a loose group of youth culture in Nazi Germany. A youth subculture is a Youth -based Subculture with distinct styles behaviours and interests Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers They emerged in western Germany out of the German Youth Movement of the late 1930s in response to the strict regimentation of the Hitler Youth. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The German Youth Movement (In German Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for educational-cultural renewal movement starting from 1896 on The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. For the SS division with the nickname Hitlerjugend see 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth ( German:, Similar in many ways to the Leipzig Meuten, they consisted of young people, mainly between the ages of 14 and 18, who had either evaded the Hitler Youth by leaving school (which was allowed at 14) or avoiding the Reich Labour Service and military service. This sort of fix restores section edit linkpoints to where they belong The Reichsarbeitsdienst (or RAD Reich Labour Service) was an institution set up in Nazi Germany as an instrument to combat unemployment similar to the

Contents

Origins

The origins of the Edelweißpiraten can be traced to the period immediately prior to World War II, as the state-controlled Hitler Youth was mobilized to serve the state, at the expense of the leisure activities it had previously offered young people. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including This tension was exacerbated once the war began and youth leaders were conscripted. In contrast, the Edelweißpiraten offered young people considerable freedom to express themselves and to mingle with members of the opposite sex, whereas Nazi youth movements were strictly segregated by sex, the Hitler-Jugend (boys) and Bund Deutscher Mädel (girls). Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Though predominantly male, the casual meetings of the Edelweißpiraten even offered German adolescents an opportunity for sexual experimentation with the girls that tagged along with every group. The Edelweißpiraten used many forms and symbols of the organisations of the German Youth Movement, which were outlawed earlier. They used their tent (the Kohte), their style of clothing (the Jungschaftsjacke), and sang songs, all of which were prohibited symbols of the German Youth Movement. The German Youth Movement (In German Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for educational-cultural renewal movement starting from 1896 on These symbols and also the traditions such as hiking came from members, who were previously in the groups of the German Youth Movement.

Culture

Apart from gatherings on street corners, the Edelweißpiraten engaged in hiking and camping trips, which kept them away from the prying eyes of the totalitarian Nazi regime. They often engaged in fights with the Hitler Youth and took great pride in attacking them. As one group, the "Navajos", sang:

Des Hitlers Zwang, der macht uns klein,
(Hitler's compulsion, it makes us small)
noch liegen wir in Ketten. Navajo (sometimes spelled Navaho) or Diné, (means The People in Navajo) refers or relates to the Navajo people, currently
(still, we're bound in chains)
Doch einmal werden wir wieder frei,
(But one day we'll be free again)
wir werden die Ketten schon brechen.
(We'll smash through the chains)
Denn unsere Fäuste, die sind hart,
(For our fists, they are hard)
ja--und die Messer sitzen los,
(Yes, and the knives are attached loosely)
für die Freiheit der Jugend,
(For the freedom of Youth)
kämpfen Navajos.
(Navajos are struggling)

Nazi response

The Nazi response to the Edelweißpiraten was typically harsh. Individuals identified by the Gestapo as belonging to the various gangs were often rounded up and released with their heads shaved to shame them. The ( contraction of ge heime Sta ats' po' lizei: "Secret State Police" was the official Secret police of Nazi Germany In some cases, young people were sent to concentration camps or prison. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial On October 25, 1944 Heinrich Himmler ordered a crackdown on the group and in November of that year a group of thirteen people, the heads of the Ehrenfelder Gruppe, were publicly hanged in Cologne. Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. The Ehrenfeld Group (sometimes called the Steinbrück Group) was allegedly an anti- Nazi resistance group allegedly active in the summer and autumn of 1944 Some of those hanged were former Edelweiß Pirates. The Edelweiß Pirates hanged were six teenagers, amongst them Bartholomäus Schink, called Barthel, former member of the local "Navajos. Bartholomäus (Barthel Schink ( November 27 1927 - November 10 1944) was a member of the Edelweiss " Fritz Theilen survived. Fritz Theilen, born September 27 1927, was a German member of the anti- Nazi resistance group the Edelweißpiraten during

Nevertheless, government repression never managed to break the spirit of most groups, which constituted a subculture that rejected the norms of Nazi society. For the term in biology see Subculture (biology. For the song by New Order see Sub-culture (song. While the Edelweiss Pirates assisted army deserters and others hiding from the Third Reich, they have yet to receive recognition as a resistance movement (partly because they were viewed with contempt because of their 'proletarian' background and 'criminal' activities by many of their former Youth Movement comrades, who survived the war) and the families of victims killed by the Nazis have as yet received no reparations.

Cultural References

Several bands have used the Edelweiss Pirates name, most notably the London based multi-instrumental indie group fronted by Jimmy Loew or the Edinburgh based funk rockers the Edelweißpiraten. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Cambridge based punk band The Edelweiss Pirates, who have been together the longest, have also adopted the name as a protest against fascism on the punk and skinhead scene.

See also

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic