JAHRBUCH DER HITLER JUGEND, 1938 [Page 134]
The dead of the great war did not die in vain, if the youth of the new Germany will preserve the reverence for the sacrifice made by them, and if it remains imbued by the glowing desire to live readily, strongly and with faith in the future for that aim, for which those once died.
' Blomberg
[Pages 148-150]
GENERAL FIELD MARSHAL VON BLOMBERG
The work, "Education for War of the German Youth" by Ober-gebietsfuehrer Dr. Helmuth Stellrecht, contains a slogan of General Field Marshal von Blomberg's, in which the following passage is quoted: "The fighting spirit is the highest virtue of a soldier. It requires toughness and determination. This passage from 'Duties of the Soldier' constitutes the direction and the aim of the education of the German youth."
It is an old soldier's experience that the number of troops and equipment, and their mastery of weapons do not solely guarantee success, but that the last decision depends on the spirit of the troops. Therefore it is a strong and unyielding demand, which the General Field Marshal already puts to the young body of men marching in the formations of the Hitler Youth, that they should conform to a soldierly spirit and educate themselves in toughness and determination. The fighting spirit is the highest virtue of a soldier. Preliminary conditions for courage are not only racial and spiritual, but also educational. In a recently published work on war psychology, it is stated that in the era of total war, spiritual power of resistance will not only come in next to courage but will perhaps replace it. Nevertheless, in the field of soldierly education, education to courageousness could and should be retained, only it has to be supplemented by education to spiritual power of resistance in and outside the troops. This in itself is a right perception; however, actually it means only something which has already been carried out through the direction of the education which was demanded by the General Field Marshal and through the fanatical faith of the German youth.
The General Marshal knew when he made his demands to the youth of Adolf Hitler,' that this youth possesses the strongest powers of spiritual resistance in its fanatical belief in its leader and his ideology. But just because of this, he could demand from this youth that it should make the highest virtue of a soldier,
541
3755—PS
namely courage, and those qualities upon which it is based, namely toughness towards one's self and the determination to act, the aim of the education. And from age group to age group,, a new German youth will fulfill these demands in an increasingly clear and concise manner.
When a year ago General Field Marshal von Blomberg, in the Berlin Sports Palast, consecrated the colors of the Wehrmacht Section of the German Labor Front and imposed his demands as a duty upon the workers and employees of the Wehrmacht, he declared, "He who demands should also give." The man who as General Field Marshal of the Fuehrer demands a certain education from the youth has also to give something to it. As Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, General Field Marshal von Bromberg has given a unique, exemplary, soldierly body of men to the troops of the Army, Navy and Air Force under his command, to the German people and the German youth. Also during the years of the Weimar Republic he instilled the German youth with the desire to become soldiers. But it was difficult for them to understand the silent service and renunciation of a professional soldier of the Reichswehr. Yes, between the troops and youth there was an estrangement. However, as Minister of Defense and as present Minister of War, he was able to incorporate the Reichswehr into the new Reich as the sole and reliable bearer of arms; this was done in an exemplary manner living up to the sense of obligation, to the imperishable soldier of the World War and to the education for achievement, as well as to the Socialist spirit of the Reich of Adolf Hitler. Thus, an essential prerequisite was created in so far as the Fuehrer and the German people could have that confidence in the Reichswehr which was required for such an immense task, namely that of the creation of a people's army by general compulsory conscription. This task could be accomplished only by a man who is a soldier in the best and largest sense of the word and who, furthermore, is a political soldier. . Such was the exemplary path pursued by General Field Marshal von Blomberg in his soldierly career; at 13 years cadet, at 19 years lieutenant, at 50 years general colonel, and at 58 general field marshal. During the World War he was a soldier in the front lines in the best sense of the word—decorated for having been wounded and the distinction pour le merite which he is wearing as proof of that. Since the end of the World War he can be always found in the Army, when plans for a new beginning had to be shaped. At present General Field Marshal von Blomberg has always blazed the trail towards maximum military achievements which was and is his absolute aim, be it as Chief of Staff of the Brigade Doeberitz, the training school of the later Reichswehr of the Fifth Division in Stuttgart, to which post he was appointed by the General of the Infantry Walter
542
3755—PS
Reinhard, who unfortunately died too soon; be it as Chief of the Training Section of the Reich Ministry of Defense and later as Chief of the Truppenamt, which is Chief of the General Staff. In 1933 when, on proposition of the Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler, the Reich President von Hindenberg appointed General Lieutenant von Blomberg, who was at that time the Commander in Wehrkreis I, Koenigsburg, to the post of Reich Minister of Defense, Adolf Hitler's confidence was thus expressed, which was justified to the last during the following four years of untiring efforts for the new Wehrmacht. It was a wonderful gesture, acclaimed by the whole people and the youth, when on 30 January 1937 the Fuehrer awarded the Golden Party Emblem to the Supreme Commander of the Army and the Navy, who was as well the First Assistant of the Supreme Commander of the Air Force. Thus, it is unequivocally expressed that the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht is not only the first soldier, but also the first political soldier of Adolf Hitler in the closest sense. The German youth looks with reverence, gratefulness and confidence to the First General Field Marshal of the Third Reich.
Article in the Hitler Youth yearbook, on Blomberg's instruction that Hitler Youth members should "conform to a soldierly spirit" and Blomberg's role as "the first political soldier of Adolf Hitler"
Authors
Date: 1938
Literal Title: Jahrbuch der Hitler Jugend, 1938 . . . General Field Marshal von Blomberg
Defendant: Baldur Schirach, von
Total Pages: 2
Language of Text: English
Source of Text: Nazi conspiracy and aggression (Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946.)
Evidence Code: PS-3755
Citation: IMT (page 10334)
HLSL Item No.: 453107
Trial Issues
Education, propaganda, and youth programs (IMT) Nazi regime (rise, consolidation, economic control, and militarization) (I…
Document Summary
PS-3755: Reference to preface by Blomberg, 1938, to "the military training (wehrerziehung) of German youth’’ by ObergebietsfÜhrer Stellrecht