Letter to Bormann, responding to an SA officer's criticism of the Hitler Youth's premilitary training, describing the program's contributions to the military and requesting that Hitler decide on the issue

Teletype No. 85
Forwarded to '
Obergebietsfuehrer
Schluender
on Aug 15, 41 2035 by Hi
Sender: Adjutant's office
Received on August 15.41 at 2030 by Hi
Reichsstatthalter Vienna No. 85 August 15, 41 2035
To Obergebietsfuehrer Schluender, Berlin
The following note was sent today:
To the Chief of the Chancellery of the Party Reich Leader Bor-mann—Munich 33, Fuehrer Building Concerning: Premilitary training Dear Party Member Bormann,
I have taken note of the treatise of the SA high command which was sent to me. In connection with this I want to inform you of the following:
The attitude expressed in Obergruppenfuehrer Juettner's statement is in its contents so contradictory to the actual educational work of the Hitler Youth, that I cannot believe that this is the opinion of the SA Chief of Staff, but rather am convinced that its point of origin is Obergruppenfuehrer Juettner's wish to create new forms of activity in the SA. Since the treatise is drawn up in such detail, I am going into this matter fundamentally first of all.
Presumably the Chief of Staff of the SA can "no longer see the development of the education of youth in the interest of the common idea within the Party remain inactive and in the premilitary defense training he especially misses the manly and soldierly performance by the young man".
To this the following:
Concerning the position of the youth in relation to the Party I do not in the least feel induced to assert with regard to the Chief of Staff of the SA that for years the Party continuously has
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thrown difficulties in his way and he has finally been obliged to seek recourse with the Army in order to obtain there a new proposition which had not been made by the SA. (Report by the Chief of Staff to the Reich Youth Leader.) You personally know, dear Party member Bormann, that unfortunately the Chief of Staff has acted in the spirit of this assertion and that some other Party organizations as well as the Party itself were one day surprised to hear of the assignment of the SA to military training by decree of the Fuehrer. The then Fuehrer's deputy and his staff tried then to do justice to this Fuehrer decree and to fix the limits of the sphere of activity of the organizations. This is approved in the note, as the SS, NS Motor Corps and NS Flying Corps are cited as completely independent agencies for military training, the youth however purposely not so. I find the reason for this outrageous, which states that the SA cannot effect any advanced military training during the war and therefore would have to direct its work on the age groups of the Hitler Youth. I defend myself against the reproach because of lack of a community of thought within the Party, in so far as this concerns my task as Reich Director for the education of Youth, and can only cite the following example for the execution of the aforementioned assignment of the SA: All the financing of the SA military training is being done in direct collaboration with the armed forces, while the Hitler Youth has considered it necessary from the very beginning to make the Party itself the agency for the direction and administration of its military training. Moreover I must add to my fundamental viewpoint that I consider the whole attack of the SA extraordinarily indecent at the present time, since more than 90% of all Hitler Youth leaders are in the field at the present time and the whole thought which is expressed in Juettner's communication is nothing else but fear of their returning, to work and to the further assignment of work still to be carried out by the Hitler Youth in this field. I am not going to accept any comment from Obergruppenfuehrer Juettner on the idea "Youth Shall be led by Youth", as the Fuehrer spoke these words during the period of struggle after thoughts on education, which were already brought to fulfillment at that time and apparently have not as yet been understood by Obergruppenfuehrer Juettner to this day.
Moreover,
1. For more than one year an agreement in draft form has been submitted to the SA, which requests that SA-cadre be furnished for the military training of the Youth. The top SA lead-
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ership did in no case comply with this request of the Hitler Youth.
2. In a discussion between the Reich Youth Leader and the Chief of Staff the latter has recognized the military training of the Hitler Youth up to the 18 year without reservations and expressed the wish to make the Achievement Badge [Leistungsabzeichen] of the Hitler Youth similar to the Military Badge [Wehrabzeichen] of the SA. Since early July of this year this draft of the Reich Youth Direction to change the Hitler Youth Achievement Badge [Hitlerjugend-Leistungsabzeichen] has been laid before Obergruppenfuehrer Juettner, transmitted through the Chief of the Main Office Room 2 of the Reich Youth Direction [Reichsjugendfuehrung], without an opinion having been expressed in this matter.
3. Concerning the guiding principles about the organization and work of the Communications Hitler Youth [NachrichtenHitlerjugend] which have been cited in the previously-mentioned communication:
From a departmental point of view, I can only gather the impression from this communication of a complete ignorance in this field on the part of Obergruppenfuehrer JUETTNER. (1) Because the SA mentions a two-week radiocourse for the radio diploma [Funkernachweis] of the Air Force, which it wants to have conducted. These bold assertions are not burdened with any knowledge of the facts. Stabsfuehrer MOECKEL explains to me in this respect that in the beginning of the past year the Reich Marshal wanted courses for flying-crew radio operator replacements to be instituted within the Hitler Youth. This was immediately done in collaboration with the National Socialist Flying Corp (NSFK). AFTER 8 MONTHS 17.000 RADIO OP-ERATOR CANDIDATES have been furnished to the air force with the ability to receive and send at the speed of 60 words per minute. The Air Force has built communication equipment to amounts running into the millions, and further, Stabsfuehrer MOECKEL tells me in this respect that this communication training could only be given in the Air Force because aviation facilities could be found only there. He himself had taken radio training with the Air Force for 10 months, and considers the alleged two-week training course as completely impossible. That the order of the Reich Marshal for the Hitler Youth also still applies today is proven by the 20,000 youths who are undergoing training this year, and who are performing their duty with the National Socialist Flying Corps (NSFK) and the Air Force in training courses.
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(2) It can refute the report, that the General Commands [Generalkommandos] have looked to the SA for aid in securing premilitary training by the enclosed statistics on military training according to the compilation of 1 April 1941 and through additions from 1 August 1941 on. However, I consider it unnecessary to transmit copies of letters in additional enclosures of acknowledgment and declarations of the individual authorities of the armed forces with regard to the pre-military training of the Hitler Youth or to submit a list of the Hitler Youth leaders engaged in the military service holding the Knight's Cross or the Iron Cross First Class. I consider this as unworthy toward the victims in leaders and men which naturally must be sacrificed by the individual units in this war; it furthermore shows a lack of taste.
(3) In order to make further corrections I can emphasize that, as you yourself have been informed through a communication of Stabsfuehrer Moeckel oh 30 July 1941, arrangements with the armed forces could be made for the future to the effect that training courses of the Hitler Youth in future will only take place in Hitler Youth operated schools and only in exceptional cases in army barracks [Kasernen] for the training of cadre. The cadre which is furnished there comes for the most part from the Hitler Youth. If cadre are placed on detached service from the armed forces, then they are for the most part conscripted Hitler Youth leaders, or in any ease they fall under the authority of a Hitler Youth leader who is in charge of the school. 1 would be happy if the SA would put personnel at my disposal for support for this purpose, similar to the way in which the SS and the police have been doing for a long time already.
I must state in conclusion:
Now that the overlapping provisions of the Hitler Youth law have once again been purposely brought up by the SA, and as a matter of fact the disloyalty of the Chief of Staff which was doubtlessly present at the time becomes obvious again in the presentation of the draft of the decree, all the consequences now have to be drawn. After the present attack of the SA on a part of the work of the Hitler Youth at this time, I do not even think of yielding to the falsely-based arguments of the SA, but rather request now, no matter how much I regret this, that the Fuehrer's decision be obtained. For this purpose a joint consultation with the Fuehrer would be necessary, I will at the same time contact the Reich Fuehrer SS, for whom in any case the same conditions exist in this question—which however were interpreted as being
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in complete agreement with the Hitler Youth. If the Chief of Staff should assume the same attitude transmitted by Obergrup-penfuehrer Juettner, I regret not being able to effect any cooperation with him in this field.
Heil Hitler!
yours
[signed] SCHIRACH
Transmitted: Reichsstatthalter Vienna/ Hirsche Accepted : —? 21,55 Reich Youth Leader Berlin-Hass