The Onslaught and Resistance, 1934–1935

Abstract

By August, 1933, Neudeutschland had extended its hand to the new regime and had made internal changes to conform to the new standards. The leaders of the Bund, however, did not understand the nature of the new regime. The very fact that they had the audacity to present a list of reservations and interpretations of the goals of the new Third Reich proved this. The National Socialist movement did not want cooperation, it wanted submission; it wanted every facet of German life coordinated. This policy of coordination meant that Neudeutschland’s attempt to maintain its own, independent existence, on its own terms, would not be tolerated by the new masters of Germany. The Nazi goal was to create a centrally directed state in which there would be no room for an independent organization of any kind, especially one which sought to pursue objectives other than those determined by the state.1 The continued existence of Neudeutschland could easily be tolerated if the organization relinquished its freedom to determine its policy and practices, and if the Bund relinquished its allegiance to a source of authority outside of the National Socialist movement. If the Bund chose to refuse to relinquish this freedom and allegiance, it would be forced to do so and to amalgamate into the Hitler Youth, the expanding Nazi apparatus for youth. This was the essential policy of the sector of the National Socialist movement which dealt with Neudeutschland between 1933 and 1935. The area of immediate confrontation was the school. In the process of coordinating German society, the schools received a new format and a new attitude by which to operate,2 one which cut off Neudeutschland and the values for which it stood from them.