Account of the Jugenschaft by Arno Zettlitz, November 25, 1937
Description:
This brief history of the dj.1.11. provides us insight into how these individual youth movements formed in Germany in the 1930s. Written by Arno Zettlitz, a member of the dj.1.11, he gives a brief history of the group. It was founded by Eberhard Koebel "tusk" as a revolutionary scout league on 1.11.1929. Koebel had a vision that all youth movements would merge into one, but this was not the case. Through Zettlitz description, we get a sense of the environment and atmosphere of the group. He notes that the meetings were "Russian" in character with Russian music and literature being incorporated into the proceedings, as well as given to the members. Then in 1932-1933 when Koebel became a member of the KPD (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands), he wanted the dj.1.11 to be integrated. However in 1933, Hitler's government sought out to disband all these youth groups. What remained of these youth groups, they banded together to create illegal groups. They joined together to form a youth opposition and took up the fight against the Hitler Youth and against the Third Reich. By 1937, it was these groups that were being tracked, persecuted and punished the hardest by the German government.
