Sports, Song, and Socialization: Women's Memories of Youthful Activity and Political Indoctrination in the bdm

In 1933 the National Socialists launched a "Revolution of Youth," calling on every "racially pure" German girl to lead an active political life within the League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel, or BDM). Girls joined the BDM for a sense of belonging and independence. But for most adolescent girls, participation faded as they shied away from the Nazis' pronatalist agenda. That most German women remember the BDM fondly reflects the reality of a group whose appeal lay in its youthful offerings. For those who truly embraced the BDM, however, the fall of the Nazi regime left an indigestible and sullied childhood.