Two Source Analyses about Nazi Indoctrination of the Youth

The Teacher’s League compiled complaints from teachers throughout Germany, and these were released in et al. Bayern in der Zeit in 1981. This particular complaint[1] was filed from the Mainfranken district in Northern Bavaria in 1937. It is a complaint from the teachers in this district to the head office, explaining the disruption caused by the HJ to the classroom and their discontentment with what was on the state-imposed curriculum. This document is invaluable as it provides an insight into the effects of the change in curriculum on the classroom and on the pupils. It provides first hand evidence for the growing frustration in the education sector, and the hindering of learning caused as a result of new policies. However, the limitations of this document lie in its one sided nature. The children’s views of the policies and curriculum are not covered. Life in the Third Reich was written by lecturer at York University, Richard Bessel, and this makes the factual aspect of his work more likely to be accurate. However, it also reflects the embedded opinion of the author in his writing. He was writing with the aim of providing his reader with an analytical insight into life generally under the Nazi regime, through a detailed account of various aspects of life. This document is of huge value due to the fact that its’ author researched his information very closely in order to provide an accurate account of life in the Third Reich in all aspects. However, it does not cover in depth any of the aspects, only provides an overview of what life then was like.