21st
Britain
EdA - Education Act 1902 ..National Association of Training Corps for Girls .. Lebensborn ..
Spousal Separation, WW2 ..
Weaponized Migrants
Friday, November 30, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Edelweiß Pirates
.
The Edelweiss Pirates and WWII - HiGu > .
Hitlerjugend ..
The Edelweiss Pirates (Edelweißpiraten, (
listen)) were a loosely organized group of youth in Nazi Germany. They emerged in western Germany out of the German Youth Movement of the late 1930s in response to the strict regimentation of the Hitler Youth. Similar in many ways to the Leipzig Meuten, they consisted of young people, mainly between the ages of 14 and 17, who had evaded the Hitler Youth by leaving school (which was allowed at 14) and were also young enough to avoid military conscription, which was only compulsory from the age of 17 onward. The roots and background of the Edelweiss Pirates movement were detailed in the 2004 film Edelweiss Pirates, directed by Niko von Glasow.
The origins of the Edelweißpiraten can be traced to the period immediately prior to World War II, as the state-controlled Hitler Youth was mobilized to indoctrinate young people, at the expense of the leisure activities previously offered to them. This tension was exacerbated once the war began and youth leaders were conscripted. In contrast, the Edelweißpiraten offered young people considerable freedom to express themselves and to mingle with members of the opposite sex. This was unlike Nazi youth movements, which were strictly segregated by sex, the Hitler Youth (Hitler-Jugend) being for boys and the League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel) for girls. Although predominantly male, the casual meetings of the Edelweißpiraten even offered German adolescents an opportunity for sexual experimentation with the opposite sex. The Edelweißpiraten used many symbols of the outlawed German Youth Movement, including their tent (the Kohte), their style of clothing (the Jungenschaftsjacke), and their songs.
The first Edelweißpiraten appeared in the late 1930s in western Germany, comprising mostly young people between 14 and 18. Individual groups were closely associated with different regions but identifiable by a common style of dress with their own edelweiss badge and by their opposition to what they saw as the paramilitary nature of the Hitler Youth. Subgroups of the Edelweißpiraten included the Navajos, centred on Cologne, the Kittelbach Pirates of Oberhausen and Düsseldorf, and the Roving Dudes of Essen. According to one Nazi official in 1941, "Every child knows who the Kittelbach Pirates are. They are everywhere; there are more of them than there are Hitler Youth... They beat up the patrols... They never take no for an answer."
Although they rejected the Nazis' authoritarianism, the Edelweißpiraten's nonconformist behaviour tended to be restricted to petty provocations. Despite this, they represented a group of youth who rebelled against the government's regimentation of leisure and were unimpressed by the propaganda touting Volksgemeinschaft ("people's community").
During the war, many Edelweißpiraten supported the Allies and assisted deserters from the German Army. Some groups also collected propaganda leaflets dropped by Allied aircraft and pushed them through letterboxes.
Apart from gatherings on street corners, the Edelweißpiraten engaged in hiking and camping trips, defying the restrictions on free movement, which kept them away from the prying eyes of the totalitarian regime. They were highly antagonistic to the Hitler Youth, ambushing their patrols and taking great pride in beating them up. One of their slogans was "Eternal War on the Hitler Youth".
The Nazi response to the Edelweißpiraten was relatively slight before the war, because they were viewed as a minor irritant and did not fit in with the policy of selective terror. As the war went on, and some Pirates' activities became more extreme, so did the punishments meted out. Individuals identified by the Gestapo as belonging to the various gangs were often rounded up and released with their heads shaved to shame them. In some cases, young people were sent to Concentration camps specifically organized for youths, or temporarily detained in regular prison. On 25 October 1944, Heinrich Himmler ordered a crackdown on the group and in November of that year, a group of thirteen people, the heads of the Ehrenfelder Gruppe, were publicly hanged in Cologne. Some of these were former Edelweißpiraten. The Edelweißpiraten hanged included six teenagers, among them Bartholomäus Schink, called Barthel, former member of the local Navajos. Fritz Theilen survived.
Nevertheless, government repression never managed to break the spirit of most groups, which constituted a subculture that rejected the norms of Nazi society. While the Edelweißpiraten assisted army deserters and others hiding from the Third Reich, they have yet to receive recognition as a resistance movement (partly because they were viewed with contempt by many of their former Youth Movement comrades because of their 'proletarian' background and 'criminal' activities), and the families of members killed by the Nazis have as yet received no reparations.
"I want to add some information about the roots of the Edelweißpiraten which might help to understand why they formed and how they behaved. The Edelweißpiraten evolved out of a movement called "Bündisch Youth". This movement formed around the year 1900 with the "Wandervögel" (rarely used word for 'migratory birds'). At that time train tickest had become affordable enough for middle-classed students from Berlin to take a ride on the train outside the city and take a hike through the woods, where they slept under the open sky before they took the train back the next day. For many it was the first time to leave the city and have some adventures without any adults around. These trips became known as "Fahrten" (which means 'drives' in modern German, at the time it meant trips and voyages in general).
Edelweiß Pirates ..
The Edelweiß Pirates were youth gangs that opposed the ever-increasing totalitarian grip of the Nazi regime. Their actions ranged from passive resistance to robbing munitions depots and even murder. Curiously enough, after the Second World War came to an end, a group of post-war Nazi resistance cells coopted their name and carried out a series of bombings and attacks against the occupying Allied powers.
listen)) were a loosely organized group of youth in Nazi Germany. They emerged in western Germany out of the German Youth Movement of the late 1930s in response to the strict regimentation of the Hitler Youth. Similar in many ways to the Leipzig Meuten, they consisted of young people, mainly between the ages of 14 and 17, who had evaded the Hitler Youth by leaving school (which was allowed at 14) and were also young enough to avoid military conscription, which was only compulsory from the age of 17 onward. The roots and background of the Edelweiss Pirates movement were detailed in the 2004 film Edelweiss Pirates, directed by Niko von Glasow.The first Edelweißpiraten appeared in the late 1930s in western Germany, comprising mostly young people between 14 and 18. Individual groups were closely associated with different regions but identifiable by a common style of dress with their own edelweiss badge and by their opposition to what they saw as the paramilitary nature of the Hitler Youth. Subgroups of the Edelweißpiraten included the Navajos, centred on Cologne, the Kittelbach Pirates of Oberhausen and Düsseldorf, and the Roving Dudes of Essen. According to one Nazi official in 1941, "Every child knows who the Kittelbach Pirates are. They are everywhere; there are more of them than there are Hitler Youth... They beat up the patrols... They never take no for an answer."
Although they rejected the Nazis' authoritarianism, the Edelweißpiraten's nonconformist behaviour tended to be restricted to petty provocations. Despite this, they represented a group of youth who rebelled against the government's regimentation of leisure and were unimpressed by the propaganda touting Volksgemeinschaft ("people's community").
During the war, many Edelweißpiraten supported the Allies and assisted deserters from the German Army. Some groups also collected propaganda leaflets dropped by Allied aircraft and pushed them through letterboxes.
Apart from gatherings on street corners, the Edelweißpiraten engaged in hiking and camping trips, defying the restrictions on free movement, which kept them away from the prying eyes of the totalitarian regime. They were highly antagonistic to the Hitler Youth, ambushing their patrols and taking great pride in beating them up. One of their slogans was "Eternal War on the Hitler Youth".
Nevertheless, government repression never managed to break the spirit of most groups, which constituted a subculture that rejected the norms of Nazi society. While the Edelweißpiraten assisted army deserters and others hiding from the Third Reich, they have yet to receive recognition as a resistance movement (partly because they were viewed with contempt by many of their former Youth Movement comrades because of their 'proletarian' background and 'criminal' activities), and the families of members killed by the Nazis have as yet received no reparations.
Comment: [spelling corrected]
Over time the movement grow, and independent "Bünde" ('associations', sg. "Bund"; reason they are called "bündisch") formed all over the German Empire and Austria. Even though these Bünde developed completely unique traditions and values, a few key elements evolved: The importance of the small group, the connection to nature, Independence from adults. Every Bund had a kind of uniform which distinguished them visibly from another. They also loved singing together. At first mainly folks song, later they started to write their own songs or collecting non-German songs from all around the world. were the went on "Fahrt", which wasn't necessarily a weekend trip anymore.
During the Weimar Republic this movement reached its peak. They were well known in Germany, and more popular than the scout movement, which was just starting to set foot there. Wandervögel played a crucial role in the founding of the scout movement in Germany, and both movement influenced each other (which might explain the fleur de lys at 6:19). The biggest Bund at the time was the 'Nerother Wandervogel' (named after the place where it was founded).
The Nazis adapted some elements of the Bündische Jugend for the Hitler Youth such as the independence from adults, because it allowed them to have more influence on their education, and because they wanted to attract leaders from the Bündisch Youth, since -at least in the beginning - they had not enough Youths among their own, wich were ready and capable of leading youths. Among the Bündisch Youth existed the idea of a "Großbund" (Great Bund"), also known as "Freideutsche Jugend" ('Free German Youth', a term which would be abused again by the GDR), which would combine all the small Bünde into a single Bund, but all attempts in achieving this had failed. Some saw this finally achieved in the Hitler Youth, while others argued, that the Bündisch Youth revolved around experiencing freedom, while the Hitler Youth revolved around absolute obedience and educating youths in the spirit of National Socialism. When the Nazis came into power it became they soon forbid bündisch and scout associations. The Nerother Wandervogel, which I mentioned above, was also forbidden in 1933, but managed to continue until 1935, when the Nazis managed to dissolve their organization at the third attempt. However, some of the groups of which the Bund had consisted, continued underground, including the Kittelbachpiraten, which were a Bund on their own before, but parts of them had joined the Nerother, when they themselves were forbidden. Many groups which are now known as Edelweißpiraten had their origins in the Nerother Wandervogel. The leader of the Nerother Wandervogel, Robert Oelbermann, was arrested and brought to the concentration camp in Dachau, where he died. His brother Karl, who was on "Weltfahrt" ('world trip') in South Africa at the time stayed there until after the war. He founded the Nerother Wandervogel again after the fall of Nazi Germany.
At first their activity wouldn't involve active resistance. They would meet in a park maybe once a week and sing bündisch songs (which were forbidden) or go on Fahrt. (It was also forbidden to go hiking except as an activity of one of the Nazi mass organizations.) When the Nazis threw a bunch of terms together to create the name "Edelweißpiraten", they accidently created a legend. A secret youth organization, which resisted the Nazis by singing and hiking. Other teenagers who had nothing to do with the Edelweißpiraten until then founded their own groups in that spirit. They would meet somewhere, someone had a guitar, someone else knew a song or two, which was supposedly sung by the Edelweißpiraten. Like this the movement evolved, and groups were founded which didn't just want to resist the Nazis with singing and hiking, but wanted to fight the Nazis. The Bündisch Youth also influenced other resistance groups. Several members of the "Weiße Rose" for example had roots in the Bund Neudeutschland (New Germany) of the late Weimar Republic.
In Western Germany many of the old Bünde were able to reform, and exist to this day. I myself am a member of a bündisch scout association in Germany, which is the reason I'm so interested in this topic. There is an old folk song which we still sing today. The Chorus was rewritten to this:
"Wenn die Fahrtenmesser blitzen und die Hitlerjungen flitzen und die Edelweißpiraten fallen ein: 'Haut sie auf die Schnauze'. Was kann das Leben bei Hitler uns geben, wir wollen bündisch sein?"'When the knives twinkle and the Hitler boys run, and the Edelweißpiraten sing: 'Hit them in the face'. What can live at Hitler give us, we want to be bündisch.
A few years back I visited the NS Documentation Center which is located in a former Gestapo prison in cologne, where many Edelweißpiraten where held. Written on a wall I saw a very simular version of the song above. The only difference was, that that version said "und die Navajos fallen ein:[...]" ('and the Navajos sing').
It makes me proud to share a tradition with the Edelweißpiraten. But I am well aware of the fact that not all bündisch groups at the time went into passive or active resistance. The overwhelming majority joined the Hitler Youth. Some because they saw that as the best way to maintain bündisch traditions and ideas (this didn't work very well; the Nazis got rid of all known bündisch structures untill 1935), others joined the Hitler Youth out of conviction. More than a few founders of the bündisch post-war groups often had important positions either in the Hitler Youth, or in the other areas of
the Nazi state."
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Hitlerjugend
.
24-6-17 Life Under Adolf Hitler: The First Years Of Nazi Germany - War Stories > .23-9-29 Hitler Youth | State-Mandated Patriotism vs Pioneers (subs) - Katz > .
One reason the Hitler Youth so easily developed was that regimented organisations, often focused on politics, for young people and particularly adolescent boys were a familiar concept to German society in the Weimar Republic. Numerous youth movements existed across Germany prior to and especially after WW1. They were created for various purposes. Some were religious and others were ideological, but the more prominent ones were formed for political reasons, like the Young Conservatives and the Young Protestants. Once Hitler came onto the revolutionary scene, the transition from seemingly innocuous youth movements to political entities focused on Hitler was swift.
Following the abortive Beer Hall Putsch (in November 1923), Nazi youth groups ostensibly disbanded, but many elements simply went underground, operating clandestinely in small units under assumed names. In April 1924, the Jugendbund der NSDAP was renamed Grossdeutsche Jugendbewegung (Greater German Youth Movement). On 4 July 1926, the Grossdeutsche Jugendbewegung was officially renamed Hitler Jugend Bund der deutschen Arbeiterjugend (Hitler Youth League of German Worker Youth). This event took place a year after the Nazi Party was reorganised. The architect of the re-organisation was Kurt Gruber, a law student from Plauen in Saxony.
After a short power struggle with a rival organisation—Gerhard Roßbach's Schilljugend—Gruber prevailed and his "Greater German Youth Movement" became the Nazi Party's official youth organisation. In July 1926, it was renamed Hitler-Jugend, Bund deutscher Arbeiterjugend ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") and, for the first time, it officially became an integral part of the SA. The name Hitler-Jugend was taken up on the suggestion of Hans Severus Ziegler. By 1930, the Hitlerjugend (HJ) had enlisted over 25,000 boys aged 14 and upward. They also set up a junior branch, the Deutsches Jungvolk (DJ), for boys aged 10 to 14. Girls from 10 to 18 were given their own parallel organisation, the League of German Girls (BDM).
In April 1932, Chancellor Heinrich Brüning banned the Hitler Youth movement in an attempt to stop widespread political violence. But in June, Brüning's successor as Chancellor, Franz von Papen, lifted the ban as a way of appeasing Hitler, the rapidly ascending political star. A further significant expansion drive started in 1933, after Baldur von Schirach was appointed by Hitler as the first Reichsjugendführer (Reich Youth Leader). All youth organizations were brought under Schirach's control.
The vague decree seems to fit into a pattern of restoring Soviet-era social regimentation that P00tin’s government has pursued in recent years. However, it remains unclear to what extent the new organization can resurrect Soviet models.
Hitlerjugend ..
The Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend, often abbreviated as HJ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins dated back to 1922 and it received the name Hitler-Jugend, Bund deutscher Arbeiterjugend ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. In 1922, the Munich-based Nazi Party established its official youth organisation called Jugendbund der NSDAP. It was announced on 8 March 1922 in the Völkischer Beobachter, and its inaugural meeting took place on 13 May the same year. Another youth group was established in 1922 as the Jungsturm Adolf Hitler. Based in Munich, Bavaria, it served to train and recruit future members of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the main paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party at that time.
Jungsturm Adolf Hitler. Based in Munich, Bavaria, it served to train and recruit future members of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the main paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party at that time.From 1933 until 1945, it was the sole official boy's youth organisation in Germany and was partially a paramilitary organisation; it was composed of the Hitler Youth proper for male youths aged 14 to 18, and the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth (Deutsches Jungvolk in der Hitler Jugend or "DJ", also "DJV") for younger boys aged 10 to 14.
Following the abortive Beer Hall Putsch (in November 1923), Nazi youth groups ostensibly disbanded, but many elements simply went underground, operating clandestinely in small units under assumed names. In April 1924, the Jugendbund der NSDAP was renamed Grossdeutsche Jugendbewegung (Greater German Youth Movement). On 4 July 1926, the Grossdeutsche Jugendbewegung was officially renamed Hitler Jugend Bund der deutschen Arbeiterjugend (Hitler Youth League of German Worker Youth). This event took place a year after the Nazi Party was reorganised. The architect of the re-organisation was Kurt Gruber, a law student from Plauen in Saxony.
After a short power struggle with a rival organisation—Gerhard Roßbach's Schilljugend—Gruber prevailed and his "Greater German Youth Movement" became the Nazi Party's official youth organisation. In July 1926, it was renamed Hitler-Jugend, Bund deutscher Arbeiterjugend ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") and, for the first time, it officially became an integral part of the SA. The name Hitler-Jugend was taken up on the suggestion of Hans Severus Ziegler. By 1930, the Hitlerjugend (HJ) had enlisted over 25,000 boys aged 14 and upward. They also set up a junior branch, the Deutsches Jungvolk (DJ), for boys aged 10 to 14. Girls from 10 to 18 were given their own parallel organisation, the League of German Girls (BDM).
In April 1932, Chancellor Heinrich Brüning banned the Hitler Youth movement in an attempt to stop widespread political violence. But in June, Brüning's successor as Chancellor, Franz von Papen, lifted the ban as a way of appeasing Hitler, the rapidly ascending political star. A further significant expansion drive started in 1933, after Baldur von Schirach was appointed by Hitler as the first Reichsjugendführer (Reich Youth Leader). All youth organizations were brought under Schirach's control.
The members of the Hitler Youth were viewed as ensuring the future of Nazi Germany and they were indoctrinated in Nazi ideology, including racism. The Hitler Youth appropriated many of the activities of the Boy Scout movement (which was banned in 1935), including camping and hiking. However, over time it changed in content and intention. For example, many activities closely resembled military training, with weapons training, assault course circuits and basic tactics. The aim was to instill the motivation that would enable its members to fight faithfully for Nazi Germany as soldiers. There was greater emphasis on physical fitness, hardness and military training than on academic study. Sacrifice for the cause was inculcated into their training. Former Hitler Youth Franz Jagemann claimed that the notion "Germany must live" even if they (members of the HJ) had to die was "hammered" into them.
The Hitler Youth were used to break up church youth groups, spy on religious classes and Bible studies, and interfere with church attendance. Education and training programs for the Hitler Youth were designed to undermine the values of the traditional elitist structures of German society along with their privileges. Their training also aimed to obliterate social and intellectual distinctions between classes, to be replaced and dominated by the political goals of Hitler's totalitarian dictatorship. Besides promoting a doctrine of classlessness, additional training was provided that linked state-identified enemies such as Jews with Germany's previous defeat in WW1, and societal decline. The Hitler Youth were indoctrinated with the myths of Aryan racial superiority and to view Jews and Slavs as subhumans. As historian Richard Evans observes, "The songs they sang were Nazi songs. The books they read were Nazi books."
With the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, the organisation de facto ceased to exist. On 10 October 1945, the Hitler Youth and its subordinate units were outlawed by the Allied Control Council along with other Nazi Party organisations. Under Section 86 of the Criminal Code of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hitler Youth is an "unconstitutional organisation" and the distribution or public use of its symbols, except for educational or research purposes, is illegal.
Hitlerjugend (listen), often abbreviated as HJ, (listen))
Imposed P00tinism
On 15-10-29, the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Komsomol youth organization, Putin signed an executive order on the creation of a national "public-state children's-youth organization" under the name the Russian Movement of Schoolchildren.
listen), often abbreviated as HJ, (listen))On 15-10-29, the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Komsomol youth organization, Putin signed an executive order on the creation of a national "public-state children's-youth organization" under the name the Russian Movement of Schoolchildren.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Putin's Young Cannon Fodder
2021 Russia's Military Kids - SBS > .
23-9-29 Hitler Youth | State-Mandated Patriotism vs Pioneers (subs) - Katz > .
23-9-5 Desperation: Child Labor & Military Training at School (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-2 Single-Industry Towns' Armies | [Factory to Fodder] (subs) - Katz > .
23-2-19 Ruscia's Grand Strategy & Ukraine - P00's geostrategic disaster - P > .
22-9-22 How many troops can Russia really mobilize? - Binkov > .
22-3-13 Tsar Vlad's Юнармия (Yunarmiya) = Russian Cannon Fodder - VisPol > .
Putin’s supporters are champions of conservative values and of military might. With elections now looming Dateline visits a Russian bootcamp to meet an army of kids preparing to defend their country.
Child Soldiers: Russian children as young as ten, are attending military style summer camps. Here they are taught to use machine guns for the purpose of becoming recruits for the notorious Russian Special Forces. "We try to imagine that those we are trying to kill are not really human. Because they have stepped on the most sacred; our home country," explains Capt Gennady Korotayev, who tries to inspire aggression amongst the children. "Point the gun at him. Be tougher!" Both the Communist Party and Russian Orthodox Church support the scheme. "Here you don't go to war in order to kill, but to defend your country with your own blood. It's a just and merciful way," says Priest, Vladimir Sakharov. Just as the peacock fans its feathers, this military style training of children seems to stand as a warning to Russia's enemies. As ten-year old Andrey says "A lot of people could attack Russia. America! Or some of the Eastern countries." With innocence so readily discarded, what more will be lost along the way?
Propaganda - Manipulating Emotions - Sutton >> .
Propaganda, Fake News, Cyberpolitics - Chink in Armor >> .
Propaganda, Fake News, Cyberpolitics - Chink in Armor >> .
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Scouting, Hitlerjugend, Komsomol
.
20-12-26 Youth Organizations in the Soviet Union - TCW + Ushanka > .
Scouting, Hitlerjugend, Komsomol ..
Soviet Youth Organizations - Cold War ..listen, usually known as Komsomol (Russian: Комсомол), a syllabic abbreviation of the Russian Коммунистический Союз Молодёжи (Kommunisticheskiy Soyuz Molodyozhi), was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it was officially independent and referred to as "the helper and the reserve of the CPSU".The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban areas in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Young Communist League, or RKSM. During 1922, with the unification of the USSR, it was reformed into an all-union agency, the youth division of the All-Union Communist Party.
It was the final stage of three youth organizations with members up to age 28, graduated at 14 from the Young Pioneers, and at nine from the Little Octobrists.
The first Komsomol Congress met in 1918 under the patronage of the Bolshevik Party, despite the two organizations' not entirely coincident membership or beliefs. Party intervention in 1922–1923 proved marginally successful in recruiting members by presenting the ideal Komsomolets (Komsomol youth) as a foil to the "bourgeois NEPman". By the time of the second Congress, a year later, however, the Bolsheviks had, in effect, acquired control of the organization, and it was soon formally established as the youth division of the Communist party. However, the party was not very successful overall in recruiting Russian youth during the NEP period (1921–1928).
This came about because of conflict and disillusionment among Soviet youth who romanticised the spontaneity and destruction characteristic of War Communism (1918–1921) and the Civil War period. They saw it as their duty, and the duty of the Communist Party itself, to eliminate all elements of Western culture from society. However, the NEP had the opposite effect: after it started, many aspects of Western social behavior began to reemerge. The contrast between the "Good Communist" extolled by the Party and the capitalism fostered by NEP confused many young people. They rebelled against the Party's ideals in two opposite ways: radicals gave up everything that had any Western or capitalist connotations, while the majority of Russian youths felt drawn to the Western-style popular culture of entertainment and fashion. As a result, there was a major slump in interest and membership in the Party-oriented Komsomol.
By 1925 Komsomol had 1 million members, and many others were in theater groups for younger children. In March 1926, Komsomol membership reached a NEP-period peak of 1,750,000 members: only 6 percent of the eligible youth population. Only when Stalin came to power and abandoned the NEP in the first Five Year Plan (1928–1933) did membership increase drastically. The youngest youth eligible for Komsomol membership were fourteen-years-old. The upper age-limit for ordinary personnel was twenty-eight, but Komsomol functionaries could be older. Younger children joined the allied Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization. While membership was nominally voluntary, those who failed to join had no access to officially sponsored holidays and found it very difficult (if not impossible) to pursue higher education.
The Komsomol had little direct influence on the Communist Party or on the government of the Soviet Union, but it played an important role as a mechanism for teaching the values of the CPSU to the younger generation. The Komsomol also served as a mobile pool of labor and political activism, with the ability to relocate to areas of high-priority at short notice. In the 1920s the Kremlin assigned Komsomol major responsibilities for promoting industrialization at the factory level. In 1929 7000 Komsomol cadets were building the tractor factory in Stalingrad, 56,000 others built factories in the Urals, and 36,000 were assigned work underground in the coal mines. The goal was to provide an energetic hard-core of Bolshevik activists to influence their coworkers the factories and mines that were at the center of communist ideology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komsomol .
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sī vīs pācem, parā bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
