Herbert Norkus
Encyclopedia
Herbert Norkus was a Hitler Youth
member who was killed by German Communist
s. He became a role model and martyr
for the Hitler Youth and was widely used in Nazi
propaganda
, most prominently as the subject of novel and movie Hitler Youth Quex
.
family in the Tiergarten
district of Berlin
, Norkus joined the equivalent of the sea scouts of the Hitler Youth organization. He was also reported to have enjoyed playing the piano and drawing. His father had been wounded in World War I
, and supposedly had Communist sympathies. The official Nazi biographies of Norkus claimed his father initially opposed his son's Nazi activities but was ultimately converted and became a Nazi too.
Clashes between the Hitler Youth and the Communist Red Front
youth movement (Rote Jungfront) were becoming increasingly common as the NSDAP and the German Communist Party struggled for power in the waning days of the Weimar Republic
.
His comrades nicknamed him “Quex” because ”he carried out orders faster than quicksilver
” .
for the Hitler Youth in a popular Nazi novel, Der Hitlerjunge Quex (1932). In 1933, it was made into a film directed by Hans Steinhoff
, with Heinrich George
in a leading role as the boy's father. The novel was required reading for all members of the Hitler Youth.
called the Herbert Norkus
was named in his honor (it was never completed because of the war). Many schools, streets, and squares were also named for him during the Nazi period.
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
member who was killed by German Communist
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
s. He became a role model and martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
for the Hitler Youth and was widely used in Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, most prominently as the subject of novel and movie Hitler Youth Quex
Hitler Youth Quex
Hitler Youth Quex was a 1932 Nazi propaganda novel and a corresponding 1933 movie based on the life of Herbert “Quex” Norkus. Joseph Goebbels spoke of the movie as "first large-scale" transmission of Nazi ideology using the medium of cinema...
.
Background
Born to a working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
family in the Tiergarten
Tiergarten
Tiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
district of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Norkus joined the equivalent of the sea scouts of the Hitler Youth organization. He was also reported to have enjoyed playing the piano and drawing. His father had been wounded in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and supposedly had Communist sympathies. The official Nazi biographies of Norkus claimed his father initially opposed his son's Nazi activities but was ultimately converted and became a Nazi too.
Clashes between the Hitler Youth and the Communist Red Front
Rotfrontkämpferbund
Rotfrontkämpferbund was a paramilitary organization of the Communist Party of Germany created on 18 July 1924 during the Weimar Republic. Its first leader was Ernst Thälmann...
youth movement (Rote Jungfront) were becoming increasingly common as the NSDAP and the German Communist Party struggled for power in the waning days of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
.
His comrades nicknamed him “Quex” because ”he carried out orders faster than quicksilver
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
” .
Death
On January 24, 1932, 15-year-old Herbert Norkus and other Hitler Youth members were distributing leaflets advertising an upcoming Nazi rally. The group was confronted by Communists. Norkus fought them off and ran to a nearby house for help. A man answered and slammed the door in his face, presumably because he saw the other boys. Norkus was then stabbed six times by the pursuing Communists. He banged on another door, which was answered by a woman who tried to get him to a hospital. However, he died on arrival."Hitlerjunge Quex"
Writer Karl Aloys Schenzinger made Norkus into a role modelRole model
The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students...
for the Hitler Youth in a popular Nazi novel, Der Hitlerjunge Quex (1932). In 1933, it was made into a film directed by Hans Steinhoff
Hans Steinhoff
Hans Steinhoff was a German film director, best known for the films he made in the Nazi era. His most notable film was Ohm Krüger, for which he won the Mussolini Cup at the 1941 Venice Film Festival.-Filmography:*Hitlerjunge Quex...
, with Heinrich George
Heinrich George
Heinrich George , born Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz, was a German stage and film actor.He had one of his first roles in the Fritz Lang directed film Metropolis and the first film version of Berlin Alexanderplatz...
in a leading role as the boy's father. The novel was required reading for all members of the Hitler Youth.
Honors
A German Navy school shipSchool ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
called the Herbert Norkus
Gorch Fock (1933)
The Gorch Fock I is a German three-mast barque, the first of a series built as school ships for the German Reichsmarine in 1933. She was taken as war reparations by the USSR after World War II and renamed Tovarishch...
was named in his honor (it was never completed because of the war). Many schools, streets, and squares were also named for him during the Nazi period.