Luftwaffenhelfer
Encyclopedia
Luftwaffenhelfer are terms commonly used for German students deployed as child soldiers during World War II
.
The Luftwaffenhelfer ("Luftwaffe
assistant") program was the implementation of the "Kriegshilfseinsatz der Jugend bei der Luftwaffe" ("war auxiliary deployment of youth into the Luftwaffe") order issued on January 22, 1943.
The order called for drafting whole school classes with male students born in 1926 and 1927 into a military corps, supervised by Hitler Youth
and Luftwaffe
personnel. The draft was later extended to include the 1928 and 1929 births.
Deployment included ideological indoctrination by the Hitler Youth, military duties and limited continuation of the normal school curriculum, often by the original teachers.
While the official term was "Luftwaffenhelfer (HJ)", the term more commonly used is "Flakhelfer" ("Flak-assistant"). The 1926-1929 births are commonly referred to as the "Flakhelfer-Generation". In German ears the phrase associates with the collective and incisive experience of being torn out of conventional adolescent life (though under circumstances of total war) and being thrown into strict military service and extreme peril, when in the final phase of the war, the AA-batteries themselves became preferred targets of allied strafers.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Luftwaffenhelfer ("Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
assistant") program was the implementation of the "Kriegshilfseinsatz der Jugend bei der Luftwaffe" ("war auxiliary deployment of youth into the Luftwaffe") order issued on January 22, 1943.
The order called for drafting whole school classes with male students born in 1926 and 1927 into a military corps, supervised by Hitler Youth
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...
and Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
personnel. The draft was later extended to include the 1928 and 1929 births.
Deployment included ideological indoctrination by the Hitler Youth, military duties and limited continuation of the normal school curriculum, often by the original teachers.
While the official term was "Luftwaffenhelfer (HJ)", the term more commonly used is "Flakhelfer" ("Flak-assistant"). The 1926-1929 births are commonly referred to as the "Flakhelfer-Generation". In German ears the phrase associates with the collective and incisive experience of being torn out of conventional adolescent life (though under circumstances of total war) and being thrown into strict military service and extreme peril, when in the final phase of the war, the AA-batteries themselves became preferred targets of allied strafers.
Famous Luftwaffenhelfer
- Peter Alexander
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(BundeskanzlerBundeskanzlerBundeskanzler or Bundeskanzlerin may refer to:*Chancellor of Germany , the head of the German federal government*Chancellor of Austria, the head of the Austrian federal government...
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(actor) - Wilhelm Volkert (German historian)