Baldur von Schirach

A man named Schirach was a leader.

He led a group for young people. This group was called the Hitler Youth.

He worked for a group called the Nazi Party. He was part of a small circle of leaders. He helped many children join his group.

He did things that were very wrong. He treated many people very unfairly. This caused much sadness.

After the war, a court looked at his actions.

They said he broke the law. He had to go to prison for a long time.

We study these things to learn. It helps us understand history better.

Baldur von Schirach was a Nazi leader in Germany. He was born in Berlin in 1907.

Schirach joined the Nazi Party when he was young. He became the leader of the Hitler Youth. This was a group for young people. He led this group from 1931 to 1940. He wanted young people to be very loyal to the party. He taught them to obey without question. By 1939, almost eight million children joined the group.

Schirach was also a leader in the city of Vienna. He did very bad things there. He was responsible for sending 65,000 Jewish people to camps. This was a very sad and unfair time.

After the war ended, Schirach went to a special court. These were the Nuremberg trials.

He was found guilty of crimes against humanity. The court sent him to prison for 20 years. He finished his time in prison in 1966. He died in 1974.

Baldur von Schirach was a high-ranking Nazi politician in Germany. He was born in Berlin on May 9, 1907. His father was a retired cavalry captain and theatre director. His mother was American, which meant Schirach grew up speaking English first. He did not learn to speak German until he was six years old.

Schirach rose quickly through the ranks of the Nazi Party. He joined the party in 1925 when he was only eighteen. In 1931, he became the national leader of the Hitler Youth. This group was for young people in Germany. He led this organization until 1940. He wanted young people to show blind obedience and total loyalty.

As a leader, Schirach used many tools to control the youth. He organized large events like the Reich Youth Day in 1932. These events had up to 70,000 young people attending. He also wrote songs and captions for propaganda books. One book was called "Hitler As No One Knows Him." By 1939, membership in the Hitler Youth became compulsory. Almost eight million children joined the group by that time.

Schirach held many important roles during the war years. From 1940 to 1945, he was a leader in Vienna. He served as the Gauleiter and the Reich governor there. During this time, he was responsible for very terrible actions. He helped deport 65,000 Jewish people from Vienna to concentration camps. In 1940, he also served as an infantryman in France. He was even awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd Class, for this service.

After the war, Schirach had to face justice for his actions. He fled to Tyrol in April 1945 as the Red Army moved forward. He eventually surrendered to American forces. He was then part of the Nuremberg trials. The court found him guilty of crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He served his time at Spandau prison until 1966. He died in 1974 at the age of 67.

Baldur von Schirach was a prominent Nazi politician in Germany. He served as the national leader of the Hitler Youth from 1931 to 1940. He also acted as the Gauleiter and Reich governor of Vienna from 1940 to 1945. Schirach was a central figure in the Nazi Party's efforts to influence German youth. His actions during the Nazi regime led to his later conviction for crimes against humanity.

Schirach was born in Berlin on May 9, 1907. His father was Carl Baily Norris von Schirach, a retired cavalry captain. His mother, Emma Middleton Lynah Tillou, was American. Because of his mother, Schirach spoke English as his first language. He did not learn to speak German until he was six years old. His family had noble Sorbian origins. Three of his four grandparents were from the United States.

Schirach entered politics at a very young age. He joined the Nazi Party on August 29, 1925. He also joined the Sturmabteilung, or SA, in Weimar that same year. He met Adolf Hitler when he was seventeen. At that time, Schirach was assigned to guard duty during a speech. He was impressed by Hitler's voice. Schirach later became part of Hitler's inner circle. This connection happened partly through his marriage to Henriette Hoffmann. Her father was Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's personal photographer.

As a leader, Schirach focused heavily on propaganda and organization. He worked to make the Nazi Party more appealing to the middle class. He was named the national leader of the Hitler Youth in 1931. By 1933, he was the Youth Leader for the entire German Reich. He held responsibility for all youth organizations in the nation. He used speeches, songs, and books to spread Nazi ideas. He even wrote captions for many of Heinrich Hoffmann's photography books.

The Hitler Youth grew into a massive organization under his leadership. In 1936, it was declared the only legal youth organization. Membership became compulsory for children aged 10 and older in March 1939. By that time, the group had almost eight million members. Schirach wanted young people to practice blind obedience and total loyalty. He organized large events like the Reich Youth Day in 1932. This event drew between 50,000 and 70,000 adolescents to Potsdam.

Schirach also held high-ranking administrative positions during the war. In 1940, he was appointed Gauleiter of the Reichsgau Vienna. In this role, he was a virulent antisemite. He was responsible for the deportation of 65,000 Viennese Jews. These people were sent to various Nazi concentration camps in occupied Poland. During the same year, Schirach served as an infantryman in the French Campaign. He was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd Class, for his military service.

After the war, Schirach faced legal consequences for his actions. He fled Vienna in April 1945 to avoid the advancing Red Army. He eventually surrendered to American forces in Tyrol. He was later tried at the Nuremberg trials. The court convicted him of crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He served his sentence at Spandau prison until 1966. Schirach died in 1974 at the age of 67.