On this day 5th October 1944, Germany begins conscription of sixteen-year-olds.

On this day 5th October 1944, Germany begins conscription of sixteen-year-olds.

As the war ground on, it became clear that the Hitler Youth’s real goal was to create more soldiers for the Reich. 

Children who had been saturated in Nazi ideology for years made obedient, fanatical soldiers.

Eventually, those soldiers became younger and younger. Starting in 1943, all boys 17 and older were forced to serve in the military.

In 1945, the desperate Nazi leadership began pulling younger boys out of school and sending them to the front.

These inexperienced children were essentially conscripted for suicide missions—and if they balked, they were executed. Those who survived faced harsh treatment at the hands of the Allies who captured them.

One of these young soldiers was Willi Hübner, a 16-year-old messenger with the Führer Grenadier Division.

At the beginning of March 1945, the Führer Grenadier Division was part of a counterattack to retake the Silesian town of Lauban.

After 8 days of fierce fighting, the town was secured, and cameras from Die Deutche Wochenschau were there to record the success for propaganda purposes.

Hübner was first awarded an Iron Cross 2nd Class by Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph P. Goebbels in Lauban. At 16, he was one of the youngest recipients of the award.

One day later Hubner was flown to Berlin, given a new uniform, redecorated by Artur Axmann, and was told to wait to meet Hitler.

On 20th March 1945, there was an award ceremony in the gardens of the Reichs Chancellory in Berlin for members of the Hitlerjugend who had distinguished themselves in combat.