Youth company
During the First World War, youth companies were voluntary institutions for pre-military training in Germany.
history
There were forerunners in the youth armed forces before the war and some companies also emerged from these. In many places, however, it was a matter of start-ups. In the summer of 1914 there were plans to introduce a general “army pre-school education” for young people between the ages of 13 and 20. These considerations failed due to financial, organizational and political obstacles. Instead, so-called youth companies were formed on a voluntary basis. Within a short time, 7,000 such units were built in Prussia alone by December 1914. The number of members was about half a million.
From the small village of Müschede in the Sauerland it was reported that in 1915 the unit consisted of around 50 to 60 boys who moved out behind a marching band every Sunday and did paramilitary exercises in the field. In addition to the weekly exercises, the War Ministry announced military sports competitions that took place between the units at different levels.
In some cases, the local sports clubs subordinated their youth departments to the youth companies, in some cases the clubs founded their own youth companies in order to be able to influence the practice. How successfully the companies were able to motivate young people in the long term depended on the driving forces on site. Wherever there were highly committed people, a varied program, or where companies were successfully stylized as “honorary service”, it was possible to reach numerous young people for a longer period of time. This was not the case where the activity was dull according to the regulations of recruit training.
Overall, the youth companies were not very successful and they mostly fell apart quickly. Participation only increased again when there were material incentives such as additional food. Both some of the deputy general commands as well as the entrepreneurs were rather hostile to them because the full workforce of the youngsters seemed more important to them than outdoor games.
Individual evidence
- ^ Hans-Ulrich Wehler: German history of society. Vol. 4: From the beginning of the First World War to the establishment of the two German states. Munich, 2003 p. 99
- ↑ Messenger of the homeland for the soldiers of the office of Hüsten October 20, 1915
- ↑ Centralvolksblatt for the administrative region Arnsberg 209/1916 9.9.
- ↑ Peter Tauber: From the trenches to the green lawn: the First World War and the development of sport in Germany. Münster, 2008 p. 155
- ^ Hans-Ulrich Wehler: German history of society. Vol. 4: From the beginning of the First World War to the establishment of the two German states. Munich, 2003 p. 99
- ^ Gerhard Hirschfeld / Gerd Krumeich: Germany in the First World War. Frankfurt am Main, 2013 p. 135