Agnes Allison (née Agnes Suzannah Halàsz) was born on October 28, 1926, in Budapest, Hungary, to Ilona Gero and Robert Halász. She had a younger sister, Judy. Agnes attended a private German school established for the children of diplomats. There was a Hitler Youth movement at the school. Agnes and her family were forced out of their home following the German occupation of Hungary. She went into hiding in December 1944.
Beginning in 1933, the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls had an important role to play in the new Nazi regime. Through these organizations, the Nazi regime planned to indoctrinate young people with Nazi ideology. This was part of the process of Nazifying German society. The aim of this process was to dismantle existing social structures and traditions. The Nazi youth groups were about imposing conformity. Youth throughout Germany wore the same uniforms, sang the same Nazi songs, and participated in similar activities, as Agnes describes here.
I remember the Hitler Jugend [Hitler Youth] in school, of course: the boys dressed in their khaki shirts or brown shirts with the leather strap and their short pants, and the girls in their black skirts and the white blouses. And they would be excused from class every so often, and they'd march around the courtyard singing all these Nazi songs.
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How can personal testimonies and oral histories provide insights into the impacts of racism, antisemitism, and ideology?
Explore the Museum's website and Collections to learn more about the Nazi indoctrination of youth.
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