The Hitler Youth, or the Hitler Jugend, was the mass youth organization of the Nazi Party. Its aim was to indoctrinate children of the Reich to bring their beliefs in line with Nazism and encourage national cohesion. In 1939, membership of the Hitler Youth (and its female branch, the League of German Girls, or the Bund Deutscher Mädel) became compulsory for all German children over aged 10 who were deemed racially acceptable. By 1939, nearly 9 million children between 10 and 18 years old were members of the Hitler Youth, which was over 98 percent of all German children over age 10. In 1944, members of the Hitler Youth were conscripted into the German army and many fought alongside the depleted German forces in the Battle of Berlin.
