All other youth organisations had been absorbed or made illegal under the Nazi regime
Even with these restrictions, only 50% of German boys were members in 1933 and only 15% of girls
Membership of the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1939, about 7.5 million were child members; 1 million refused to join
Some young people decided to join anti-Nazi movements
- The Swing Movement: While some were in the Hitler Youth, the Swing Movement resented the way the Nazi's controlled people's lives. They demonstrated their discontent with the Nazi movement through their interest in banned music, especially American jazz and swing. They hung out in nightclubs and bars, and danced American dances. The Nazis acted against them by closing bars and nightclubs they attended.
- The Edelweiss Pirates: The name given to many small groups of young people across Germany. They wore the edelweiss flower as a symbol of resistance against the Nazis. The earliest group surface in 1934. By 1939, there was an estimated 2,000 Edelweiss Pirate groups. Some groups acted like the Swing Movement, opposing Nazi control of their lives. Other groups, such as those in Cologne, opposed Nazi political ideas. They mocked the Hitler Youth and even violently attacked some people.
- The White Rose Movement: This was a group of university students who distributed anti-Nazi leaflets and urged the Germans not to support World War Two.