Heil Hitler: Confessions of a Hitler Youth. Short film. 30:24 minutes. This film is the testimony of Alfons Heck, who participated in the Hitler Youth as a boy. Heck’s testimony is supported by historical films and photographs. Heck unflinchingly describes the effects of Nazi propaganda and assesses what happened to him when he was young. This film works well in contrast with memoirs such as Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps by Andrea Warren or One Survivor Remembers about Gerda Weissman Klein. Warning: There are some brief graphic scenes of dead bodies late in the film. Be sure to preview and make wise decisions about suitability for your students. Available via Facing History & Ourselves.

See also: “Heil Hitler!”: Lessons of Daily Life from Facing History & Ourselves. This lesson uses a short excerpt from a book about the daily lives of children in Nazi Germany.

See also: Youth in Nazi Germany from Facing History & Ourselves. A lesson on various aspects of children’s lives in Nazi Germany.