WW2. What were the age of German Soldiers? Were there any German teenagers from the start of WW2?

Question

WW2. What were the age of German Soldiers? Were there any German teenagers from the start of WW2? I'm trying to research if there were any boys from 13-14-15... years old in German Army when they were attacking France and rest... I know that when Germans were defending Berlin in 1945 every single male/female was fighting, but I'm not sure if Hitler called in the army young men in 1940s. Anyone knows? Thanks!!!

Answer 1

No, there were no teenagers in the German army at the beginning of WW2. The Hitler Youth was not part of the army, it was mainly an institution for ideologic brainwashing of the boys. Their activities were mostly that of boy scouts. All the German boys had to join the Hitler Youth.

Answer 2

Hitler Youth
(full text here)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth

The Hitler Youth (German: Hitler-Jugend, abbreviated HJ) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that existed from 1922 to 1945. The Hitler Youth was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after the Sturmabteilung (SA) Stormtroopers.


By 1943, Nazi leaders began turning the Hitler Youth into a military reserve to draw manpower which had been depleted due to tremendous military losses. In 1943, the 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend, under the command of SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt, was formed. The Division was a fully equipped Waffen-SS panzer division, with the majority of the enlisted cadre being drawn from Hitler Youth boys between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. The division was deployed during the Battle of Normandy against the British and Canadian forces to the north of Caen. During the following months, the division earned itself a reputation for ferocity and fanaticism. When Witt was killed by allied naval gunfire, SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer took over command and became the youngest divisional commander at age 33.


April 20, 1945. On his 56th birthday, Hitler awards the Iron Cross to Hitler Youth outside his bunker.
A member of HJ aged 13 captured by the U.S. Army near Nartinzell in 1945As German casualties mounted with the combination of Operation Bagration and the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation in the east, and Operation Cobra in the west, members of the Hitlerjugend were recruited at ever younger ages. By 1945, the Volkssturm was commonly drafting Hitler Youth members into its ranks as young as 12 years old. During the Battle of Berlin, Axmann's Hitler Youth formed a major part of the last line of German defense, and were reportedly among the fiercest German soldiers. Although city commander General Helmuth Weidling ordered Axmann to disband the Hitler Youth combat formations, in the confusion, this was never carried out.

Answer 3

The German Army did not begin to recruit/conscript youths under the age of 18 until 1944. A number of youth organizations were involved in paramilitary functions such as augmenting the fire and police departments, and homeland defense functions such as air raid wardens & searching for downed pilots. When the allies enter germany proper then these youth groups were armed with what ever weapons were available and order to defend germany. But prior to 1944 I do not know of any instance in which youthes under the age of 18 were servicing the the german army.

Answer 4

There were a group of very young soldiers about that age. I can't remember what they were called, but it was something like Hitler's Youths, or something like that.

I'm not sure if these boys were fighting in the beginning of the war, though. They might not have been called to duty until nearer the end of the war when Germany was getting desperate.

Answer 5

You are asking about the Hitler youth?