The YCL and the Hitler Jugend

The old adage – "he who does not learn from history is destined to repeat it " – is particularly relevant in present day Nepal. Examples of the rise and fall of groups such as the Maoists abound in history. Although each is highly contextual, one cannot help but notice the many commonalities between such cases. Sometimes, such as in the untimely and largely preventable takeover of war weary Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge, the link is in the ideology. Other times, the common thread is to be found in the methodology.

The Maoist Young Communist League (YCL) is once again in the limelight for their utter
disregard for the rule of law and for their conscious and consistent efforts at undermining democratic norms. According to news reports, "the YCL, who had threatened to take life of Panchthar's Local Development Officer (LDO) Bhakti Prasad Upreti, vandalized his residence Sunday night after taking it under their control." That report comes just a day after the YCL physically attacked the Chief District Officer and ransacked the District Headquarters Office in Dolakha, in what is being seen as an open challenge to the democratic parties that share power with the Maoists in the interim government. Indeed, as one paper reported, "Despite the volley of protests, the Maoists have defended their action. The Maoists have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to release Comrade Bishal Khadka, who is charged under the Public Offence Act. They have warned of strong agitation if their demand is not met within 24 hours and accused that 'regressive elements' were behind the whole episode."

Despite the almost opposing ideological bases, the modus operandi of the Nepali Maoist YCL bears more than a passing resemblance to the Hitler Youth (Hitler Jugend - HJ) of yesteryear. In pre-WWII Germany , the elected democratic leaders seemed unable to cope with the enormous daily sufferings brought on by the Great Depression. Throughout Germany, thousands of businesses had failed. People lost their life's savings. Millions were unemployed, struggling just to put food on the table to feed their children.

It was under those circumstances that a German society which had been an example of civilization accepted and supported Hitler's deadly populist agenda. The circumstances that fueled the rise of Hitler are not that different from the genuine grievances that the Maoists exploited. Both the Nazis and the Maoists sought to manipulate the public mood and ride any bandwagon, accept any bedfellow, as long as it took them closer to their ultimate goal of securing total and undisputed power.

The HJ, much like the YCL had no qualms about indulging in democratic exercise as a stepping stone on their climb to power. Just as the YCL is gearing up for the CA Elections in 2007, the Hitler Youth played an important role in the 1930 elections in Germany. Throughout Germany, along with the storm troopers, they tirelessly campaigned to get Nazis elected to the Reichstag in the then-faltering democratic government. In the election held on September 14, 1930, Nazis won 107 seats in the Reichstag, instantly becoming the second largest political party in Germany. In 1932, the HJ took part in four separate election campaigns - two Reichstag elections and two Presidential elections. Hitler's strategy, as with the Maoists, was simple - to achieve power democratically and then eliminate democracy.

Uniformed Hitler Youth, like the YCL with their red-bandanas, were a visible force in the streets, campaigning for Hitler and conducting frequent propaganda campaigns. Street violence, such as what we saw at Dolakha here in Nepal, occurred regularly. Initially, they battled with fists and sticks but increasingly resorted to the use of firearms. The incident that led to the killing of 12 year old boy named Norkus became the focus of the Nazi feature length propaganda movie "Hitler Junge Quex" which starred actual members of the Berlin Hitler Youth. Today, in total violation of the clause of the cease fire agreement that specifically forbids all activities that provoke the other side, the Maoists are busy producing propaganda films like "Awaj" that glorify their role in the People's War and demonize the government forces.

While it is interesting to make such comparisons, the real value of identifying such commonalities in approach is in regard to the implications for the future. A study of the activities of the HJ could be the window that provides a glimpse of the Nepal that we may inherit if the Maoist designs remain unchecked.

In April 1932, the Hitler Youth was banned by Chancellor Heinrich Brüning in an attempt to stop widespread political violence. But by June the ban was lifted by his successor, Franz von Papen as a way of appeasing Hitler whose political star was ascending rapidly.

Following the Nazi seizure of power, other right-wing youth groups were banned or merged into the HJ. On the night of January 30, 1933, Nazis in Berlin celebrated the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany by conducting massive torchlight parades. Hitler Youth units were among those in the columns passing under the watchful gaze of Hitler and Paul von Hindenburg, the elderly president of Germany who had just signed away democracy.

Within two months, Hitler acquired dictatorial powers resulting from the Enabling Act passed by the Nazi controlled Reichstag. Hitler's acquisition of power meant the Hitler Youth and all other Nazi organizations now had the official power of the State on their side. The period of Nazi Gleichschaltung (forced coordination) immediately began in which all German institutions and organizations were either Nazified or disbanded. Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach now sought to eliminate all 400 of the other competing youth organizations, large and small, throughout Germany.

The HJ's YCL like activities brought untold suffering to the common Germans in the street. During WWII, the girls of the HJ, who were often more extremist than the boys, played a significant role in the ideological and propaganda side. Sometimes estranged from their families, the girls would become their family's ideological police.

An ominous new development within the HJ was the appearance of HJ-Streifendienst (Patrol Force) units functioning as internal political police, maintaining order at meetings, ferreting out disloyal members, and denouncing anyone who criticized Hitler or Nazism including their own parents. One case involved a teenaged HJ member named Walter Hess who turned in his father for calling Hitler a crazed Nazi maniac. His father was then hauled off to Dachau under Schutzhaft (protective custody). For setting such an example, Hess was promoted to a higher rank within the HJ. HJ-Streifendienst members also secretly infiltrated remnants of the other German youth movements and provided tips to the Gestapo which led to the arrest and murder of many leaders.

The Nazi's, holding a long term view, attacked the education sector with a vengeance. It was mandatory to hang a portrait of Hitler in every classroom. Particular emphasis was paid to the subject of history, which was rewritten to glorify Nazi themes. Parents who prevented their children from joining the HJ were subject to heavy prison sentences.

By 1939, about 82 percent ( 7.3 million) of eligible youths within the Reich belonged to the HJ, making it the largest youth organization in the world. A new law was issued on March 25, 1939, conscripting any remaining holdouts into the organization amid warnings to parents that their children would be taken from them and placed in orphanages unless they enrolled. In similar vein to the Maoists drive to enlist young Nepalis, the HJ membership was made compulsory for youths over 17 in 1939, and for all over the age of 10 in 1941.

The similarities between the approach of the Maoist YCL and the Germany's HJ are staggering because both were tools for the party leadership to use as and when necessary to secure their goals and tighten the grip of terror. Nepalese society and the well wishing but often naïve international community are understandably so weary of conflict that even a direct attack on the seat of the democratic government in a District Headquarters is in the danger of being glossed over in a potentially fatal game of appeasement. Meanwhile, the YCL, much like their HJ brethren, carry on their unlawful activities almost unabated. While the Nepali people and our friends in the international community may take some solace from the historical fact that Nazi Germany was eventually defeated, perhaps that's taking historical precedents a bit too far. It may be more prudent, at present, to remember another old adage that reminds us at this critical juncture of our history that, "all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing."

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