Dirk G Van de Walle

Memories of My Youth in National Socialist Germany Dirk G Van de Walle

In Mein Kampf Adolf Hitler criticised the then existing educational system for placing excessive emphasis on the accumulation of useless knowledge, most of which is soon forgotten. Instead he advocated curtailment of the scholastic programme and the employment of the extra hours, made available, in physical training and the development of character, self-confidence, willpower and a sense of civic responsibility. More advanced teaching in the sciences, for example, would be provided for those who wished to specialise in such subjects, while in the teaching of history the race problem would occupy a dominant position. In Hitler's view the ultimate purpose of such an education would be to inculcate in the youth a racial instinct, the understanding of the racial ideal and the National Socialist Weltanschauung. Such an education would ensure the preservation of the German race and future cultural progress. On 20 April 1934 this vision of Hitler became a reality with the establishment of the first Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten or Napola schools. In this rare memoir the reader will find a first-hand account of life in two Napola schools, as experienced by Fleming, Dirk van de Walle. Also related are his military training in the Waffen SS and his subsequent capture and internment in American prisoner of war camps.