Hitlerjugend: An In-Depth History: 1934 - Jahr der "Schulung" - Year of schooling
by Arvo L. Vercamer

The year 1934 was designated as the "Jahr der Schulung", the year of schooling. It was a time of accelerated membership growth for the HJ, but it also highlighted a number of serious command and control type problems. With so many new members joining the ranks of the HJ daily - who would lead and train them?

This problem was quickly acknowledged by the leadership of the HJ movement. To in part counter the leadership issues, special "Reichsführer" (Reich leadership) schools were established. These schools offered a three-week, accelerated "leadership" training regimens to selected DJ and HJ members. In addition to learning command and control intricacies, the schools also focused on athletic events and on small arms and marksmanship skills.

During the September 1934 NSDAP rally in Nürnberg, Leni Riefenstahl filmed one of the most effective propaganda and documentary films ever done in the Third Reich - "The triumph of the will". HJ honor guards and HJ groups from around Germany played many prominent roles in the making of the film as well as participating in numerous activities at the party rally.

1934 was also the year of the "Röhm putsch". During this round of purges and murders, old political scores were settled and opposition members within the NSDAP leadership were eliminated. This also had a trickle-down effect to the HJ, as they too "settled" some old scores and eliminated a number of opposition youth leaders.