Hitlerjugend: An In-Depth History: 1940 - Jahr der "Bewährung" - The year of trial
by Arvo L. Vercamer

On 03 February 1940, Artur Axmann and the HJ leadership released the outline for the HJ War Service Plan. The following highlights apply:
1.) Ideological and political indoctrination: Weekly indoctrination sessions for HJ and BDM.
2.) Cultural Activities: These will continue as scheduled. Activities will include singing, music, open air concerts, poetry recitals, etc. HJ members will also sing at factories, hospitals and retirement centers.
3.) Physical training: With the exception of the 16 to 18 year old HJ boys and the BDM section of "Faith and Beauty", every youth will participate in two hours worth of physical excercises once a week.
4.) Pre-military training: HJ boys aged 16 to 18 will have their pre-military training plan extended from six months to 12 months. Shooting and para-military excercises will now take place twice a month, usually on a Sunday.
5.) Leadership training: Additional HJ leader candidates needed to be identified because an increasing number of HJ leaders were being called up for war service.
6.) Civil Parades: HJ and BDM members will participate in parades; one parade to be held every two months during the winter; one parade to be held every month during the summer. Large group parades were forbidden, standing only and not marching was to be avoided.
7.) General Duty Regulations: The first and third Sunday of every month are reserved for HJ activities and meetings. The second and fourth Sundays of every month were for family times. Leave of absence on obligatory HJ Sundays shall not be granted.
8.) Summer Duties: Camping activities and hikes will continue as before, but the trips should be short in duration. The maximum number of participants in any single caminging or hiking event cannot exceed 100. Rail transportation cannot be utilized for summer youth events. Large urban centers can obtain exemptions from the above rules. Exemptions will be made for harvest seasons.
9.) Special Activities: HJ and BDM members will continue to collect "donations" as before (Winterhilfe, etc.) or offer assistance to their communities as needed. HJ members in military training are exempted from this. Luftschutz training will continue to alll youths. 16-17 year old BDM girls will be trained in basic first aid.

1940 also saw a change of HJ leadership. On August 7, 1940, Artur Axmann replaced von Schirach as the new "Reichsjugendführer der NSDAP".

In occupied Western Europe, a number of former HJ leaders were brought in to help the Germans administer their new conquests. For example, in the Netherlands, Hermann Lindenburger, a former HJ official since 1933, was ordered to the Netherlands to help build up the Dutch Hitlerjugend organization. Of note is that Lindenburger did not get along well with his superior, Fritz Schmidt.

On 09 March 1940, the German police issued additional rules and regulations designed to ensure that German youths do not turn to the dark side of the force. These laws became effective for the whole Reich. They included a ban on alcohol consumption, smoking in public, going alone to movie theaters after 2100 hours, etc.
On 04 October 1940, a new youth penal code was enacted.