Hitlerjugend: An In-Depth History: 1942 - "Osteinsatz und Landdienst" - Service in the east and on the land
by Arvo L. Vercamer

This was the last "peaceful" year for the HJ; that is, the last year in which members of the HJ and the BMD did not have to directly participate in combat and military actions. HJ members participated in both summer and winter sports competitions (Breslau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen) and at the cultural days in Weimar.

From April 15th, 1942, to early 1943, the number of killed HJ leaders rose from 8.600 to 15.500; mostly due to the Allied aerial bombing campaign.

600.000 HJ boys and 1.4 million BDM girls assisted German farmers to bring in the summer and fall harvests.

In 1942, the HJ established the W-E Lagers. These were special military training camps lasting three weeks in duration. By November of 1942, the Wehrmacht operated 120 W-E Lagers and the SS operated 42 such camps. If all of the HJ boys at their local school were 17, the whole class was sent to the W-E Lager as a single unit.