Herbert Norkus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Herbert Norkus (1916 - January 26, 1932 in Berlin) was a Hitler Youth member who was killed in an altercation with German Communists. He became a model and martyr for the Hitler Youth and was widely used in Nazi propaganda.
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[edit] Background
Born to a working class family in Berlin's Tiergarten district, Norkus joined the sea group of the Hitler Youth according to his interests. He was also reported to have enjoyed playing the piano and drawing. His father had been wounded in World War I and in historical writing has been cited as both a committed National Socialist or as a Communist. The later Nazi characterization of his father emphasized a claimed initial opposition to Herbert's Nazi loyalties.
Clashes between the Hitler Youth and the Communist Red Front youth movement were becoming increasingly common as the NSDAP and the German Communist Party struggled for power. It was in one of these street battles that 15-year-old Norkus would lose his life.
On Sunday morning, January 26, 1932, Herbert Norkus and other Hitler Youth were distributing leaflets advertising an upcoming Nazi meeting for the twenty-eighth. The group was attacked by Communists and fled. However, Norkus was caught and stabbed twice. He broke free and ran to a nearby house for help, but the owner slammed the door in his face. Norkus was then stabbed five more times and died, leaving bloody hand prints on the wall where he had tried to pull himself up.
[edit] "Hitlerjunge Quex"
Writer Karl Aloys Schenzinger made him into a propagandistic model in the popular Nazi book Der Hitlerjunge Quex (1932), which in 1933 also became a film directed by Hans Steinhoff with Heinrich George.
[edit] Honors
A school ship called the Herbert Norkus was built in his honor, and many schools, streets, and squares were also named after him.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Arnold Littmann: Herbert Norkus und die Hitlerjungen vom Beußelkietz. Berlin: Steuben. 1934.
- Hermann Gerstmayer (Hsrg.): Herbert Norkus, der Hitlerjunge. Berlin: Neues Verlagshaus für Volksliteratur. 1934.
- Rudolf Ramlow: Herbert Norkus? - hier! Opfer und Sieg der Hitler-Jugend. Stuttgart u.a.: Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft. 1933.
- Wolfgang Schwarz: Kameradschaft Herbert Norkus. Breslau: Handel. 1934.
- Artur Axmann: "Das kann doch nicht das Ende sein." Hitlers letzter Reichsjugendführer erinnert sich. Koblenz: Bublies. 1995. (Norkus gehörte zu Axmanns Gefolgschaft in Berlin) ISBN 3-926584-33-5
