To make their young members strong, Hitler Youth groups spent the majority of their time together engaged in athletic activities. Members played sports, participated in warlike games, swam, boxed, hiked, and marched. A Pimpf was expected to be able to march thirteen miles a day carrying an eleven-pound knapsack. These athletic activities were designed to make Hitler Youth members the strongest and toughest youth in the world. In fact, the Hitler Youth spent so much time marching that it began to cause health problems. A medical journal article at the time concluded that "too much is demanded of the feet of these boys and girls, who have to march on hard roads, [and] carry heavy burdens."

The remainder of the time that boys and girls spent in the Hitler Youth was devoted to teaching them about Nazi ideology. In 1931 the Hitler Youth organization began...