Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

Shortly after Hitler's suicide, the last remnants of the Hitler Youth made a desperate last stand at the Maximilian Bridge, but surrendered when it was clear they were against far superior forces. The American soldiers brought the boys to the infamous Dachau concentration camp, and the boys were aghast at the stacks of dead bodies and the huge crematorium ovens. For decades after, members of the Hitler Youth had to deal with the fact that they had helped a mass murderer kill millions of people.

World leaders agreed that Nazis had to be punished for their actions, and they proceeded with a military tribunal, popularly known as the Nuremberg Trials. Evidence was presented starting in November 1945. Nazi leaders told the court they were simply following orders, but the judges ruled the soldiers should be help accountable for their deplorable and immoral...