Meuten, Swings & Edelweißpiraten

Contents

An introduction to the first youth cultures of the modern era. How and where young people escaped the constraints of National Socialism.

Whether Swing Youth, Edelweiss Pirates, Meuten or Fahrtenstenze in Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Berlin, Munich and elsewhere – youth groups formed all over Germany between 1933 and 1945, refusing to submit to the Nazi regime and instead cultivating their own subcultures. With their own dress codes, songs and leisure activities, they lived autonomously and on their own terms. They were even prepared to confront the Hitler Youth directly, at times pushing back its influence through leaflets, anti-Nazi graffiti and raids on Hitler Youth centres – not only in major cities but also in rural areas.

For the first time, a book provides a comprehensive overview of oppositional and resistance activities among young people during the Nazi era. Its focus is on self-organized, informal groups whose members came together through personal affinities and shared cultural preferences in music and clothing. In contrast, the book also traces the development of the Hitler Youth and its failure to achieve its goal of controlling and leading all German youth.

American swing music also gave rise to Germany's first modern youth culture in the mid-1930s – a seedbed for all the subcultures that would follow throughout the 20th century. This book explains how this development came about.

For "Meuten, Swings & Edelweißpiraten", Sascha Lange interviewed numerous former subcultural activists, researched historical sources and archival materials, and assembled an extensive photographic archive. The book is therefore both a collection of source material and an introduction to the first youth cultures of the modern era: a richly illustrated reference work showing how and where young people escaped the constraints of National Socialism.

"Buy it, read it, understand it. Essential reading!" – Monchi (Feine Sahne Fischfilet)