“Swing Kids” or “Swing Youth”By: Molly McGowan

Who were they?• Teenagers and college students• Considered “deviant” to the Nazi Regime• Opposed the Hitlerjugend

Stereotypes• Long hair• Unkempt• Uneducated• Violent• Slang

Study: Effectiveness of Swing Kids

Depends on Perspective.

Were they effective?

German Perspective - YES• Preservation of Freedom• Nazi regime felt threatened by this group.

American Perspective - NO• Americans are taught what is relevant to America

• WWII – D-Day, Pearl Harbor, and Atomic Bombs

Interview with David Hauschild – History Teacher

in Secondary Education“There are different levels of

efficiency”

“I don’t know how German

students could be taught World

War II, therefore I do not know if

they are aware of

swing kids”

“I question the

importance and

significance of Swing

Kids”

“Understanding

historical perspective is key, and

we only have our

own perspective

”

“But, Jurassic

Park made 357 million

and this movie did not make

the top 100. The movie

was not even

mainstream.”

Questions?

Carter, Thomas, dir. Swing Kids. Writ. Jonathan Feldman. 1993. Film.  Fackler, Guido. “Jazz in the Third Reich” Music and the Holocaust. (1999). http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/politics-and-propaganda/third-reich/jazz-under-the-nazis/ Neuhaus, Tom. "No Nazi Party." History Today. (2005) Royston, Peter. “Swing in America and Germany: Lifting Up the Spirit” (2005). http://www.portwashington.com/moveweb/Guidewrite/swing.html Wallace, Claire, and Raimund Alt. "Youth Cultures Under Authoritarian Regimes." Youth and Society. (2001)