The Nazi state attempted to control every aspect of its citizens’ lives. It sought to undermine the authority of family and school by encouraging children to spy on parents and teachers and report any signs of disloyalty to the state.

Children and teenagers were urged and sometimes coerced in joining organizations such as the Hitler Youth and League of German Girls, which instilled them with racist ideology, devotion to Hitler, and enthusiasm to fight and even give their lives in defense of the Fatherland.

Children were given incentives to rise in the ranks of Hitler Youth, which mimicked the hierarchy of the state and military.
Schools were gradually brought under Nazi control. Their staffs were purged of non-Party members and the curriculum was "Nazified." Each school day began with a mandatory "Heil Hitler" and a Nazi salute.