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Step into the mysterious world of Napola schools! Discover how these elite Nazi institutions shaped young minds, mixed propaganda with education, and left a legacy that's still debated today. If you love history with a twist, this deep dive is for you. Subscribe for more fascinating stories and let us know in the comments what surprised you most! #history #education #Germany #WWII #schools
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@zeitgeschichteinbildundton
0:21 - Introduction and Historical Context
0:49 - Founding and Expansion of NAPOLAs
2:26 - Differences from Other Nazi Institutions
3:34 - Notable Alumni and Common Misconceptions
6:24 - History and Role Models of Cadet Institutions
7:57 - Structure, Authority, and International Relations
14:50 - Selection, Daily Life, and Curriculum at NAPOLAs
22:24 - War, Occupation, and the End of Cadet Schools
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@zeitgeschichteinbildundton
0:21 - Introduction and Historical Context
0:49 - Founding and Expansion of NAPOLAs
2:26 - Differences from Other Nazi Institutions
3:34 - Notable Alumni and Common Misconceptions
6:24 - History and Role Models of Cadet Institutions
7:57 - Structure, Authority, and International Relations
14:50 - Selection, Daily Life, and Curriculum at NAPOLAs
22:24 - War, Occupation, and the End of Cadet Schools
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:20First of all, I would like to emphasize that the majority of the German photographs shown,
00:26dating from 1933 to 1945, were produced for propaganda purposes, as was practiced by all state institutions worldwide at that
00:38time.
00:39Regardless of that, they are valuable as documents because they allow us to look into a time that is almost
00:46100 years in the past.
00:48The first National Political Education Institute, officially called NPEA or popularly known as NAPOLA,
00:57was founded on the 20th April 1933 in Plön, also on Hitler's 44th birthday, and opened on May 1st.
01:08In 1933, the NPEA's Körsling in Pomerania and Potsdam followed.
01:14Students at the NAPOLAS graduated with the Abitur.
01:18They were supposed to serve as elite schools, modeled after ancient Sparta, British elite schools like Eton, and the Prussian
01:27Cadet Corps.
01:30By 1945, a total of 43 NAPOLAS had been established throughout the entire Reich, 40 for boys and 3 for
01:39girls.
01:42One was initially in Vienna on Boerhaf Gasse, which was then moved to Schloss Hubertendorf, and later to Auhof near
01:49Tönitz.
01:51Kölmar Berg in Luxemburg.
01:53Here are some impressions of school life.
01:56The third one was in Illenau in Achean, but it was soon moved to the confiscated Benedictine Abbey Schweigelberg near
02:06Wilschhofen in Bavaria.
02:08Then returned to Achean and moved into the school building of the Hegne Monastery on Lake Constance in May 1943.
02:18Finally, there was also a NAPOLA Reich School for girls in Heidusen, Holland, which I will discuss in more detail
02:25later.
02:26But even though all NAPOLAS are lumped together today due to research, laziness, and ignorance,
02:35they were not comparable to the SS Junker schools founded in 1934,
02:41the first one here in Bad Totes, which were more comparable to those responsible for officer cadet training,
02:48the Army's officer schools,
02:51and also not with a 12-boarding school like Adolf Hitler School's AHS for so-called Ordensjunker,
02:58which were under the authority of the Gauleiters,
03:02which were founded in January 1937 by the head of the German labor front DRF,
03:10Dr. Robert Ley, who took his own life in Nuremberg on October 25, 1945.
03:17And in 1937, together with the abdicated King of Great Britain,
03:23Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, and the leader of the Hitler Youth,
03:28who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Nuremberg,
03:32Baldor von Schirach.
03:35Just as reports about school life have always often differed greatly in content,
03:40this is also the case with the memories of the NAPOLA students.
03:45This was also because there wasn't just one NAPOLA,
03:50but they differed from location to location in their academic focus,
03:55and the customs practice there.
03:58And of course, there was also the shock for many boys after the outbreak of war in 1939,
04:04which came as a surprise to most
04:06after many of their teachers were drafted and replaced by staff who were not always suitable,
04:14who then increasingly introduced purely military content such as shooting, Morse code, war games, and so on.
04:23By the way, the cadets at the military academies had similar experiences starting in 1914,
04:29after their military instructors went to the front and were replaced by older civilian teachers.
04:37But it is also an undeniable fact that in retrospect,
04:41many NAPOLA students spoke positively about their experiences.
04:45Many of them also had remarkable careers after World War II,
04:49especially in the Federal Republic, in politics, business, the military, arts, culture, and sports.
04:57Like Rüdiger von Weckmar, who attended the NAPOLA Berlin Spandau from 1935 to 1941,
05:04in the 1970s and 1980s, ambassador of the Federal Republic at the UN and in Rome and London.
05:10Or Heinz Dewar, the entrepreneur and manager and, among other things,
05:15head of the German Federal Railways,
05:17who was a student at the NPEA Schulte-Forte from 1944 to 1945,
05:22Lieutenant General Leopold Kalupa,
05:26student in Naumburg from 1940 to 1945,
05:30from October 1983, Supreme,
05:33commander, Allied Forces, Central Europe,
05:37the dropsman, graphic artist, and photographer Horst Janssen,
05:40from 1942 at the NPEA Emsland in Hasselhune.
05:46Or the journalist and film and literature critic Helmut Karasik,
05:50from 1941 to 1944,
05:54student at the NPEA in Upper Silesian Lublinitz,
05:59which was called Luben from 1941 to 1945.
06:04Finally, the sports official Rolf Andressen, among other things,
06:08president and honorary member of the German Volleyball Association
06:12from 1936 to 1943 at the NPEA Plönnen.
06:18He is listed on Wikipedia under the section NEPOLA,
06:21served from 1973 to 1992,
06:25Theo Sommer, who served as editor of Diasite,
06:28as well as the actor mentioned there,
06:31Hardy Kruger,
06:32were not students at an NPEA,
06:35but at an Adolf Hitler school,
06:37in their case,
06:38the Ordensberg-Sontov.
06:39Here is my video about the N.S. Ordensberg
06:43and its transformation into Army NCO School 1.
06:47Nor was Alfred Herrhausen,
06:50who was also mentioned there,
06:52after the war,
06:54chairman of the board of Deutsche Bank
06:55and murdered on November 30, 1989,
06:59either by members of the communist Bader-Meinhof gang,
07:04the Stasi of the GDR,
07:06or the so-called Palestinian Liberation Front.
07:10He was actually at the Reichsschule Felderfing
07:13from 1942,
07:14which on the 1st of April 1934
07:18had been founded as the National Socialist
07:21German High School Starnberger See.
07:23From 1938, it was then called
07:26the Reichsschule of the Nazi Party Felderfing RSF
07:30and had nothing to do with the NAPOLA.
07:32Subtitles
07:33Even if a South German newspaper
07:36writes under this picture,
07:37the historical photo shows
07:39Reichsminister Ernst Röhm
07:41at the inauguration of the
07:43National Political Education Institute,
07:46for short, NAPOLA,
07:48which just goes to show you
07:50how everything is now being mixed together
07:52and adds even more to the general confusion.
07:56I had already mentioned the reference
07:59to the role models of the NPAS.
08:01I also mentioned the history
08:03of the Prussian Cadet Institute,
08:05whose tradition goes back
08:07to the Knight Academy established in 1653
08:10in Kohlberg, western Pomerania,
08:13by the great Elektor.
08:14But when, on June 28, 1919,
08:17the German delegation in Versailles,
08:20according to France's demands,
08:22on that very day,
08:23exactly five years after the assassination,
08:26of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne
08:29and his wife,
08:30the German delegation was virtually forced
08:32to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
08:34Not only was the long-disproved
08:37Seoul war guilt imposed on the German Reich,
08:40along with other provisions,
08:42including these territorial losses,
08:45but he was also more or less demilitarized
08:48with the support of the Reich government.
08:51This also included the dissolution
08:54of the 228-year-old Saxon Cadet Corps,
08:58the 164-year-old Bavarian,
09:00as well as the 205-year-old Prussian Cadet Corps.
09:03In the First World War alone,
09:06starting from the beginning of the war
09:08on the 1st,
09:10August 1914,
09:11out of the 739 members
09:13of the main cadet institute
09:15Grossluchterfelder West,
09:16who joined their military units,
09:19373 were killed,
09:21which means more than half.
09:23In Prussia,
09:25until their forced dissolution,
09:278 Preparatory Corps,
09:28the so-called cadet preparatory institutions,
09:31later called cadet houses.
09:33Each with two companies
09:35totaling 1,690 cadets
09:38in Potsdam,
09:39Laerstadt in Lower Silesia,
09:41Benzberg,
09:42Prussian Rhine Province,
09:44Orangenstein,
09:45Prussian Province of Nassau,
09:47Plön,
09:48Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein,
09:50Koeslin in West Pomerania.
09:53The school had previously been located
09:55in Kulm, West Prussia,
09:56since 1776,
09:59Nürnberg-Sahle,
10:00Prussian Province of Saxony,
10:02as well as since 1892,
10:05the Royal Prussian Cadet House
10:07Karlsruhe in Baden,
10:09the only one of the 8th Prussian
10:11preparatory corps outside of Prussia.
10:14Finally,
10:15the main cadet institute Berlin-Lichterfelder
10:17inaugurated on September 1, 1878.
10:22The motto Prussian obedience stems from free choice,
10:26not submissive civility.
10:30The main cadet institute,
10:32with its 1,000 cadets admitted from the 10th grade onward
10:35in 10 companies,
10:37was considered one of the best military schools worldwide.
10:40Anyone who wants to learn more about the life,
10:43the training,
10:44and the end of the main cadet institute
10:46in Berlin-Lichterfelde West
10:48may want to watch this video.
10:50The Prussian Cadet Corps,
10:521717 to 1920,
10:54Critique and Appreciation
10:57And the book by the former cadet
10:59and later writer Ernst von Salomon,
11:03in his almost documentary-style novel
11:06from 1933,
11:07The Cadets,
11:08he praises the education received there
11:10and expresses his regret
11:12over the ban on cadet institutions
11:14imposed by the Treaty of Versailles
11:16with impressive words.
11:19From 1933,
11:21the former main cadet institute
11:22housed the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler
11:25and from 1947,
11:27the U.S. Army,
11:29now the Federal Archives.
11:33After the ban on cadet institutes,
11:36these facilities were converted
11:37into state educational institutions,
11:41the so-called Stabilas.
11:43There were no cadet institutes
11:45in the Weimar Republic.
11:47They were only re-established
11:49as national political educational institutions
11:52with the beginning of the Third Reich.
11:55The reason for this
11:56was that Hitler had taken over
11:58an intact administration
12:00and functioning state structures.
12:02But since the newly created Reich
12:05was supposed to last forever,
12:07he wanted to replace the old leadership
12:09with a new one as soon as possible.
12:11From now on,
12:13according to the guidelines,
12:15young people were to be educated
12:17in the national socialist spirit.
12:20And since women were not intended
12:22for the upper levels of state leadership,
12:24there were, for example,
12:25the Napolas.
12:26Except for the three mentioned,
12:28they were reserved exclusively
12:30for boys from the age of 10
12:32and young men
12:33who had proven their intellectual ability
12:36and especially their athleticism.
12:38In the early years,
12:40the NPEAs were under the authority
12:43of the severely alcoholic
12:44and on the 8th,
12:46on May 8th, 1945,
12:48the Reich Minister for Science,
12:50Education and Public Instruction,
12:52Bernhard Rust,
12:53who died by suicide,
12:55passed away.
12:56By 1935,
12:57there were 15 Napolas.
12:59By 1938,
13:00there were 21,
13:01including four in Austria
13:03and one in the Sudetenland.
13:05However,
13:06the idea for this type of school
13:08had already been conceived earlier
13:10by the SA who,
13:12after the Nazis came to power in 1934,
13:15was appointed inspector
13:17of the state administration
13:18of the Napolas.
13:19As A-Sturmbannführer,
13:21Dr. Joachim Haupt.
13:23However,
13:24since he was considered
13:25a close friend
13:26of the homosexual SA chief of staff,
13:29Ernst Ruhm,
13:29who was murdered
13:31in June 1934,
13:33along with other SA leaders
13:35by SS commandos
13:37during the so-called SA coup,
13:39which was allegedly planned
13:41and named after him,
13:42Haupt had only narrowly escaped
13:44being murdered himself.
13:46Later, however,
13:47he was arrested
13:48and dismissed
13:49from all his positions
13:50and the party.
13:51The main reason
13:52for this being
13:53that he wanted to maintain
13:55the Napolas
13:56as a state institution
13:57and prevent their takeover
13:59by the Hitler Youth
14:00and the SS.
14:02So, it happened
14:04that the schools,
14:05which, until 1936,
14:07were under
14:08the Reich Ministry of Science,
14:10Education,
14:10and Public Instruction
14:12since the 9th,
14:14March 1936,
14:16belonged to the inspector
14:17of the National Political
14:18Educational Institutions
14:20under SS Obergruppenführer
14:22August Heismayer.
14:26By 1940,
14:28the SS had taken
14:29complete control
14:30over the Napolas
14:31and had sole authority
14:33over curricula
14:34and staffing decisions.
14:38They were also responsible
14:40for selecting
14:41the new so-called young men
14:43and their principals
14:44and teachers.
14:45They were required
14:47to join the General SS.
14:50An interesting episode
14:52often forgotten today
14:53was the student exchange program
14:55adopted in the summer
14:56of 1935
14:58between leading American
14:59and German schools.
15:03Under the fellowship
15:04founded in 1927
15:06by the principal
15:07of Tabor Academy
15:08in Massachusetts,
15:10Walter Houston Lillard
15:12founded the so-called
15:14International Schoolboy Fellowship,
15:16where the exchange
15:17of students
15:18was intended
15:19to promote
15:19better relations
15:21between nations.
15:22The participating countries
15:24included the USA,
15:26France,
15:27Great Britain
15:27and Germany.
15:29Many leading elite
15:30private schools
15:31in the USA,
15:32so-called prep schools,
15:34participated in
15:35the Napola exchange program
15:36after 1935,
15:38such as
15:39Phillips Academy Andover
15:40in Massachusetts
15:41and Phillips Academy Exeter
15:43in New Hampshire,
15:45also schools in Delaware,
15:47Connecticut,
15:47and New Jersey.
15:50Between 1936 and 1938,
15:5315 American students
15:55each year completed
15:56a 10-month stay
15:57at the Nazi elite schools.
16:00While in return,
16:0230 Napola students
16:03each spent five months
16:05at the American schools.
16:07It was taken for granted
16:09that both sides
16:10repeatedly tried
16:11to convey
16:11the superiority
16:13of their own system.
16:14With the outbreak
16:16of the war,
16:16the exchange program
16:17was terminated.
16:19In Germany,
16:21in order to find
16:21students suitable
16:22for attending
16:23a Napola,
16:24elementary schools
16:25had to submit
16:25the boys
16:26from the third grade,
16:27whom they considered
16:28suitable every November 1st
16:30and fourth grade,
16:31to the responsible
16:32school authority,
16:33which would then
16:34forward this recommendation
16:36to the nearest NPEA.
16:38Since there were always
16:40significantly more applicants
16:41than available spots,
16:43the selection criteria
16:44were strict.
16:45Particular importance
16:46was also placed
16:47on the so-called
16:48Aryan descent
16:49of the applicant,
16:50his state of health,
16:52as well as character
16:53and personality.
16:54People who wore glasses
16:55were not accepted.
16:56If the parents
16:57could not pay
16:58the school fees,
16:59the school administration
17:00covered the costs,
17:01which were about
17:0250 Reichsmarks
17:03per minute onth.
17:04There are always
17:05new reports
17:06to be read
17:06in modern German
17:07about the supposed
17:08existence
17:09of a national socialist
17:11orientation
17:11at that time.
17:13The boys are probably
17:14a result of such
17:15propaganda images,
17:17because a nine-
17:17or ten-year-old boy
17:19hardly had the
17:20intellectual capacity
17:21for that.
17:22Rather,
17:23the boys were
17:23enthusiastic about
17:25uniforms and
17:26pseudo-military
17:27bearing.
17:28That wasn't
17:29difficult for them
17:30either,
17:30since they had
17:30plenty of role models
17:31in their fathers
17:32ever since the
17:33militarization of the
17:34parties that began
17:35in the Weimar Republic.
17:36In this,
17:37the SPD,
17:38now often conveniently
17:39forgotten,
17:40played a part
17:41with the Reichsbaner
17:42Schwarz-Rott-Gold.
17:43With up to
17:44three million members,
17:45it was the largest
17:46organization,
17:47including at least
17:48250,000 men
17:50in its combat units.
17:51The Schutzformationen
17:53or Schufos.
17:55On average,
17:56each Napola
17:56received around
17:57400 applicants
17:58per year,
17:59of whom about
18:00100 were accepted
18:01after a week-long
18:02entrance examination,
18:04who were then
18:04assigned to a
18:05Napola at the
18:06start of the
18:07school year.
18:07There,
18:08both teachers and
18:09students wore
18:10uniforms,
18:11initially those
18:12of the Hitler
18:12youth,
18:13then from
18:14August 1934
18:15onwards.
18:16An olive-green
18:17uniform with a
18:18four-pocket tunic,
18:19prayer triangle,
18:20belt,
18:21district triangle,
18:22belt buckle with
18:23the inscription
18:24blood and honor,
18:25trousers,
18:26a khaki-colored
18:26shirt,
18:27and a black tie.
18:28The individual
18:29schools were
18:29distinguished by
18:30the color of
18:30their shoulder
18:31boards and
18:31the initials
18:32NPAA.
18:33While the
18:34students coming
18:35from the
18:35Hitler youth
18:36wore their
18:37Hitler youth
18:37knives,
18:38which were not
18:39actually part of
18:39the uniform,
18:40but could be
18:41purchased by
18:42anyone for
18:43four Reichsmarks,
18:44the H.J.
18:45knives were
18:45allowed to be
18:46worn on the
18:47back left hip.
18:47With the
18:49engraved motto
18:50blood and
18:50honor on
18:51the blade,
18:52their teachers
18:53wore a service
18:54dagger with
18:55the engraving.
18:56The Prussian
18:57motto coined
18:58by Field
18:58Marshal
18:59Helmut von
19:00Moltke the
19:01Elder to
19:01be more
19:02than to
19:02seem.
19:03For the
19:04teachers,
19:05in addition
19:05to professional
19:06competence,
19:07leadership skills
19:08were required.
19:09They also
19:10had to have
19:10reserve officer
19:11status,
19:12for which the
19:13army offered
19:14special courses
19:14for teachers
19:15without prior
19:16military service.
19:18The weekly
19:19schedule included
19:2037 hours of
19:21lessons,
19:22with four
19:22hours each
19:23of German,
19:24Mathematics,
19:25English,
19:25and Latin.
19:26The remaining
19:2713 hours were
19:28history and
19:29geography,
19:30biology,
19:31chemistry and
19:31physics,
19:32art and
19:33music.
19:33Again and
19:34again,
19:35the so-called
19:35ideological
19:36training was
19:37incorporated into
19:39the lessons,
19:39as well as
19:40racist viewpoints.
19:42Religious
19:43education or
19:44church visits,
19:45like those at
19:46the cadet
19:46institutions of
19:47the German
19:48monarchies did
19:49not take place.
19:50That's why the
19:51motto of the
19:51N.P.R.A.
19:52Benzberg is
19:53surprising.
19:55As was always
19:56emphasized by the
19:57party on every
19:58occasion,
19:59special emphasis
20:00was also placed
20:01on this in the
20:02school classes,
20:03on the promotion
20:04of camaraderie,
20:06physical courage
20:07and sense of
20:08duty as well as
20:09self-discipline,
20:10willingness to
20:11make sacrifices
20:12and a sense of
20:13belonging to the
20:13Volksgemeinschaft.
20:14For physical
20:15education,
20:16which was still
20:17called physical
20:18training,
20:19until the
20:191960s,
20:21eight hours
20:21per week
20:22were scheduled.
20:23In addition to
20:24track and field,
20:25it included
20:26rowing,
20:27boxing,
20:28fencing,
20:28swimming,
20:29gliding,
20:30and horseback
20:30riding.
20:32Older students
20:33could obtain a
20:34driver's license
20:34for motorcycles
20:35and motor
20:36vehicles.
20:37In addition,
20:38under the
20:38supervision of
20:39Wehrmacht
20:39officers,
20:40there were also
20:41regular marksmanship
20:42exercises and
20:43orienteering marches
20:45that ended with
20:45tent camps around
20:46a campfire.
20:49Just like at the
20:51state high schools
20:52with their modern
20:52language or
20:53classical tracks,
20:55or the real
20:55gymnasium that
20:56existed until the
20:571960s with a focus
20:59on mathematics
21:00or science,
21:02there were also
21:04similar specialized
21:05schools at the
21:06Napolas.
21:07However, there was
21:08a glaring difference
21:09compared to the
21:10state high schools
21:11because, in addition
21:13to the military
21:14organization,
21:15instead of classes,
21:16there were platoons.
21:18And as it was
21:19said, to protect
21:20them from the
21:21temptations of
21:22class arrogance,
21:23they were mandatory
21:24for students of
21:25the younger grades
21:28to spend a certain
21:30period on a farm
21:31while older students,
21:32for example,
21:33were assigned to
21:34work in a mine
21:35or a factory.
21:37As we found
21:38today, in the
21:39highest class,
21:40class, the
21:40Oberprima, the
21:41written and oral
21:42exams for obtaining
21:44the general
21:44university entrance
21:46qualification took
21:47place.
21:47After that, every
21:49student was free to
21:50choose any course of
21:51study they wanted.
21:53In total, a little
21:54more than 15,000
21:56young people between
21:57the ages of 10 and
21:5818 have been
21:59educated at the
22:00Napola schools,
22:02schools, but that
22:03only makes up a
22:04small percentage in
22:05the German secondary
22:06school system from
22:071933 to 1945.
22:11However, the
22:12Napolas did not
22:13see themselves as
22:15competitors to the
22:16existing school
22:16system, but rather
22:18as a supplement
22:19similar to the
22:20cadet institutions
22:21in Imperial
22:23Germany.
22:24It is also
22:25noteworthy that
22:27in the
22:27Netherlands, which
22:28had been
22:29occupied since
22:301942, so-called
22:31Napola-Reich
22:32schools were
22:33established, such
22:34as the one in
22:351942 in
22:36Valkenburg and
22:38a girl in the
22:38province of
22:39Limburg.
22:40Half a year
22:41later, on
22:41July 9, 1942,
22:43the Reich
22:44school for
22:45girls was
22:46opened in
22:47part of the
22:47St.
22:48Elizabeth
22:48convent in
22:50Heidwizen, near
22:51Roermond, led
22:53by the Dutch
22:54baroness Julia
22:55Andrea
22:56Obtenort.
22:58And although
22:59she was not
23:00very successful
23:01as a principal,
23:02that was not
23:03the reason
23:04Reichsführer
23:05SS Himmler
23:06ordered her
23:06recall to
23:07Germany in
23:07September 1943,
23:10quote, for
23:11a special
23:12assignment, not
23:14due to her
23:15pedagogical
23:15incompetence, but
23:17rather that the
23:18unmarried
23:19baroness was
23:20given the
23:20opportunity in
23:21a so-called
23:22Lebensborn
23:23home, to
23:25give birth to
23:26a healthy boy
23:26on February
23:2726, 1944, who
23:30was given the
23:31name Heinrich,
23:32since it was
23:33rumored that
23:34Heinrich Himmler
23:34was his
23:35father.
23:36On September
23:371, 1943, the
23:39so-called Reich
23:39school of
23:40Flanders was
23:41also opened in
23:42the small
23:42village of
23:43Quartrecht-Wetteren
23:44near Ghent in
23:45Belgium.
23:46When the
23:46front approached
23:47at the end of
23:48August 1944, it
23:50was first
23:50relocated to
23:51the Napola
23:52Ballenstädt, then
23:53to Streichel
23:54Castle in
23:54Styria.
23:55At the end of
23:56October, to
23:57Wollstein
23:58Castle, about
23:5975 kilometers
24:00southwest of
24:01Posen, today
24:02called Poznan
24:03in Polish.
24:04However, by
24:05then the
24:05majority of
24:06the approximately
24:07120 students
24:08between the
24:09ages of 10
24:10and 14 had
24:11already returned
24:11to Germany by
24:12various means.
24:14after the
24:15occupation of
24:15Germany by
24:16the US
24:17army, they
24:18were brought
24:18back to
24:19Belgium, where
24:20their parents
24:20were already
24:21in prison for
24:22collaboration.
24:25After a short
24:26stay in
24:27Brussels, the
24:28former
24:28Napola students
24:29were then
24:29transferred to
24:30Ruslede in
24:31West Flanders,
24:33where they were
24:34subjected to a
24:35re-education
24:36program that
24:37lasted up to
24:3813 months.
24:41As for the
24:41older cohorts
24:42at the
24:42Napolis during
24:43the war years,
24:45many had
24:46volunteered for
24:47the branches of
24:47the Wehrmacht
24:48or the Waffen
24:49SS, with a
24:51number of them
24:52having been
24:52killed in
24:53action.
24:54However, many
24:55former students
24:56have also
24:56reported that
24:58the institution
24:59directors in
25:001945 took
25:02considerable care
25:03of their wards
25:04and often
25:05protected them
25:06from being
25:07sent to the
25:07front.
25:10After losing
25:11the war, the
25:13Allied Control
25:14Council, through
25:15Control Council
25:16Law, number
25:1834, issued
25:19on August 20,
25:201946, prohibited
25:22the establishment
25:22of cadet schools
25:23on German soil.
25:24However, the
25:25GDR did not
25:26comply with this
25:27ban and in
25:281956 established
25:30a cadet school
25:31in the former
25:32Prussian Cadet
25:33Institute in
25:34Nambuxale, which
25:35later became a
25:36Napola.
25:36A cadet school!
25:38Here is one of
25:39the uniform
25:40shoulder boards.
25:42In 1960, the
25:43National People's
25:44Army Cadet
25:45School was
25:46closed again.
25:47With that, the
25:48chapter of cadet
25:50institutions in
25:50Germany was over
25:52for good.
25:53Only street signs
25:54and memorial stones
25:55remind us of it.
26:11to be a
26:11end of
26:11the
26:11thing.
26:13It's not something
26:13It's not something that it is
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