There is a tendency to see gang activity as a purely American phenomenon. Truth be told youth gangs have been reported across many countries and can have their origins traced to early Europe (Mihailoff). One example can be seen with the revival of the Nazi youth movement and the counter offensive of those who are taking the brunt of the violence occurring in Germany. As Germany is seeing an influx in immigration it also has a growing issue with the war that is being waged by youth that view their culture under a fundamental attack.
Merriam-Webster defines a gang as: a group of persons working together (2): a group of persons working to unlawful or antisocial ends; especially: a band of antisocial adolescents. Youth gangs are united under common interests and are typically regarded as a menace to society often performing illegal activities. Gangs have existed for hundreds of years in a number of cultures, however many people educated on them put the emergence of the modern youth gang in the nineteenth century. Gangs and youth groups have existed since at least the middle Ages. Accounts from England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries describe criminal gangs that robbed, extorted, and raped. Although these early gangs had characteristics associated with the modern youth gang, today’s urban street gangs emerged in the United States where the social and economic pressures associated with rapid industrialization, urbanization, and immigration created an environment that organized criminal gangs could thrive under (Mihailoff).
Since the fall of the Berlin wall Germany as seen a revival of youth, with rightist views, that glamorize the Third Reich’s heyday. They have gone by names like Hitler Youth and SS-East. Then, as now, they...
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The Nazi Party had numerous methods to influence the opinion of Germany. The Nazis saw the youth as the future of Germany as well as whom they must control the most. The Hitler Youth Organization was one of the most influential forces within the youth of Nazi Germany. In fact, by mid-1933, the Hitler Youth had successfully achieved its goal to either “Nazify” or disband all competing youth groups within the country (“Hitler Youth”). Within the group, German youth were taught the ideology of the Nazi Party. This included education of their views about the status and treatment of Jewish people. As stated in a source of material for the Youth Leaders, “People differ therefore in more than their physical characteristics… their inner relationships must therefore be studied. Then we will clearly recognize the vast difference between those of German blood and the Jews…We then understand human inequality.” (Bytwerk). Their avid belief in social Darwinism, r...
During the years 1933 to 1945 was the twelve years of the Third Reich, a regime that changed history and the world forever; Hitler youth, a branch of the Nazi Party, was officially formed in 1926, but did not become popular until Hitler’s term of service. This gave its members excitement and a chance to revolt against parents and schoolteachers. Millions of boys and girls who belonged to this group wore the name proudly. At a time when the Fatherland, Germany, was suffering from a inadequate, rickety government, high-unemployment, and prevalent poverty, the Nazi Party promised young Germans a great future within the country- if they become loyal members of Hitler’s’ Youth. These children lived by the motto “For the flag we are ready to die.” Melita Mashmann, a fifteen-year old member of the girls’ branc...
Statistics Canada has done research on identifying the facts that are contributed to the definition of a youth gang member. Partnered with the Montreal Police Service, Statistics Canada was able to generate the definition of a gang member: "An organized group of adolescents and/or young adults who rely on group intimidation and violence, and commit criminal acts in order to gain power and recognition and/or control certain areas of unlawful activity [2] (Statistics Canada, 2008).
Social Class Most of the gang members that have been reported come from the lower social economical class. When these kids are out in the streets they have nothing better to do so they begin to commit delinquent behavior. Since these economically challenged kids have no money to go anywhere, they tend to hang around their neighborhood. These kinds of groups encourage each other to commit criminal activity. They feel that if one does it, all of them can do it too.
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Hitler Youth [growing up in Hitler's Shadow]. New York: Random House/Listening Library, 2006. Print.
Youth gangs are defined as any group of people who engage in socially disruptive or criminal behaviour, usually within a defined territory, and operate by creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in a community. Federally in Canada “…Bill C-95… says a gang must include five or more people involved in criminal activity.” Over the last ten or so years, youth gangs have become more violent and dangerous than ever before. They have more access to sophisticated knives and guns and use these weapons to gain power and fear. The problem of youth gangs is especially apparent in low-income neighbourhoods in Canadian cities. Low income neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto Area are a...
Youth are a crucial force in any society. German Youth of the 1930s were a new generation that would share the vision of a new and prosperous Germany. A group seen as ready for change and therefore vulnerable to the visions and ideology of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. An inquiry into how Hitler and the Nazi Party gained power over youth will investigate the reasons why Hitler sought to control his chosen German youth, the methods used to control the youth and the effects of the Hitler Youth program. An assessment of this youth program will reveal that Hitler and the Nazi Party targeted German youth, for their future plans and through saturation, suggestion and separation; the majority of German youth adopted not only Hitler, but the Nazi
The main purpose of the book was to emphasize how far fear of Hitler’s power, motivation to create a powerful Germany, and loyalty to the cause took Germany during the Third Reich. During the Third Reich, Germany was able to successfully conquer all of Eastern Europe and many parts of Western Europe, mainly by incentive. Because of the peoples’ desires and aspirations to succeed, civilians and soldiers alike were equally willing to sacrifice luxuries and accept harsh realities for the fate of their country. Without that driving force, the Germans would have given up on Hitler and Nazism, believing their plan of a powerful Germany...
The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1990 and the succeeding unification of East and West Germany have contributed to the possible expansion of neo- Nazism in the region. The reunified country, which had been at the core of conflicting ideologies between the East and the West during the Cold War, saw a rebirth of nationalism which marked violence and discrimination against minorities and foreigners. City marches were held by neo- Nazis around both Germanys, and there was growing terrorism by the youth who were disappointed with occurring events and governmental policies. The said youth, who largely composed and believed in neo- Nazism during these years of the 1990’s, were mostly teenagers who emerged from East Germany having experienced economic instability and rise of unemployment during the rule of the communists. But it is not to say that only East Germans would be considered as the source of the movement. West Germany, too, did live through extreme right-wing rhetoric and neo- Nazism behavior by small and few groups. It was ...
Gang violence is a major problem in our society today. If nothing is done soon, gang violence could take place in our neighborhoods. MW Klein, a gang researcher, says that gangs are an aggregation of youths who perceive themselves as distinct, and that are viewed as distinct by the community. Klein also states that the gangs call forth a consistently negative image of themselves through their actions (Klein). To those involved in gangs however, gang membership provided a youth means of attempting to consolidate their gender identities (Douglas). Most of the early American street gangs have historically been ethnically based. Early gangs were mainly Irish, Polish, or Italian (Klein).