Swing kids

In 1939, Nazi Germany declared war on the freedom of its youth in Germany. But a group arose from the battlefields of war. They were called the “ Swing Kids”. This was a group of youth children that rebel toward the Nazi’s with their swing music that originated in America. With this new era of swing music extra punishment was put toward the youth from the Nazi’s. Kids all over the world rebelled against this Nazi stand. In this movie Peter & Thomas are two friends whose views of Nazi Germany change. Before Hitler Youth the three main characters Peter, Thomas, And Arvid were the best of friends. They always hung out together. The group of friends went to swing parties at the dance hall and just had a good time together. During the day they would go to arvid’s house to go listen to old records and try and guess what it is, just for fun. Arvid was a cripple, and Peter made fun of him for it. The two boys Arvid & Peter always bickered about him being crippled. But Thomas would always be there for his friend when he was being made fun of. In the beginning of the movie the three boys always joked about the HJ (Hitler Youth). They commented saying “ Hitler Youth is just a bunch of pansies and that they are unfair to the people who wanted to have fun”. As the movie continued Peter got into a predicament that got him sent into the camp. Peter and Thomas decided to go to a local shop and steal a radio back that was stolen from the Nazis. One of the boys distracts the storeowner while the other goes in and takes the radio. They ran out the store with the storeowner screaming for help as the boys ran away with the radio. As they ran down an alley the Gestapo’s were chasing Peter and Thomas. Thomas who was a faster runner jumped into the back of a truck and made it out safely while Thomas didn’t make it out of the chase in time. Once peter was caught he was forced to join the HJ. On the first day of Peters new HJ School he sees his friend Thomas in uniform in the hallway. The first words that came out of his mouth were “ HJs by day, Swing boys by night”. Thomas had joined Peter in the HJ School because he wanted to be with his friend because he felt like it was his fault that he was in the school. To spread ideas across people and a nation it takes work. This is called Propaganda. In the movie “ Swing Kids”, the propaganda targeted the youth kids so they could grow up and join HJ. The propaganda affected the three boys and their friendship and loyalty that they once had. The two oldest guys were very affected by the Nazi propaganda and eventually joined the Hitler Youth. This is where they were pulled even deeper into the Nazi world. The guitar player Arvid hated the idea and eventually it turned their friendship against each other, Arvid hates this Nazi rule and kills himself. After the two remaining boys heard about that Arvid had killed him, they turned against each other. Thomas defending the Hitler Youth and Peter defended what he stood for. They became enemies of each other. With both Peter and Thomas not on each other’s side they went to a war with each other which led to bad thoughts about each other During this movie the friendship of the three boys were put to the test. It seemed as though the Nazi Regime was brainwashing all of the youth in Germany at that moment which was the plan of the Nazis. Arvid knew that when the other boys had joined the HJ they weren’t going to be the same as before. And Arvid was right, the two boys had become brainwashed by the Nazis. They were brainwashed so much that they turned in their own parents to the Gestapo’s and had them murdered. Another proof that Nazi brainwashed youth was when Peter went to go deliver a package to a lady a child probably around the age of 5 did the Nazi salute and said Hail Hitler. Toward the end of the movie Peter wasn’t as brainwashed as before so he left HJ but Thomas stayed. He became brainwashed more than ever before. Other than Swing Kids listening to and liking swing music they represent other things at the time of Nazism. They represent fighting against the Nazi Rule. They accomplished this by dancing, wearing long hair, and having a great time. Instead of spending time at home hailing Hitler, they went out to have fun at the swing parties that they had at night. They didn’t care about Hitler; they cared about having a good time with their friends and family. Kids all over the world wanted to rebel. Peter Muller and Thomas Berger are two such young men whose rebellion against the conformity of Nazi Germany took the form of a love of swing music. When an innocent prank forces Peter into the Hitler Youth, their friendship, and their loyalties are put to the test against the seductive power of Nazism. At the end of the story Peter takes his uniform off and puts on his Swing Kids