Herbert Norkus (26 July 1916 – 24 January 1932) was a

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

member who was killed by German Communists. He became a role model and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

for the Hitler Youth and was widely used in

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

propaganda, most prominently as the subject of novel and film '' Hitler Youth Quex''.

Background

Born to a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

family in the Tiergarten district of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Norkus joined the equivalent of the

sea scouts Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...

of the Hitler Youth organisation. He was reported to have enjoyed playing the piano and drawing. His father had been wounded in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and supposedly had Communist sympathies. The official Nazi biographies of Norkus claimed his father initially opposed his son's Nazi activities but was ultimately converted and became a Nazi too. Clashes between the Hitler Youth and the Communist Red Front youth movement (Rote Jungfront) were becoming increasingly common as the NSDAP and the German Communist Party struggled for power in the waning days of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

. His comrades nicknamed him “Quex” because ”he carried out orders faster than quicksilver” (german: Quecksilber).Baird, Jay W.: To Die for Germany. Heroes in the Nazi Pantheon, Bloomington 1992
p. 120

Death

On 24 January 1932, 15-year-old Herbert Norkus and other Hitler Youth members were distributing leaflets advertising a forthcoming Nazi rally. The group was confronted by Communists. Norkus fought them off and ran to a nearby house for help. A man answered and slammed the door in his face. Norkus was then stabbed six times by the pursuing Communists. He banged on another door, which was answered by a woman who tried to get him to a hospital. However, he died on arrival.

''"Hitlerjunge Quex"''

Writer Karl Aloys Schenzinger made Norkus into a role model for the Hitler Youth in a popular Nazi novel, '' Der Hitlerjunge Quex'' (1932). The novel was required reading for all members of the Hitler Youth. In 1933, it was made into a film directed by

Hans Steinhoff Hans Steinhoff (10 March 1882 – 20 April 1945) was a German film director, best known for the propaganda films he made in the Nazi era. Life and career Steinhoff started his career as a stage actor in the 1900s and later worked as a stag ...

, with Hitler Youth member

Jürgen Ohlsen Jürgen Ohlsen (15 March 1917 – 23 September 1994) was a German actor best remembered for portraying "Heini "Quex" Völker" in the 1933 Nazi propaganda film ''Hitlerjunge Quex'' (''Our Flag Leads Us Forward''). Career Ohlsen was born in Sch ...

in the lead role and

Heinrich George Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz (9 October 1893 – 25 September 1946), better known as Heinrich George (), was a German stage and film actor. Career Weimar Republic George is noted for having spooked the young Bertolt Brecht in his first ...

in a major role as the boy's father.

Honors

Passau named a street after Norkus.

Anna Rosmus Anna Rosmus, also known as Anja Rosmus-Wenninger, is a German author and researcher born in 1960 in Passau, Bavaria. Early life and research As a 16-year-old, Rosmus started developing an interest in contemporary history, especially that of t ...

''Hitlers Nibelungen'', Samples Grafenau 2015, pp. 249f A German Navy

school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

called the ''Herbert Norkus'' was named in his honor, but it was never completed because of the war. Many schools, streets and squares were also named after him during the Nazi period.

References

;Notes ;General reference * Arnold Littmann: ''Herbert Norkus und die Hitlerjungen vom Beußelkietz.'' Berlin: Steuben. 1934. * Hermann Gerstmayer (Hrsg.): ''Herbert Norkus, der Hitlerjunge.'' Berlin: Neues Verlagshaus für Volksliteratur. 1934. * Rudolf Ramlow: ''Herbert Norkus? - hier! Opfer und Sieg der Hitler-Jugend.'' Stuttgart u. a.: Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft. 1933. * Wolfgang Schwarz: ''Kameradschaft Herbert Norkus.'' Breslau: Handel. 1934. * Artur Axmann: ''"Das kann doch nicht das Ende sein." Hitlers letzter Reichsjugendführer erinnert sich.'' Koblenz: Bublies. 1995. (Norkus gehörte zu Axmanns Gefolgschaft in Berlin) .

External links