Nazi Youth Answer the Call to the East, 1940 | Hitler Youth Land Service

Rare historical footage from 1940 shows boys of the Hitler Youth (HJ) and girls from the League of German Girls (BDM) participating in the Landdienst (Agricultural Service) in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The film documents young Germans working on farms in territories occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany following the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Boys and girls are seen plowing fields with horses and tractors, harvesting crops, operating agricultural machinery, feeding livestock and performing various farm duties. Other sequences depict everyday life in the Landdienst camps, including sports, games, handicrafts, cleaning, inspections and communal activities. Particular attention is given to a village celebration held on September 29, 1940, at the Landdienst camp in Ringhofen, featuring traditional dances, local residents and uniformed members of Nazi organizations, including the SS. The Landdienst der Hitlerjugend was intended to introduce young Germans to agricultural work while promoting National Socialist ideology. In the occupied eastern territories, it also served the Nazi regime's plans for German settlement and the Germanization of conquered Polish lands. The propagandistic purpose of the film becomes particularly evident in its concluding message, which describes the Landdienst as a training ground for future German settlers and calls upon young people to answer the "call to the East." The images were intended to portray an idealized vision of rural life, community and agricultural work while concealing the persecution, dispossession and forced displacement of Polish residents under German occupation. Historical context: Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939, large parts of western Poland were annexed by Nazi Germany. The occupation authorities pursued policies of Germanization, forced expulsions and resettlement intended to transform the ethnic composition of these territories. The Hitler Youth and its agricultural service programs formed part of the wider system of National Socialist education and mobilization. This footage is presented as a historical document of Nazi propaganda and youth indoctrination. Its publication does not constitute an endorsement of National Socialism, its ideology or its symbols. Chapters: ▷ 00:00 – Hitler Youth Land Service on former Polish farms ▷ 02:06 – BDM girls working in the fields and harvesting crops ▷ 03:13 – Horses at the watering trough ▷ 03:34 – Agricultural machinery and threshing equipment ▷ 03:45 – Girls feeding farm animals ▷ 04:38 – Leisure activities: grenade throwing, ball games and boxing ▷ 05:12 – Mending socks, polishing shoes and inspections ▷ 05:47 – Woodworking and planing ▷ 06:24 – Boys playing games at the beach ▷ 07:03 – September 29, 1940: Village celebration at Ringhofen ▷ 07:33 – Parade, traditional dancing and Nazi officials ▷ 09:42 – Farm life, feeding animals and daily camp routines ▷ 11:34 – Maintaining farm machinery and horseshoeing ▷ 13:07 – Boys plowing fields with horse teams Music:    • Changing Tides  ,    • Beyond The Nebula  ,    • The Uncertain   © 1940, Visual archive footage licensed by Xerxes