191 4whenyoungSocialDemocratstriedtodisruptBJDmeetingsandharassed
BJDmembersofthesameage.⁴³
TheWandervogelmovementalsodistrustedtheBJD’sintentions.Thewayof
playingwarintheBJDactivitiescouldweakenobedience,sincethewaritself
wouldnolongerbetakenseriously.Moreover,youngpeoplewouldlateralso
needanotherpedagogicconceptasconscripts.Theinstructionsofofficerswho
wereusedtotheparade-groundvoicewerecounterproductive.Thiswasseen
asoneofthegreatestweaknessesoftheBJD,whileotherassociationssuchas
theBoyScoutsandtheWandervogelhaddevelopedage-basedspecialtrain-
ings.⁴⁴
Amoredirectcritiquecamefromtheliberaleducationalreformers.TheBJD
andtheBavarianWehrkraftmovementwereseenasamilitarizedmovementthat
modeledaftertheBritishBoyScouts.Theinconspicuousnationalistindoctrina-
tionwasseenascriticalsinceinthetalksgivenonmilitaryhistory,contempo-
rarypacifistideaswererefuted.⁴⁵FortheWandervogelfollowers,theBJDhad
clearlypoliticalaims,thatis,to“educateapan-German-militaristmindedgen-
eration”.⁴⁶TheBJDwasaccusedofmisusingtheconceptofloveofone’scountry
andtherulingdynastyasifthoseweretheBJDmember’sfavorite“footballclub
[...][:]Ablindenthusiasmissystematicallybredwhichcanthenbeusedbythe
leaders[Führer]forwhatevermeans.”⁴⁷TheBJDmainlymadeuseofchauvinistic
phrasesandsloganswhoseemptycontentwouldbeunderstoodbythemorema-
tureboyssoonerorlater.ForWyneken,theBJDofficialswereclearlyaminority
inGermanyalbeitaloudone.TheBJD’sweakpointwasthatithadnotbeenin-
itiatedbyyouth.IncontrasttotheWandervogelgroups,itwasanartificialinsti-
tutionfoundedfromabovewithborrowingsfromthemilitaryculture.Thusac-
cording to Wynekenthe BJD was theperfect supplementtothe German
authoritarianschoolsystem,aimingatthesubordinationofthemassesand
evokingherdinstinctinsteadofbravery.
ReportofGoltztoEmperorWilhelmII, 25 November 1913 ;cf.Saul,DerKampfumddieJu-
gend,1 39 etseq.
E.M.Schuberth,“Kriegsspiele,”DerVortrupp 1 – 11 (1912), 328 – 33 3.
HansReichenbach,“DieMilitarisierungderdeutschenJugend:I.DerTatbestand,”Diefreie
Schulgemeinde 3 – 4(1913), 101.
GustavWyneken,“DieMilitarisierungderdeutschenJugend:II.DeutungundWerdung,”Die
freieSchulgemeinde 3 – 4(1913),111.
Wyneken,“DieMilitarisierungderdeutschenJugend:II.,” 112.
ResistancetotheBJD 113