Youth Under Dictators: The Indoctrination of Children in Nazi Germany and the USSR

This  exhibition was inspired by a children's book of the same name. Written  for American youth in 1941, Oril Brown's Youth Under Dictators describes  the daily life of ordinary German and Russian children around the same  age as its intended audience, following what would have been a typical  day for a child living under the reigns of Hitler and Stalin.

Like  this book, the "Youth Under Dictators" exhibition sheds light on what  life was like for children and young adults growing up in some of the  most notorious regimes of the twentieth century: the Soviet Union (and  its Warsaw Pact allies) and Nazi Germany. It displays materials that  played a role in the indoctrination of these young people: books and  other print material (both State-approved and banned), youth uniforms,  toys, propaganda, and more. Youth culture and everyday life are also  shown through photographs. Finally, the exhibition considers what  Americans knew about these movements, and their reactions to them.

“Youth  Under Dictators” seeks to understand a phenomenon that is shared by  many totalitarian societies: the control and indoctrination of the  nation’s youth. In many cases, this was a central part of what made  these regimes so dangerous. There is much to be learned from studying  the way these societies used young people to secure, hold, and expand  their power. It is our hope that, by bringing these histories to light,  we can encourage a present and future of rationality, critical thinking,  and social justice.