SNAPSHOTS
1937 Let them eat cake
For this group of children visiting Berlin Zoo in April 1937, there was an added surprise in store: a slice of cake to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s 48th birthday. It’s hard to know exactly what would have gone through their heads as they tucked into the swastika-decorated treat, but the offering would have only reinforced the notion that the German dictator should be adored and celebrated.
Regarded as the future of the Third Reich, children were indoctrinated to be loyal to the Führer, with boys required to join the Hitler Youth and girls required to join the League of German Girls. Membership of the Nazi organisations became mandatory for Aryan children in 1936; those who didn’t initially join were ridiculed at school, and their parents subject to investigation.