ELISABETH, UNA MUCHACHA HITLERIANA

Young Berlin woman Elisabeth Weber falls in love at a May Day demonstration with Erwin Dobbien, a member of the SA who, like her, is blinded by National Socialism. In their enthusiasm, they both turn a blind eye to the terror of the regime. After an abortion requested by Erwin, Elisabeth ends up in a labor camp with other young women. The shortage of supplies demands cheap and willing labor. They are to be educated “to serve the fatherland in the spirit of the Führer.” Only then does she realize the horror of the Nazis. So she instigates a rebellion. “Elisabeth, the Hitler Girl” was published as a serial novel in the exile newspaper Pariser Tagblatt between April and June 1937. The novel is a clear response to the demagogic propaganda youth novel 'Ulla, ein Hitlermädel' (1933) by author Helga Knöpke-Joest. Using deliberately simple language, that of a Berlin girl who at first is only concerned with herself and her own happiness, Maria Leitner wrote a coherent moral portrait of the 'ordinary' followers of the Nazi era.