pre-military training, the DJ contributed to the German war effort by collecting recyclable materials such as paper and scrap metal, and by acting as messengers for the civil defence organisations. By 1944, the Hitler Youth formed part of the Volkssturm, an unpaid, part-time militia, and often formed special HJ companies within Volkssturm battalions. In theory, service in the Volkssturm was limited to boys over 16 years of age, however much younger boys, including Jungvolk members, often volunteered or were coerced into serving in these units; even joining the "Tank Close-Combat Squads" which were expected to attack enemy tanks with hand-held weapons. Eye witness reports of the Battle of Berlin in April 1945 record instances of young boys fighting in their DJ uniforms, complete with short trousers. Adolf Hitler's last public appearance was on 20 April 1945, when he presented Iron Crosses to defenders of Berlin, including several boys, some as young as twelve years old. Disbandment With the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, the organization de facto ceased to exist. On 10 October 1945, it was outlawed by the Allied Control Council along with other Nazi Party organizations. Under Section 86 of the German Criminal Code, the Hitler Youth is an "unconstitutional organisation" and the distribution or public use of its symbols, except for educational or research purposes, is not permitted. Cultural depictions The organisation or its members have occasionally featured in fictional works about Nazi Germany and alternative histories where it won the second world war. In the film Jojo Rabbit (2019), an American comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, based on Christine Leunens's book Caging Skies, the main character, Johannes “Jojo” Betzler played by Roman Griffin Davis and his friend, Yorki, are members of the Jungvolk. In Robert Harris's novel Fatherland, the protagonist's son Pili, a Pimpf, denounces him. See also National Socialist Schoolchildren's League (NSS) References External links Without Solving the Jewish Question, No Salvation for Mankind, an anti-Semitic children's story about DJ members from a book called Der Giftpilz published by Julius Streicher. Hitler Youth Nazi terminology