How children and teenagers experienced the Third Reich. Seven friends recount the time they spent in the BDM and the Hitler Youth, sharing their moral dilemmas and fears during the war. They had very different fates, and the most prominent among them - Helmut Schmidt - brought them together years ago to bear witness. In this book, seven individuals reflect on their youth, the years of the impending war, and ultimately their descent into chaos. In the end, each of them reached a point of starting over from scratch. However, this new life brought them closely together: the girl Loki married the young lieutenant Helmut Schmidt during the war; Willi Berkhan and Ruth Loah became some of the closest confidants of the future Chancellor in the 1950s. And the others were part of this circle as well.