Abstract

In this report compiled by the female police case workers in Munich who dealt with young people who came into contact with the police, we see that the number of youths questioned by authorities increased between 1936 and 1937. Although it is difficult to draw any conclusions from this data alone about whether this level of surveillance was greater than in previous decades, we can get a sense of the sort of issues that concerned authorities at this time. Certain offenses were in decline, such as homelessness, begging, and larceny. This shift may have been due to improved employment opportunities, but it also may have been due to increased policing since 1933.

Youth Detention in Munich (1936-37)

Source

1936

1937

detained by police

1261

1118

reported by:

parents / employers

151

56

authorities

151

56

railway station welfare

74

44

self

239

198

Total

1811

1493

Age:

< 12

65

68

12-16

123

68

16-18

193

164

18-21

255

235

21+

1175

958

Total

1811

1493

Reason for intervention:

identity / employment check

62

108

morally endangered

150

111

larceny

89

84

homelessness

209

112

suspect venereal disease

115

123

work-shy

153

116

expulsion, breach of injunction

32

23

escape from custody

320

341

runaways / missing (minors)

170

124

begging

70

29

other reasons:

suicidal

64

73

mentally ill

121

75

various reasons

196

111

in search of work

60

65

Total

1811

1493

Source: Staatsarchiv München 7691, Pol. Dir. “Tätigkeitsbericht der Polizeipflegerinnen in München für 1936 und 1937.“ Printed in: Anthony McElligott, The German Urban Experience, 1900-1945. London: Routledge, 2001, p. 216.