‘When we get there, I just want to lie down.’

‘You are funny, Hett,’ Erna laughs.

‘I’m not joking!’ With every step, the back of my boots rub the raw skin on my heels.

‘Come on, you moody old thing, look happy! Fräulein Ackermann is up ahead and she might even award you a badge if you put in some hard work and give her a dazzling smile or two!’

I follow Erna’s strong back as she strides up the narrow path. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth and I’m certain my breath is as sour as my mood. Not for the first time, Erna appears to read my mind and in her crisp, clear voice begins to sing ‘Wanderlied der Jugend’.

When we stride along side by side and sing the old songs that echo in the forests,

We feel it must succeed: with us, a new time comes…

The joyful melody lifts my spirit and my feet begin to move in time with the familiar beat which plays in my mind along with her words.

Birch leaves and green seeds.

How the old mother earth, as if with pleading gestures,

holds out her full hands to humanity, so that it becomes her own.

We scramble up the last steep slope, arriving at the top with heaving chests and sweat dripping down our backs.

‘Good work, you two.’ Fräulein Ackermann beams at us as we pass. ‘There’s a surprise up ahead. I’ll give you a clue: it’s refreshing and wet!’

‘A waterfall,’ Erna says, smiling as we leave her to hustle the rest of the girls to the top.

The campsite is on a wide, flat ridge. Grass grows sparsely between the rocks and the ground slopes down towards a large pool. Erna is right, it’s fed by a beautiful waterfall.

In dribs and drabs the rest of the group arrive. On the flattest part, after clearing away the worst of the stones, we pitch our tents, dig a hole for a latrine and fetch water for cooking and preparing the food.

‘Resilient. Tough. Independent. Girls worthy to be the mothers of the master race. That’s what our Führer wants you to be.’ Fräulein Ackermann drills us once the work is done and we are all assembled, dusty and tired. ‘And never forget the BDM principles: purity, cleanliness, virtue, obedience and compliance. Now, go and take a dip in the pool. You’ve earned it!’

Yes, and a good German girl never questions or complains. She always acts for the good of her community. Girls must be tall and strong and beautiful, without enhancement. We must be clean and look after our hygiene. We must be modest and demure. Above all, a girl must always put menfolk first and support them in their struggle. However tired we are, however hard we have worked, their needs must come before our own.

Our duty is to serve the Führer, Germany, and our future husbands. Boys learn to govern and be leaders, we must be compliant. The demands are constant – there is no time to follow my own path.