A former boss of mine was in Hitler Youth. He couldn't help it and wasn't proud of it. It just happened. He is also one of the nicest, most intelligent people I know.
I have a friend who's mother was in the hitler youth. She was 6 when she was enrolled at the start of school and 8 when the war ended. It was mandatory for all children.
I don't know for sure, but wouldn't be surprised to learn that a former boss of mine was in the Hitler Youth as well--altough he would have been only 6-8 years old, so maybe not. Interesting, he looked identical to Omar Shariff, especially when he was younger (in the 70s-80s...I saw this in pictures of him). Occasionally, I would hear him on the phone--he usually spoke in German with his German colleagues--and I would hear him say "Heil Hitler" when he was getting ready to hang up. My DH says it was probably done in gest between two "old" colleagues...nothing serious intended by it. He was a very difficult man to work with, although personally I had no problems with him; but he sure alienated everyone else in the organization. He was an incredibly smart man, a genius in his field, an inventor (blood dialyzers for kidney dialysis treatment)...I will never forget him.