Plot

A group of teens adores forbidden music in Nazi Germany just before the outbreak of World War II.

A close-knit group of young kids in Nazi Germany listen to banned swing music from the U.S. Soon, dancing and fun lead to more difficult choices, as the Nazis begin tightening their grip on Germany. Each member of the group is forced to face some tough choices about right, wrong, and survival.—Susan Southall <stobchatay@aol.com>

In pre-World War II Germany, Swing music becomes the underground movement of young people. Two engineering students attempt to be Swing Kids by night, and Hitler Youth by day. The impact of this decision is felt acutely by their friends and families. A charming S.S. officer complicates matters for Peter, whose father was taken away for defending his Jewish colleagues at the University.—Dave Smith <dave@stat.colostate.edu>

Kids all over the world, and all through time want to rebel. Peter Muller (Robert Sean Leonard) and Thomas Berger (Christian Bale) are two such young men whose rebellion against the conformity of Nazi Germany took the form of a love of American swing music, British fashion, and Harlem slang. But when an innocent prank forces Peter into the Hitler Youth, their friendship and their loyalties are put to the test against the seductive power of Naziism.—Jack Gambol <gambja00@dons.ac.usfca.edu>

In Nazi Germany, the youth of the nation were pressed into joining the pro-Nazi Youth League called the "Hitlerjugend", or "Hitler Youth". A group of rebel teenagers, however, chose to defy Nazi directives and grew their hair long and listened to American music while calling themselves the "Swing Kids". This is the story of one group of Swing Kids and how Nazi rule and persuasion tore them apart and set them against each other.—Anthony Hughes <husnock31@hotmail.com>