At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and trained as a fighter pilot. However, in August 1940 he was recalled to Berlin where he was appointed Stabsführer of the Hitler Youth and deputy to Reichsjugendführer Baldur von Schirach. In October 1940 he was appointed by von Schirach to oversee the day-to-day operation of Kinderlandverschickung ("relocation of children to the countryside") from major cities at risk of aerial bombing.