Despite considerable apprehension on the part of government officials and army commanders, the response of young laborers to the outbreak of the war and their behavior during its first year and a half could be perceived as a confirmation of the considerable effectiveness attained by the prewar youth salvation campaign in instilling patriotic sentiment. Initially industrial continuation school students volunteered in large numbers for premilitary training, and generally they celebrated nationalist commemorations like the kaiser's birthday with enthusiasm. As the Social Democratic party acceded to the Burgfrieden, the peace of the fortress, suspending class struggle for the duration of the war, and as older members and advisers to the Socialist youth movement were drafted, the Free Youth faded into a shadow existence. The spirit of patriotic harmony also extended to youth cultivation activities. Swayed by the general nationalist euphoria, the Catholic Church, which had been disenchanted by the increasingly military direction taken by prewar government youth activity, a direction exemplified by the Young Germany League, at first stopped criticizing government youth policy. Even some sectors of the Socialist party and affiliated subcultural associations like the Worker Gymnasts moderated their criticisms and expressed some interest in incorporating their programs into the broader youth cultivation campaign. As one well-known Rhenish Protestant teacher, active in youth cultivation, proclaimed, echoing the kaiser, “The storm wind of war has swept away all the party haggling of the German people.”