The Waffen-SS "Hitler Youth" Division

Formation and Recrutment

In early 1943, plans were put in motion to form a twelfth division ot the Waffen-SS. Unlike some which had been formed previously, it was not based on ethnic Germans, foreigners or a mixture oi the two. After three years of war and now facing a serious manpower shortage, the Waffen-SS fell upon a vast and highly acceptable pool of recruits .... the Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth (Hitler-Jugund or H.J.) was, as its name implies, the Nazi Party's youth organization. As early as 1922, a Youth League of the NSDAP was in existence and in 1925 a student named Kurt Gruber was leader of the Saxon National Socialist Youth (Sachsische National-sozlalistische Jugend) in Plauen. Early in 1926, Gruber joined the Hitler Youth and this embryo organization was given official recognition at the 2nd Reich Party Congress at Weimar on July 4, 1926. it was at this Congress, that Hitler appointed Kurt Gruber as Reich Leader of the Hitler Youth (Reichsfuhrer der Hitler-Jugend). It was also on this occasion that the very name "Hitler-Jugend" was coined by the notorious Gauleiter, Julius Streicher. By the time the 4th Reich Party Congress was held at Nuremberg on August 4, 1929, the H.J. had grown to approximately 2,000 members.

The overworked Gruber fell ill and when his health forced him to retire, Hitler replaced him on October 30, 1931 with Dr. Theodor Adrian von Rentelns. On May 13, 1932, when the H.J. numbered about 35,000 members, the former leader of the National Socialist Association of German Students (Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund), Baldur von Schirach, was named Reich Youth Leader (Reichsjugendfuhrer). On June 15, 1932, the National Socialist School Children's Association (NS-Schulerbunds) was taken over by the H.J. and its members incorporated.The first Reich Youth Congress (1. Reichsjugendtag der NSDAP) was held at Potsdam on October 1 and 2, 1932, when 110,000 members of the H.J. took some seven hours to march past Hitler.

In 1933, von Schirach staged a coup with the help of elements of the SA and took over the Reich Committee of German Youth Associations. As this controlled the majority of the German youth movements, the H.J. gained tremendous influence and a vast number of additional members. Hitler appointed von Schirach as Youth Leader of the German Reich (Jugendfuhrer des deutschen Reiches) on June 17, 1933, and consequently the leader of the Party's youth became leader of the German youth. The remaining independent youth groups were gradually absorbed or disbanded and it is not surprising to note that those with religious backgrounds held out the longest. On December 1, 1936, the German Cabinet passed a Reich Youth Law which entrusted the H.J. with the task of organizing the entire German youth within the territory of the Reich.

A Youth Service Order (Jugenddienstverordnung) was passed, in April 1939, making membership in the H.J. compulsory for all German boys and girls aged between ten and eighteen years. To preserve the elite within the enlarged and less select H.J., the Stamm—H.J. was formed. Membership in this elite cadre was voluntary yet highly selective and the same racial requirements were demanded as for acceptance into the Nazi Party itself.
So it was that from humble beginnings in the early 1920s, the H.J. had grown with the Party and by the year the Second World War broke out had a total monopoly of the youth of Germany. With war becoming imminent, its vital new role was being planned. The Supreme Command of the Armed Forces (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, O.K.W. ) and the Reich Youth Leadership (Reichsjugendfuhrung, R.J.F. ), in early 1939, agreed that the H.J. should receive military training from the Wehrmacht and the latter provided a liaison officer for attachment to every HJ-Bann.The fateful and almost total involvement of the H.J. in Nazi Germany's war effort had begun.

At first, H.J. boys and to a lesser extent girls, were used on the homefront. They attended to behind-the-lines duties such as assisting the state services, undertaking fire-fighting and air-raid protection duties and acting as messengers between the various military offices and establishments scattered throughout Germany. In September l939, the opening month of the war, over a million H.J. members were reported as helping the war effort.

Later, H.J. boys became more directly involved with the actual job of fighting by becoming auxiliaries in the Navy and Air Force. Boys from seafaring backgrounds and/or those who had been in the H.J. Marine Service (Marine-HJ) became naval auxiliaries (HJ-Marinehelfer). Those with flying experience or members of the H.J. Flying Service (Flieger-HJ) served as Luftwaffe auxiliaries (HJ- Luftwaffenhelfer) and anti-aircraft auxiliaries (Flakhelfer). The H.J. was thus helping at home by fulfilling essential duties and allowing German men to fight at the front. Nearer to the front, they also helped the armed forces as auxillaries.From the outbreak of the war, however, the older boys also joined the fighting services as true soldiers.

First to join, having completed the compulsory Labour Service, were the H.J. leaders and by 1943 no less than 95% of the pre-war H.J. leadership had joined the armed forces, Many had followed Baldur von Schirach's example by entering the Army's elite "Grossdeutschland" Infantry Regiment, which later became a division and then a corps. The need for a more intensive pre-military training for these H.J. boys was met in the summer of 1942, by the establishment of a number of special training camps (Wehrertiichtigungslager). These were setup by the H.J. in conjunction with the Wehrmacht or Wafien-SS and were identified by numbers and the locations. Each camp appears to have been preparatory for a given service .... for example, Marine-HJ camps existed for the training of future sailors. This would also appear to have been the case for the Army, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS. These camps provided the 17- and 18-year-old H.J. boys with the essential preparatory training required before they could be turned over to the Labour Service. They were taught to handle military weapons and were instructed by Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS soldiers with frontline experience. These instructors were often picked from ex-members of the Hitler Youth for the obvious propaganda reasons. In 1943, about 150 such camps were reported and at least twice that number are believed to have been formed before the war ended.

The Waffen-SS was therefore recciving a flow of former H.J. boys through the pre-military trainmg camps by late 1942. Needless to say, they were more than welcome to Waffen-SS recruiting chief Gottlob Berger, for young Germans devoted to the cause of National Socialism were ideal material. Brought up since the age of 10 (in the DJ from 10 to 14 and then in the H.J. proper from 14 to 18) in blind devotion and obedience to the person of Adolf Hitler, his Third Reich and the "struggle for the survival of the German race" (as they considered the war), they could not have been better suited, On top of the ideological training, they formed part of a complicated para-military organization which had been carefully planned to produce soldiers for the future. They had para-military ranks and uniforms and a prolusion of insignia, Their training was based on marching and included map reading and small calibre rifle shooting. In certain areas, boys could choose a speciality and apart from the Marine-HJ and FliegerH.J. (both of which were barred from joining the Waffen-SS and had to enter the Navy and Luftwaffe respectively) boys could become junior engineers, motor mechanics and drivers, signallers, medical orderlies .,.. in fact, all the trades so necessary to the running of an army. It was for these reasons that the Waffen-SS recruiting officers courted the H.J. so intensely. With their ever-present shortage of man-power, the Waffen-SS looked to the vast H.J. organization as an ideal and virtually unlimited means to replacement and expansion.

It is of interest to note the requirements set by the Waffen-SS for entry into its ranks of a member of the H.J.. In 1942, the boy had to have reached his 17th birthday and be over 1.68 meters in height (the limit was lowered from 1.70 meters for the under 20s). He had to be eligible for military service, be in possession of the necessary document proving his Aryan descent, be without a criminal record and be physically fit to serve. The only cases of exclusion once these requirements had been met were boys coming from a seafaring or flying background or members of the Marine-HJ and Flieger-HJ (who had to become auxiliaries or join the Navy or Air Force respectively) and those who had already enrolled or been accepted by the Wehrmacht. All H.J. boys meeting the above requirements were acceptable but members of the Patrol and Land Services were especially welcome. lt would be well at this point to cxamine these two services briefly and see why they should have been held in such high esteem by the Waffen-SS.

The Patrol Service of the H.J. (Strcifendienst der Hitler-Jugend) was an elite patrol service which acted as a junior police force and generally supervised all members during and after service hours. It can be likened to a pre- or junior SS and in fact was intended to provide future generations of SS leaders. The HJ-Streifendienst often trained with the SS and courses (Streifendienst-Lehrgange) were held with such notable elements as the Leibstandarte-SS "Adolf Hitler".

The H.J. Land Service (Landdienst der Hitler-Jugend) was a service where-by H.J. boys and girls were put to work on the land. Started before the war, the original intention was to try and counteract the move of the German land worker from the fields and into the more lucrative industries. With the advent of war, the need for increased agricultural production clashed with the demand for able-bodied labourers to fight at the front and the H.J. members' year of service in the Landdienst helped to lessen the problem.

Once the year's service had been completed, it was hoped that the H.J. boys and girls would choose to stay on the land, eventually marry and so become and help to produce a breed of "new" or "military peasants"(Wehrbauer). The latter concept so appealed to Reichsfiihrer-SS Himmler that in 1939 he had reached an agreement with the then Reich Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach that the HJ-Landdienst should provide members for the SS.

On May 28, 1942, the Landdienst was opened to non-Germans of so-called Nordic blood and young people from Holland, Flanders, Norway and Denmark served in the "Germanic Land Service" (Germanische Landdienst). It can now be seen why preference was given to the members of the Patrol and Land Services of the Hitler Youth .... both were considered as training grounds for the SS itself.

Waffen-SS propaganda played on the glamour of the uniforms and stressed that service in the Waffen-SS counted as fulfillment of the compulsory military service. It gave the impression that the men of the Waffen-SS were soldiers like all the others and stressed that the H.J. volunteers would be fighting "shoulder to shoulder with soldiers of the Army". To attract the much-needed specialists, attention was drawn to the fact that although smaller than the Army, the Walfen-SS was also made up of a number of arms of the service (Waffengattungen). Therefore, a boy could continue in the Waffen-SS that specialist training he had begun in the H.J.. The SS propagandists added that by having freedom of choice as to the arm of the service, a boy could follow the "military tradition of his family".

An H.J. boy interested in joining the Waffen-SS was invited to contact his local Waffen-SS Replacement Bureau (Erganzungsstelle der Waffen- SS). Alternatively, he could collect a recruiting brochure at any office of the General SS, Police or Gendarmerie and complete the enrollment form this contained. The boy then entered pre-military training (Wehrerttichtigunglz) at one of the special camps sei up by the H.J. in collaboration with the Waffen-SS. The day this course ended, he could join the Waffen-SS, although permission could be given to cut these courses short H.J. boys volunteering for the Waffen-SS were permitted to by pass the compulsory Labour Service, where as conscripts usually had to serve their time in the R.A.D.

Other schools also existed through which former H.J. boys could pass into the Waffen-SS. Of particular note in this respect was a Motor Driving school (Kraftfahrschule) . Here, regular six weeks' courses were held for groups of 300 16- and 17-year-old H.J. boys, some of whom naturally came from the Motor-H.J. Once the course was over, the graduates were expected to enroll in the Wdfen-SS. Another school worthy of mention was that located at Eipel in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia which produced H.J. leaders and Waffen-SS NCOs (HJ-Fiihrernachwuchs und Aushildungsschule der Waffen-SS). The H.J. boy had therefore been a prime target for the Waffen-SS recruiters and a considerable number over the age of 17 had joined in the early years of the war. But they joined as individuals and were incorporated piecemeal into the Waffen-SS. In that way, they were difused and perpetuated nothing of their former organization .... the Hitler Youth.

Roger James Bender and Hugh Page Taylor, UNIFORMS, ORGANIZATION AND HISTORY OF THE WAFFEN-SS, VOL.3, R. James Bender Publishing, 1972

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Hitler Youth Belts and Buckles

1937-1938

The new HJ leaders’ buckle and special leather gear was authorized for wear by the following with an entry dated April l, 1937: (a) Leaders with the rank of HJ-Bannfuhrer and upwards (including "Verwaltungsbannfuhrer" which were administrators/managers): being DJ-Jungbannfdhren HJ-Obcrbannfiihrerg DJ-Oberjungbannfuhren HJ-Gebietsfuhrer; DJ-Gebietsjungvolkfuhrer; HJ-Obergebietsfuhrer, as well as appointed Stabsfuhrer (mainly with the RJF).(b) Appointed leaders ranking lower than H.J.-Bannfuhrer, being leaders of a"Bann" unit (function being "Fuhrer von Bannen"), department leaders of an area (Abteilungsleiter der Gebiete), staff leaders from an area (Stabsleiter der Gebiete), RJF main consultants (Hauptreferenten der RJF), deputy department chiefs (stellv. Amtschefs) and leaders of area leaders’ schools (Leiter der Gebietsfuhrer schulen).

Initially, it was planned that adjutants for a "Gebiets- und Gebietsjungvolkfuhrer" were also to wear the leaders’ belt and buckle. But in the course of early 1937 this position was withdrawn from the list (the intricate rank and function system caused a re-organization in late 1938 (consult this note and note 26 for a better understanding of the situation)).

"HJ-Fuhrerkoppelschloss/Feldbindenschl0ss" description, 1936:

The Hitler Youth leaders’ buckle was round and made of tempered aluminum sheet or an aluminum sheet alloy (Al-Mg-Si DIN1713, called "legiertem Aluminiumblech"), which was first copper-plated and then matte-silvered or nickled with the appropriate design as the inset for the regular HJ buckle. Around the upper rope design is a raised, smooth 3.0mm wide edge which gives the disc an approximate diameter of 5.0cm. The relief details of the buckle are somewhat higher. The eagle has a robust look, especially its head, as well as the "Blut und Ehre"motto. The HJ diamond touches the lower rope design. The outer edge, the eagle and the HJ diamond were all highly polished. All HJ leaders’ buckles were stamped and show the design relief on the reverse, where the catch should always have the "M4/22" RZM c0de for the manufacturer C. Th. Dicke.

The fitting with the rotating prongs which fit in the holes of the leather belt to make it adjustable, is positioned at the left (as seen by the viewer). A leather tongue is also found on the reverse of the belt. On this style belt the buckle is sewn on the right side of the belt. When the buckle, however, is loose and includes the fitting with the rotating prongs, this is located on the left side and the keeper is sewn to the belt. The buckle was designed to carry a weight of 60kg.

"HJ-Fuhrerlederzeug" description,1936:

The manufacturing and material for this approximately 4.4cm wide black belt, with a 3.5mm thickness, is similar as that described for the 1933/1936 enlisted ranks belt. The applied paint had to be light and waterproof, and had to be scuff resistant. The earliest leader’s belts were backed with a mixed brown cloth or a felt-like material. The belt tip at left was somewhat rounded and on the reverse a natural colored leather tongue was sewn on. The size and position of this tongue is basically the same as for enlisted ranks, but in most cases was sewn on with twelve stitches which had a length of 5.0cm. The tip of the tongue is positioned approximately 1.5cm from the tip of the belt. Two 1.6cm wide leather slides are positioned on the belt, the back of which are joined by two stitches.

Two 2.4cm wide slides with a sewn—on D-ring are slid on the belt for fastening the 2.4cm wide shoulder belt which is 2.5mm thick. The manufacturing style and material used was as described earlier. Between the sliding clasp and the snaphook on the shoulder belt, a small leather slide was positioned. This slide was 1.2cm wide and was sewn together on the back with two stitches. The earliest shoulder belts were also backed, and the fittings were not pebbled (as yet).

Early belts often had a small piece of natural colored leather, approximately 17.0 cm long and 2.0cm wide, sewn onto the inside middle-back of the belt. The ends of this piece of leather are almost as wide as the inside belt width. Over this, a smaller form of slide was fastened which prevented the shoulder belt from moving out of position. These belts were costly and for this reason most often a belt with adjustable slides was chosen. To protect the tunic from buckle-keeper damage, a "Rockschoner" (also known as"Schlossunterlage") was available. It consisted of a piece of leather (approximately 6.5 x 4.5cm) which fit over the belt. This protective device was meant for belts of enlisted ranks but was often worn by leaders of various organizations.

Per Reichsjugendfuhrer orders, some additional ranks were introduced and rank designations changed with the April 20, 1937 entry. These individuals were permitted to wear the leader’s belt and buckle: HJ-Hauptbannfuhrer and DJ-Hauptungbannfuhrer (formerly DJ-Gebietsjungvollgfuhrer). Simultaneously, all leaders (Bannfuhrer through Stabsfuhrer) were the HJ-Fuhrerkorps which was the official name for the leadership corps and staff (Note: this should not be confused with the HJ-Fuhrerschaf who were mid-level leaders). The mid-level ranks, Gefolgschafisfuhrer through Oberstammfuhrer, were not permitted to wear the leader’s buckle. This was changed, however, in late 1938. The Fuhrerschaft and Fuhrerkorps system was also changed once more at a later date.

The most striking change for the DJ organization was the abolishment of their buckle with rune device by an order published on June 4, 1937. The regular HJ buckle was to be worn instead, while the DJ buckle was allowed for wear until December 31, 1937. Manufacturers and retailers had already been informed of this regulation as early as late fall 1936. Those manufacturers who had large stocks of DJ buckles found it impossibleto sell them all before the December1937 deadline. It had not been the intention of the Reichsjugendfurung to cause loss of money or materials by means of scrapping the buckles. On the other hand the numerous DJ members were not forced to buy a new 4.5cm HJ buckle either. With some thought the solution was simple. A HJ inset could be soldered directly over the rune and then the buckle could be renickled. This process was carried out by three firms from Ludenscheid during the months of March and April 1938. Smaller size DJ buckles or those with varying runes were not to be part of this altering process. These smaller buckles were referred to as Kinder-kappelschldsser (buckles for children) and were never considered a regulation size.

The three firms to receive the above contract were:

HJ areas 1-9: EW. Assmann & Sohne.
HJ areas 10-17: C.Th. Dicke.
HJ areas 18-26: Overhoff & Cie

During the course of 1937 RZM standards for manufacturing buckles were somewhat lessened. This caused an uncontrolled growth in non-regulation buckles and lower quality, some of which were produced by various manufacturers who did not even have RZM permission. This came to a halt in November 1938 when the RZM issued an order stating that manufacturing permission must be granted only by the RZM.

Orders dated September 30, 1938 radically changed the recently initiated HJ and DJ uniform regulations. This was due to a general re-organization to be in effect on October 1. Specific orders listed what would be worn and when the enlisted ranks, plus low and mid-level leaders would wear the summer service dress, were the guard unit Wachgefolgschaft "Baldur von Schirach" and professional drivers in the service of the HJ organization. Additional orders were issued for the Naval -HJ (which included a so-called Fahrtenanzug worn by DJ members dur-ing a transitional period), extra summer and winter uniforms for the Motor—HJ known as Fuss- and Fahrdienstanzug (worn when on foot or when driving), and for the Flieger—HJ known as the Fussdress. The term Flugdienstanzug (dress for flying) was used instead of Fahrdienstanzug. All of the above orders did not, however, affect the wear of the HJ buckle with black belt and shoulderbelt.

Simultaneously with the above orders a significant addition was also announced. Now, a brocade belt was authorized for wear by higher-ranked leaders. HJ leaders who wore aluminum wire embroidered shoulder straps were to wear an aluminum brocade belt and aluminum leader’s buckle. Those with gold wire embroidery wore a gold brocade belt with gold leader’s buckle. This HJ brocade belt may have been initially thought of as a form of award for services rendered to the organization in February 1938 when von Schirach announced special schooling for the HJ-Fuhrerkorps. During the next few months plans were initialized and in May and June of 1938 the brocade belt was informally wom by HJ leaders during visits abroad, notably in Italy.

Wilhelm P.B.R. Saris assisted by Jeff Hammond,"Hitler Youth, Belts and Brocades (1926-1945) Part II", The Military Advisor, 2001

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Structure and Organization of the Hitler Youth

HITLER JUGEND or HITLER YOUTH (HJ)

"The National Socialist State will have to take care that it obtains. through an appropriate education of youth the generation which is ready for the final and greatest decisions on this globe. The people, moreover, that first start on this road will be victorious. "

- ADOLF HITLER

An outstanding characteristic of youth during the first half of the 20th century was its tendency towards organization. While Italian Fascism showed the way to monopolize the movement of youth for the purposes of party and state, the tendency of youth towards self-organization persisted in the liberal countries. It reached its greatest strength in England by the first years of the Second World War. In that country forty percent of boys and girls between fourteen and twenty belonged to some youth organization at the outbreak of the war, as against seventy-five percent at the end of 1942.

By the time the Nazis came into power a vast variety of youth organizations were active in the Reich, some nonpolitical in character, others being mere subdivisions and appendages of political parties on the right or the left. The Arbeiter Jugend. the youth group of the Social Democratic Party. was the strongest single organization of this kind.

The founding date of the Hitler Youth is usually given as 1925, though there was a Youth League of the NSDAP from 1922 which at one time called itself a League of German Labor Youth (Bund deutscher Arbeiterjugend). A slightly more aristocratic NS youth organization was the NS League of Pupils (NS SchtJlerbund). founded in 1926 and put under the authority of the SA.

In October. 1931, the Reich Fuhrer of the NS League of Students, Baldur von Schirach, was appointed Reich Youth Leader of the Nazi party by Hitler. At that time, sixty-nine percent of the members of Nazi youth organizations were juvenile laborers and apprentices, ten percent were in commerce and trade. twelve percent were high school students and a large number of the members came from the unemployed. Membership, which included only those who paid their initiation and membership fees. was 20,000 though there were more who belonged but could not pay, for 100,000 marched by the Fuhrer at a Reich Youth Congress for the Nazi party in Potsdam in October 1932.

Most of the German youth groups before 1933 were associates of one over-all group. the Reich Committee of German Youth Associations. It was the existence of this that enabled the Nazis to take over youth, which was done by a coup on the part of Hitler Youth Leader Schirach in April, 1933 with the help of groups of the SA. After that, the usualprocess of Gleichschaltung brought the few remaining associations under Schirach's direction and on the road to uniformity of organization. Schirach emerged as Reich Youth Leader of the Nazi party and Youth Leader of the German Empire.

This unification process, which the religious youth organizations resisted longest, was not fully carried out until the year 1936. when a Reich Youth Law of December 1 recognized the "claim of the Hitler Youth to totality." This law also brought to an end an earlier tendency, lasting approximately from May, 1934 to the end of 1936, to make out of the HJ a "State youth", placed under the Reich Ministry for Science, Education and Popular Enlightenment, under civil servants and professional educators, rather than as a "party youth", placed under a party bureaucracy. The party directorate thought it advisable to have the party guide and possess youth. Control seemed more safely arranged and deserving party members were provided with jobs when the party ran the youth organization. It gathered the fees which, with a membership fee for the youngest group (Pimpfe) of 35 pfennige a month. brought an annual income from this source alone of at least 35 million RM.

This basic law of 1936, considering that "on youth depends the future of German folkdom (Volkstum)" and that "consequently the totality of German youth must be prepared for its future duties", provided that (1) all German youth within the territory of the Reich be united (zusammengefasst) within the HJ; (2) All German youth be educated physically, mentally, morally in the spirit of National Socialism and for the service to the people and for folk community (Volksgemeinschaft); and that (3) The task of leading the whole German HJ be conferred upon the Reich Youth Leader of the Nazi party, this act making him Youth Leader of the German Empire. His office had the rank and position of a supreme Reich office with the seat in Berlin and was placed directly under the Fuhrer himself. It was independent as any ministry, if not more so.

A youth Service Decree (Jugenddienstverordnung) of April, 1939 made membership in the HJ obligatory for all German youth from ten to eighteen. In keeping, however, with its tendency of preserving a party elite within such all-inclusive institutions in the Third Reich, the party provided for a special nucleus within the HJ, the Stamm-HJ.Membership in it was voluntary like party membership and highly selective. and thus a new party organ to ensure continued control was introduced. The General HJ (Allgemeine HJ) was the "omnium gatherum" which took in even those with a non-Aryan grandmother, whereas the Stamm-HJ fulfilled "the same racial conditions which the Nazi party insists upon for its members" and had to show that parents of members were politically reliable.

On the strength of this law, agreements with the Reich Ministry of Education set aside one whole day, Saturday. (which had always been a school day in Germany) to be given to the HJ for purposes of "education through the Reich Youth Leadership." Sunday was to be reserved for the family and the home (agreement of June 7, 1934). Schools were set up in order to produce a uniform-mined leader personnel, a higher professional group of the (JugendftJhrer) and a lower nonprofessional one of the Unterfuhrer. The latter were prepared in three week courses of the numerous Leader Schools (Fuhrerschulen), of the HJ. of which there were sixty-five in 1937. The professionals were educated in the Academy for Youth Leadership (Akademie fur Jugendfuhrung), located at Braunschweig, to which every Hitler youth could be called, provided he proved his German blood, good health and eugenic promise, a fully completed apprenticeship in some handicraft or other profession or graduation from a nine-class highschool. After a preliminary selective course, the authorities of the HJ decided whether or not the candidate was to be admitted to this new profession. In the first case, he had to serve his regular time on the Labor Service and in the armed forces after which time the following services were expected of the Fuhrer aspirant (Fuhreranwarter): four months activity in the office of a HJ Gebietsfuhrung, an eight weeks course in the Reich Leader School (Fuhrerschule) at Potsdam, and one year's course in the Academy, three weeks of service with the industries of the homeland and a five to six months educational stay in foreign countries. If that was passed, the Youth Leader began his service which as a minimum would last twelve years, the usual term of the professional noncoms of the armed forces.

The number of professional paid HJ leaders was given as high as 30,000 to whom should be added hundreds of thousands of minor Fuhrers. In fact, in April, 1938 the HJ was led by a total of 562,000 male and female leaders: of these 59 were Gebiets and Obergebietsfuhrer, 1,365 Hauptbann-, Oberbann- and Bannfuhrer, 9,000 Stammfuhrer or Ringfuhrerinnen, with 550,571 leaders of the still lower units, All leaders from Bannand Jungbannfuhrer upward had by the end of 1938 met their military duties or had served for at least eight weeks with the armed forces.

"Youth must be led by youth" was the declared principle of HJ leadership. Here are the age averages for 1938: Obergebietsfuhrer, thirty years and six months; Gebietsfuhrer, thirty-one years and four months; Abteilungsleiter of the Gebiete, twenty-five years and four months; Bannfuhrer, twenty-five years and one month and Jungbannfuhrer, twenty-five years and eight months. It was planned to retire the professional youth leader after twelve years of his service, which would mean at an age of about thirty-six, and then take him over with a corresponding rank and poSition into the SS. Of the total HJ membership (at the end of 1937),16.4 percent were pupils of grade and high schools, 25.5 percent were working in commerce and trade, 8.7 percent in the technical professions, 3.4 percent were agricultural workers, 20,9 percent were called youthful laborers, 5.9 percent were university and college students (with theology students excluded as HJ leaders), and 5.4 percent were school teachers, while 11.3 percent belonged to various other trades and professions and 21.5 percent had no profession.

The HJ comprised German youth in the following groups: German Youth Folk (Deutsches Jungvolk DJ) for the male youth from eight or later ten, to fourteen years, the Pimpfe; the HitlerYouth, HJ, in the narrower sense of the term, for the male youth from fourteen to eighteen; the corresponding groups for girls were the Young Girls (Jungmadel, JM) and the Association of German Girls (Bund deutscher Madel, BOM) which was also the term for all girl's organizations within the HJ.

Ray Cowdery: "Nazi Para-military Organizations", Northstar Commemoratives, 1985

Note: Look closely at the poster shown above. Does the HJ kid in the background look like someone familiar? Bob

The Hitler Youth Movement

"I want a Youth, a cruel unflinching Youth, as hard as Steel-Krupp's Steel" Adolf Hitler in an address to the Hitler Youth, Potsdam, 1936

These, the oft quoted words of a dictator, portray in a nutshell the value of the whole-hearted support that the youth of a nation can mean to a government.

Relatively few books have been written about the activities of the German Hitler Youth movement. Before World War 2 the German press made glowing statements about the quality of the Hitler-Jugend, emphasising the beneficial results to the health and personalities of the members, their cultural achievements, high educational standards, and their unanimous and single-minded support and enthusiasm for the directives and policy of National Socialism. In post-war years, the Hitler Youth movement has been almost universally portrayed as a breed of fanatical Nazis; deprived of mind and will, cold-blooded, ruthless, and the heartless tools of a dictatorship. Such contrasting attitudes reflect the change in the popular consensus of opinion brought about by the effects of World War 2 and the demise of German Nazism.

The object of this small study, however, is not to glamorise the Hitler Youth.
The social and cultural idiosyncrasies of Third Reich Germany have no true relative comparisons today, either in Western Germany or the rest of Europe. In its time the Hitler Youth was unique, brought about by a state of affairs that has been paralleled by no other nation. Some comparisons to the status of the Hitler Youth movement might only be drawn if compared to the Young Pioneers Organisation as it was in Stalin's Russia. It is necessary however, to introduce some aspects of the Nazi kultur into the confines of this book in order to give the reader an appreciation of the significance of the structure, growth, and organisation of the Hitler Youth movement, thus permitting some understanding as to how the ideology of the movement was reflected in its uniforms, ranks and insignia.

Development of the Hitler Youth

In April, 1933, a proclamation was issued stating that the Hitler-Jugend der NSDAP was recognised as an officially sponsored Government organisation. All other youth movements (such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, etc,) were to be incorporated into the HJ, or otherwise disbanded if not conforming to the ethnic regulations laid down by the new Government. All young persons between the ages of 10-18 (males) and 10-21 (females) were requested, if suitable, to join one of the Hitler Youth organisations.

The origin of the Hitler Youth goes back as early as 1923, when it was then known as the German Youth Organisation of the NSDAP. Organised on similar lines to its parent movement, the youth organisation sponsored both political and physical recreations for its member's interests. Recognising the usefulness of a prepared Youth for future years, the Nazi Party made elaborate preparations to cultivate and capture the willing support of the next generation and, in consequence, the future leadership of Germany. To achieve this ambition the ideals and policies of National Socialism were projected to the mass of German young people through numerous media, The younger members of the population were offered the patronage of 'Scouting' type activities, and in the higher age groups, particularly among the intelligentsia of the universities, contact was made through NSDAP-sponsored student's unions. It was in this latter category that the politically inspired Baldur von Schirach emerged, destined ten years later to become appointed as Reich's Youth leader of the NSDAP.

By 1928, when the factions of the NSDAP known as the SA and SS were becoming more stringently organised, and uniformed in distinct systematic style, the Hitler Youth, as the German Youth Organisation of the NSDAP had then become known, was subjected to the adoption of permissible forms of dress. Uniforms were devised, and insignia instituted, in a manner in keeping with the militaristic formation that the organisation was structured upon. Like the SA and SS, personnel in the Hitler Youth were designated forms of rank, and although stringent enforcement of styles was not totally achieved, a basic regularity became evident.

In 1933, when the NSDAP gained sufficient seats in the Reichstag to implement control, the Hitler Youth became governable under law. The financial support which the Nazis levied became available in quantity, and the development and expansion of the Party machine could be concentrated to absolute totality.

The following contemporary appraisal of the Reich's Hitler Youth Organisation has been translated from Der Reichsschulungsbrief, issue No 9, 1936. This will present to the reader a basic concept of the requirements, organisation, and activities of the HJ as seen through the eyes of National Socialism. It is accurate regarding objectives and statistics and structure only up to 1936; the events of later years created developments which implemented various changes.

"Created during the last years of the struggle of the National Socialist Movement, and enlarged during the early part of the Third Reich, the Hitler-Jugend is an expression of the will and the shape of the future generation. In addition to the political and physical education taught to the members, they are trained to be obedient and disciplinarian, thus creating a foundation for real leadership under the close collaboration of both the parents and the schools.

The Hitler-Jugend is concerned with all matters of youth interest between the ages of 10 and 21 years of age. Membership is open to all Arayans who are of pure-bred German stock, acceptance to membership usually being on April 20 each year. (This was Hitler's birthday),

Transfer from the DJ to the HJ, when the member reaches the age of fourteen years, is also enacted about April 20 each year. At the age of eighteen years the HJ member becomes eligible for application to join the NSDAP, which if deemed acceptable is enacted on November 9 annually. (This was the Anniversary of the Munich Putsch November 9, 1923). Transfer of the HJ members to the NSDAP is conditional upon the applicant having served in the HJ for at least four years, and in that time has proved himself to be a suitable person upon whom membership of the Party may be bestowed.

Application forms for membership of the Party must be issued and passed by the Reichsleitung via the Orstgruppen. No entry fee is charged to HJ members.

Although the HJ is maintained under the constant supervision of the NSDAP, its operation and function remains completely independent of the Party.

Organisation of the HJ

The HJ consists of:

(i) The Hitler-Jugend (Males, 14-18 years);

(ii) The Deutsche Jungvolk in the HJ (Males, 10-14 years);

(iii) The Jungmadel in the HJ (Females, 10-14 years);

(iv) The Bund Deutscher Madel in the HJ (Females, 14-21 years).

'For the further education and development of the HJ membership, the organisation is provided with its own Reichsfuhrer Schools, District Schools, Hostels, and Youth Hostels."

F.J. Stevens: Hitler Youth" 1973, Almark Publications

Hitler Youth Dagger

The Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) was one of the first Party organizations to acquire an edged weapon in the form of a camping knife (HJ-Fahrtenmesser). During the first heady days of the Nazi Party, uniforms, equipment, and insignia were in great demand and many variations were manufactured and sold without restriction. This same phenomenon occurred with the HJ knife. Before the RZM established quality benchmarks and licensed manufacturers, a number of variation HJFahrtenmesser were produced. Some of these knives (Messer) were made up of old stocks of existing hilts and blades which simply had the enameled HJ diamond, or other HJ insignia, placed on the grip, pommel, or scabbard. Some of these knives were made up with bayonet style hilts which had an inoperative press button, but no lug slot, which were left over from Weimar times. These hilts had either double-edged or slab-sided knife blades attached to them and they were sold to HJ members to fulfill the pressing demand. These Messer are simply early variations of the HJ-Fahrtenmesser, and should not be confused with Seitengewehre.

The Hitlerjugend did wear an authorized Seitengewehr which was simply a standard KS 98 which had an enameled HJ diamond inset into the obverse grip. The bayonet was officially termed Seitenwaffe der Wachgefolgschaft. The bayonet first appeared in the 1943 edition of the yearly Party organization book, "Organisationsbuch der NSDAP," but there is no mention of the duties of the Wachgefolgschaft. As its name implies, the group was a security or guard unit of the HJ. The HJ was, by then, supplying older personnel to the military to serve as flakhelpers, laborers, air raid helpers, etc. By the end of the war HJ members were under arms and serving in self defense units as the front closed in upon their towns and cities.

HI Seitenwaffe hilt. This Hitler Youth Seitengewehr has an unmarked blade with a wide fuller.
It is a late bayonet with a white metal hilt that has a plated finish which is proper for these bayonets. The enamel HJ insignia is properly inset into the black plastic grip as it should be.
The reverse of an HJ grip insignia with two pins is shown to illustrate the proper method of attachment.

The HJ Wachgefolgschaft Seitengewehr was a late model KS 98 which had the enameled HJ diamond inset into the obverse black checkered plastic grips of the bayonet in exactly the same manner as on the HJ-Fahrtenmesser. The only known official illustration of the bayonet shows it with a 20cm blade, but examples with 25cm blades have been observed. As with all bayonets with grip insignia, the insignia should be properly mounted to the grip with pins. In this instance, the insignia should be inset into the grip, just as on the HJ knife. Reproductions of this rare bayonet have been made for many years.

Original examples of the bayonet have late white metal hilts which have been nickel-plated. Since the bayonet was not authorized until 1943, early steel-hilted examples should be viewed with suspicion. Examples which evidence removed rivets or surface-mounted insignia should also arouse suspicion. The blades on observed original examples all have wide fullers (on both 20cm and 25cm blades) and no maker markings. The scabbard is black-painted steel, as normally found on all KS 98s. The bayonet was worn in a black leather frog and had a Portepee attached in the old Imperial manner, by threading it through the belt. The Portepee has a black leather strap with three aluminum stripes. The slide is black leather and the stem, crown, and ball are aluminum. The insert of this generic knot is black.

George T. Wheeler: "Seitengewehr: History of the German Bayonet 1919-1945", R. James Bender Publishing, 1999

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