leon21 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 The Nazis attempted strictly to segregate boys and girls into their seperate organisations, but theory and practice appear to have diverged. In 1936, around 100,000 members of the Hitlerjungend and Bund Deutscher Madel went to the Nuremberg Rally and 900 girls became pregnant. And although their Gretchen uniform of braided hair, snow-white blouse and ankle-length skirt made them look like somthing out of a German fairy tale, civilians at large were not so convinced by this charming image- especially after the goings-on at Nuremberg. Some re-christened the BDM as the German Mattresses League. Pic of three willing recruits for the BDM 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I have read that the HJ/BDM were quite fanatical up to the Nazi takeover in 1933. After that they became quite anti-establishment, the usual youth rebellion thing. However with the start of the war they fell back behind "Folk und Faterland." During the war they were one of the most loyal and fanatical parts of the NSDAP. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Also meant to say that the Nazis encouraged propagation of the Aryan race didn't they? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Yes true, but not all young people were members of Hitler Youth organisations. I refer to the Edelweiss Pirates and the Swing Youth who formed their own groups. The Pirates liked hiking, camping and beating up HJ patrols whenever possible for the fun of it, rather than for political reasoning. The Swing Youth liked jazz and jitterbugging. Yet for all their non-conformism, neither group was anti-Nazi. The 12 Pirates hanged by the Nazis in Cologne Ehrenfeld in 1944 for their contribution to underground resistance were exceptions. So to were Hans and Sophie Scholl, leaders of the the White Rose anti-war group who openly expressed political opposition to the war. They were decapitated in 1943. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF635SQ Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Thats a nice photo there Leon, gives you an overall idea of what the summer BDM uniform looked like. I don't have any BDM items in my collection right now, mainly just DJ and HJ. It became mandatory in 1936 that all Aryan children must of been apart of the youth. It is said that only about 15 to 20% of all children avoided being apart of it, quite a low figure when you think that there was roughly 7/8 million members by 1940. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUKA STEVE Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Ive always been surprised that even 20% avoided which i think is a high number in a regulated totalitarian state. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF635SQ Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 hmm yes good point there Steve 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr bridger Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Getting off with the opposite sex is nothing new at that age we were all at it or trying our best. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Yep you've hit the nail on the head there Mr B, could'nt agree more. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Here's a picture of three jungvolk getting accustomed to wearing steel helmets and gasmasks engaged in a game of tug of war in the square ,in the old city of Worms. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF635SQ Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Ah this was the photo that got me onto buying the civil German gas mask that I was worried about 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Apparently 13 members were hanged, see under Wikipedia Hans Steinbrück, * 12. April 1921 (23) Günther Schwarz, * 26. August 1928 (16) Gustav Bermel, * 11. August 1927 (17) Johann Müller, * 29. Januar 1928 (16) Franz Rheinberger, * 22. Februar 1927 (17) Adolf Schütz, * 3. Januar 1926 (18) Bartholomäus (Barthel) Schink, * 27. November 1927 (16) Roland Lorent, * 12. März 1920 (24) Peter Hüppeler, * 9. Januar 1913 (31) Josef Moll, * 17. Juli 1903 (41) Wilhelm Kratz, * 6. Januar 1902 (42) Heinrich Kratina, * 15. Januar 1906 (38) Johann Krausen, * 10. Januar 1887 (57) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddieq Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 BDM pennant. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.