Original German WWII HJ National Youth Organization Personal Photo Album, 23 Pages, 156 Pictures
In stock
-
Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind. This is a very interesting German NSDAP-period personal photograph album containing an extensive collection of images associated with the HJ, together with family, travel, and group photographs. The album measures 10 1/2" x 7 1/2", and contains 23 heavy black photograph pages with a total of 156 images mounted on both sides, making this a particularly substantial period collection. The pages are separated by the original translucent "Spider-web" patterned glassine "onion skin" protective sheets.
The album itself is an attractive period example with a brown marbled-pattern cover and rounded outer corners. The front is prominently decorated with a silver-colored German national eagle positioned above an oak-wreathed swas. Interestingly, this is a general National Socialist national emblem rather than the distinctive diamond-shaped HJ insignia, so the album should be regarded as a private German photograph album with extensive HJ content, rather than an officially issued HJ album. It retains its original multicolored cord binding through metal-reinforced eyelets. The cover shows expected edge wear, but remains quite attractive overall.
Numerous photographs show boys and young men in recognizable HJ uniforms. There are individual portraits, formal unit photographs, marching formations, camps, outdoor gatherings, athletic activities, excursions, and photographs of girls and young women associated with the broader National Socialist youth environment. Other images preserve ordinary family and social life, helping place the organized youth photographs within the personal world of the album's original owner.
The HJ had existed as the Party's principal youth organization since the 1920s, but its role expanded dramatically after 1933. Baldur von Schirach had directed the movement from 1931 and, after the seizure of power, presided over its rapid transformation into a nationwide organization intended to absorb Germany's previously diverse youth movements. The 1936 HJ Law declared that German youth were to be organized within the HJ and educated through it in addition to the family and school; the March 1939 Youth Service Regulation went further and made service compulsory for most eligible German boys and girls between the ages of ten and eighteen.
One of the more interesting photographs in the album shows:
BALDUR v. SCHIRACH HEIM
with a large HJ diamond emblem displayed above the name. Several youths are pictured at the building. Baldur von Schirach led the HJ from 1931 until 1940 and was one of the central figures in its expansion during the 1930s. In this context, Heim means a local HJ home or meeting center. These buildings provided permanent spaces for meetings, instruction, and organized youth activities. Their construction became a major priority during the late 1930s, with 1937 promoted as the Jahr der Heimbeschaffung, or “Year of Home Acquisition.”
Another outstanding section of the album appears to document a large HJ gathering or rally, with massed groups of uniformed youths, numerous flags, large crowds, camp scenes, and organized formations. Especially notable is a photograph showing HJ members near what appears to be a Junkers Ju 52/3m, identifiable by its distinctive corrugated-metal construction and three-engine configuration. The Ju 52 was one of the best-known German aircraft of the period, serving first as a civilian transport and later extensively with the Luftwaffe in troop transport, supply, and medical evacuation roles.
This is a substantial and historically engaging photograph album, offering an excellent visual record of HJ activity, German wartime life, and the broader social history of the National Socialist period.
Historical records like this album have become priceless time capsules that provide an incomparable level of insight into the individual experience of the Second
World War, now that almost eighty years have passed. The older albums such as these usually withstand the ravages of time. The leather or fabric covers may wear, but the pages stay well intact. The black paper albums of the early 20th century are more fragile, while the glue from magnetic albums can damage photographs. And, as with all old photographs, keep albums in a safe, climate controlled environment.
AH believed German youth to be the future of his 3rd Reich. The HJ AH Jugend or HJ) was formed officially in 1935, and with the exception of NSDAP ideology indoctrination was very similar to the Boy Scouts. Beginning at about the age of ten years, both boys (AH Jugend) and girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel) were enlisted in the Party-run organization. The The Deutsches Jungvolk (DJ) was the junior branch of the HJ, for boys aged 10 to 14.
History of the HJ German National Youth Organization:
In 1922, the Munich-based NSDAP established its official youth organization called Jugendbund der NSDAP. It was announced on 8 March 1922 in the Völkischer Beobachter, and its inaugural meeting took place on 13 May the same year. Another youth group was established in 1922 as the Jungsturm Adolf “AH”. Based in Munich, Bavaria, it served to train and recruit future members of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the main paramilitary wing of the NSDAP Party at that time.
One reason the HJ so easily developed was that regimented organizations, often focused on politics, for young people and particularly adolescent boys were a familiar concept to German society in the Weimar Republic. Numerous youth movements existed across Germany prior to and especially after World War I. They were created for various purposes. Some were religious and others were ideological, but the more prominent ones were formed for political reasons, like the Young Conservatives and the Young Protestants. Once AH came onto the revolutionary scene, the transition from seemingly innocuous youth movements to political entities focused on AH was swift.
Following the abortive Beer Hall Putsch (in November 1923), NSDAP youth groups ostensibly disbanded, but many elements simply went underground, operating clandestinely in small units under assumed names. In April 1924, the Jugendbund der NSDAP was renamed Grossdeutsche Jugendbewegung (Greater German Youth Movement). On 4 July 1926, the Grossdeutsche Jugendbewegung was officially renamed HJ Bund der deutschen Arbeiterjugend (HJ League of German Worker Youth). This event took place a year after the NSDAP Party was reorganised. The architect of the re-organization was Kurt Gruber, a law student from Plauen in Saxony.
After a short power struggle with a rival organization—Gerhard Roßbach's Schilljugend—Gruber prevailed and his "Greater German Youth Movement" became the NSDAP Party's official youth organisation. In July 1926, it was renamed H -Jugend, Bund deutscher Arbeiterjugend ("H” Youth, League of German Worker Youth") and, for the first time, it officially became an integral part of the SA. The name H -Jugend was taken up on the suggestion of Hans Severus Ziegler. By 1930, the Hjugend (HJ) had enlisted over 25,000 boys aged 14 and upward. They also set up a junior branch, the Deutsches Jungvolk (DJ), for boys aged 10 to 14. Girls from 10 to 18 were given their own parallel organization, the League of German Girls (BDM).
In April 1932, Chancellor Heinrich Brüning banned the H Youth movement in an attempt to stop widespread political violence. However, in June, Brüning's successor as Chancellor, Franz von Papen, lifted the ban as a way of appeasing “AH”, the rapidly ascending political star. A further significant expansion drive started in 1933, after Baldur von Schirach was appointed by H as the first Reichsjugendführer (Reich Youth Leader). All youth organizations were brought under Schirach's control.
With the surrender of NSDAP Germany in 1945, the organization de facto ceased to exist. On 10 October 1945, the Youth and its subordinate units were outlawed by the Allied Control Council along with other NSDAP Party organizations. Under Section 86 of the Criminal Code of the Federal Republic of Germany, the H Youth is an "unconstitutional organization" and the distribution or public use of its symbols, except for educational or research purposes, is illegal.
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
We Buy Military Antiques
Our team expert buyers travels the world to pay fair prices for entire estate collections to singular items.
START SELLING TODAY
