Original German WWII HJ National Youth Association Book Set - Four Paperback Books and Bookmark

Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a lovely set of books / magazines printed for members of the HJ National Youth Association, as well as an original HJ paper bookmark. These were written to inspire members of the HJ to move on to other organizations in service of the country, and were made available to the members of each group, probably kept at their field house. They cover a wide variety of subjects, and are all in very good condition, showing fading and yellowing commensurate with age. Most measure 6 5/8" x 8 7/8" while one is a bit smaller.

The following books are included:

- Aufgabe und Sinn des Arbeitsdienſtes (Purpose and meaning of the labor service). This details the RAD Reich Labor Service, and actually has a Deustches Jungfolk i. .d. HJ unit stamp on it!

- Ewig junge JNFANTERIE (Eternally Young Infantry). This is a short history book on Infantry units in the German military, going back to 1525.

- AFRIKA. This book concerns the North Africa campaign, giving the reasons why it is important to Germany.

- Grenadiere stürmen (Grenadiers Assault). The "Grenadier" units of Frederick the Great's Army were legendary in the field, and 1942 Adolf H renamed all of the Infantry units as Grenadier units in homage to this, and to inspire the units. This book looks to deal with some of that history.

The book mark measures 8" x 2 11/16"m and has the HJ diamond emblem on it, as well as the statement Im Glauben an Deutſchland werden wir das Schickfal meiſtern (With faith in Germany, we will overcome our fate), with Spare bei der Deutschen Reichspoſt (Save Money at the German National Mail) message at the bottom. Definitely an interesting juxtaposition of call to action with an advertisement.

A lovely set that will make a great translation project!

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.