Bidspirit auction | Hitler Youth, The Great Brotherhood

Hitler Youth, The Great Brotherhood Experience – An album documenting the activities of the Hitler Youth movement. Munich, 1942 – First Edition - Hitlerjugend, das Erlebnis einer großen Kameradschaft - Hitler Youth, The Great Brotherhood Experience – By Sautter Reinhold and Gustav Memminger. “Published with the approval of the Reich Youth Leadership.” Published by Carl Rohrig, Munich, 1942 – First Edition. An album of the Hitler Youth, documenting the movement’s activities and loyalty to the Führer, accompanied by dozens of photographs of Hitler Youth boys and girls participating in the organization. An album portraying the Hitler Youth as the supreme calling of every German youth. Published in the midst of World War II, its aim was to strengthen the movement and unify its members under absolute obedience to the Führer. The album documents the organization’s activities across all its branches: social engagement, nature excursions, sports, parade marches, hobby groups, theater, shooting practice, field training, study of German history and the principles of the Third Reich, and more. Alongside the photographs appear the movement’s core principles: “To promote health and physical ability, to educate for the capacity to fight, by selecting the best youth in sports to secure Germany’s international standing”—as well as songs sung during parades, such as the “Heil Hitler” anthem and others centered on a unified Germany and obedience to the Führer, volunteer service, social activities, and more. Throughout the album, photomontages are interwoven with illustrations printed directly onto the pages. The tone of the album is heroically styled, celebrating blind obedience to the Führer and emphasizing the youth’s role in the future of the “New Germany” and in achieving the goals of the Third Reich. In the introduction, written by Gustav Memminger (editor of the movement’s regional publications in Swabia), he outlines his vision and expectations for the Hitler Youth in that year: “The mission of the Führer’s youth has now become a European mission. It no longer encompasses only ten million German boys and girls, but has crossed the borders of the Reich to work alongside European youth in seizing the fate of this continent... Wherever German soldiers were forced to take up arms to resist the betrayal of Europe’s destiny, units of German youth followed behind... In this war, youth comes first...”. The Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) was the official youth movement of Nazi Germany, established by Adolf Hitler to shape the future generation according to Nazi ideology instilling the racial doctrine, the supremacy of the Aryan race, and the Führer’s personality cult. The movement operated from the Nazi rise to power until the end of World War II, during which all other youth organizations were banned. Membership was mandatory, and parents were legally required to send their children from age eight to eighteen to the movement or, for girls, to the parallel organization, the League of German Girls. At its peak, the movement counted over eight million members, making it the largest youth organization in history. The organization placed strong emphasis on hierarchy, strict discipline, peer-led education, and humiliation of lower-ranked members by their superiors, as well as strict adherence to codes of honor even outside official activity hours. These dynamics inflicted severe psychological and moral harm on participants. The movement published a newspaper titled The German Youth Newspaper, which included racist and antisemitic content, and its members actively participated in harassment of Jews, including pogroms, looting, destruction of property, and informing on Jews to the authorities. From 1931 to 1940, the movement was led by Baldur von Schirach, followed by Artur Axmann until 1945. During the war, members were mobilized for the home front: collecting scrap metal, distributing ration cards, and providing logistical support. After Germany’s defeat in 1945, the movement was disbanded and declared illegal. The young members were not prosecuted due to their age, but its senior leaders chief among them von Schirach were put on trial for crimes against peace. 320 pp. 25 cm. Condition: Good to Very Good.