ID card of a youngster in the Hitler Youth who completed training in the "Landjahr" with declaration of loyalty to ...

ID card of a youngster in the Hitler Youth who completed training in the "Landjahr" with declaration of loyalty to Adolf Hitler

 

Landjahr - Identity card of the German youth Horst Schilling born in 1925 in Mülheim on the Ruhr - with a declaration of loyalty to Adolf Hitler, and details of the boy's achievements according to the requirements of the German Reich. This document was given to Hitler Youth graduates after 8 months of agricultural training in the Landjahr program meant to prepare them physically and mentally for obedience to Nazi ideology and values.  The document includes Schilling's passport photo, Nazi stamps, achievement details, and the stamp of the President of the Province of Olsztyn. It confirms Schilling participated in a Hitler Youth camp from April 18 to December 5, 1939 - one of the last training programs before the outbreak of World War 2.

The opening text is a loyalty declaration to Adolf Hitler: " The holder of this ID fulfilled his Landjahr year after leaving school. The stimulating rural education with agricultural work in an orderly educational community leads one to expect that this card holder will become a reliable young worker and fighter for the Third Reich. I wish to emphasize this strongly to employers of this ID holder. I expect the holder of this ID to always remain loyal to the inner and outer attitude attained during the Landjahr year in the spirit of Adolf Hitler".  Subsequent pages confirm Schilling's participation in Hitler Youth camp from April 18 to December 5, 1939, with details of good behavior marks, confirmation of a "correct worldview" (obedience to the Führer and Nazi movement), sporting achievements, details of achievements in agricultural work and camp activities, swimming achievements and more.

Landjahr - "State Year", or "Country Year" - German youth underwent training in what was called the "Landjahr program". Intended for 14 year old elementary school graduates and older teenagers, it included stays in camps of 80 boys per year. Daily programs began at 6am with a loyalty ceremony and raising the flag.  Afterwards the boys went to sports activities, agricultural work on the farm, animal care, marching, singing, military-style training - such as target practice for boys, all accompanied by weekly ceremonies for indoctrinating Nazi ideology. The boys had to undergo medical exams to prove fitness for manual labor, and written parental permission was required for girls to participate (in the 1930s the program became more popular for girls than boys). In some places it was called Landdienst ("Country Service"). The program aimed to train the youth to be a loyal soldier devoted to his people and homeland, impart physical skills, and educate according to Nazi values, with obedience and loyalty to the Führer forming the ideological basis for practical activities.

Participation in this German youth training steadily increased. In 1934 there were 45 Landjahr groups with 500 youth members. 1935 saw 240 groups with over 3,500 members. 1936 had 462 groups and 6,608 members. 1937 had 1,175 groups and 14,888 members. 1938 saw 1,452 groups and 18,000 members. By September 1939, when WWII began, participation was 26,016 members.

Upon the Nazi invasion of Poland in September 1939, girls who completed Landjahr were sent as volunteers to annexed areas of Poland. They trained farmers in German-Polish mixed population areas of occupied Poland to become "loyal Reich citizens", filling jobs vacated by deported Poles. Boys assisted with evacuations from industrial cities targeted by Allied bombs, and civilian support for fighting German troops.

See also: Wir erleben das Landjahr 1939.

[8] pages. Very good condition.