Figure 1.--Here parents are saying goodbye to HJ boys being sent to some kind of camp or boarding facility. (Notice the suit cases. We do not think boys took suitcases to summer camp, although we are not sure about that. They do look like they are dressed for a summer camp, but these are the boys' standard uniforms.) The image is undated, but we would say it was early in the War, perhps 1939 or 40. And given the way the adults are dressed in looks to be the early fall, perhaps September or October. Notice the bags slung over the boys' shoulders. We think these are their gas masks. German soldiers carried gas masks in cannisters.

The "Luftabwehrdienst" (Air Protection League) was the finest civil defense organization in World War II. Due to its effectiveness, German deaths in Allied air raids were limited to 0.3-0.5 million people despite the destruction of nearly all German cities. German civilian were thoroughly trained in civil defense measures. We are not sure about the extent to which German civilians were prepared for gas attacks. Some bomb shlelters were constructed to be gas proof, but we are not sure how common this was. We note photographs of Hitler Youth boys training to use gas masks. We do not know how common this was. They may have been propaganda photographs. We have noted family snapshots of HJ boys carrying gas mask bags slung over their shoulders. The Germans as far as we can determine did not proceed with the mass production and isuance of gas masks to civilians as did the British. They do seem to have collected the gas masks in occupied countries (Czechoslovakia and France), but we are not sure if they were distributed to civilians or military personnel. We know that the Germans made gas masks for civilians, both adults and children, and advertized them. We do not, however, have any details as to destribution or access. A U.S. War-time assessment read, "Regarding gas masks, the picture is slightly obscure. The following information appears, however, to portray the general situation. Early in 1942, the authorities were reported as diligently pushing forward a program whereby every civilian would possess a gas mask, even to the extent of making house-to-house canvasses. Later information disclosed that gas masks were being collected and shipped to the armed forces at the front, together with Czech and French masks, leaving only the civilian defense personnel with masks. This action may have been predicated on the assumption that gas-proofed shelters (noted in (2) above) would obviate the necessity for civilians owning gas masks. However, it is extremely probable that in such vital spots as towns where chemicals and war gases are manufactured and stored, gas masks are possessed by local residents as a precaution against the effects of bombing." [U.S. War Department] The War Department also reported, "A German training circular for civilian defense suggests the use of "losantin" as a first aid treatment for incendiary burns. As is well known, this preparation in tablet form is a standard issue in the German Army for antigas protection. Certain factories have been reported as issuing "Rhodasopa" (an antigas soap) for use by their employees in protecting against certain vesicants". [U.S. War Department] A German historian source reports that the Germans did initiate any extensive program to prepare civilians for anti-gas measures. [Rumpf, p. 177.]

Sources

Rumpf, Hans. The Bombing of Germany (Holt, Rinehart and Winston: New York, 1962), 256p

U.S. War Department. "Civil Protection Against Gas Warfare in Enemy Countries," Tactical and Technical Trends No. 17, January 28, 1943.

Created: 3:29 AM 1/23/2010
Last updated: 3:30 AM 1/23/2010