Figure 1.--Here we see a class group at the Hermsdorf School durfing 194vwearing their HitlerbYouth uniforms to school. The boys are wearing mostly DJ uniforms. The DJ was the junior HJ division, somewhat akin to Cub Scous. The girls are wearing their BDM uniforms. The DJ boys in short pants are wearing long stockings as do the girls. We believe this was some sort of special day as German children did not regularly wear their HJ uniforms to school. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the class.

The 1940s was a tumultuous decade for the children of Hermsdorf. The first half if the decade they were part of NAZI Germany. The second half they were under Soviet rule. Here we see a class group at the Hermsdorf School durfing 194vwearing their HitlerbYouth uniforms to school. The boys are wearing mostly DJ uniforms. The DJ was the junior HJ division, somewhat akin to Cub Scous. The girls are wearing their BDM uniforms. The DJ boys in short pants are wearing long stockings as do the girls. We believe this was some sort of special day as German children did not regularly wear their HJ uniforms to school.

Hermdsorf School

Hermsdorf is a town in Saxony in south-east Germany, and the school here is probably the only public or "free" school in the town. Hermsdorf may simply be the name of the town rather than the actual school name. HBC has other Hermsdorf class photos. We think that the school was a primary school with classes for children up to about age 13 or 14. As Hermsdorf was a small town, both girls and boys were educated in the same town. This was common in village and small town schools. We note images from the Hermsdorf School in the 1930s and 40s. I don't think that this was the name of the school, but rather the town where the school was located. It looks to be a primary school with children up to about 14 years of age. The only information we have about the school at this time is several available school photographs. Onr photograph suggests it was a boys' school. Apparently the younger children were taught in single gender classes. Presumably there was a separate class for the younger girls. Other photographs show mixed groups.

Date

All we know is that the photograph was taken in 1941, but we do not know just when. This of course was during World War II. At until December 1941, the War was with few exceptions a steady stream of NAZI victories. It looks chilly but not cold so we would guess Aril or October 1941. April was a month in which it was still chilly enough to wear winter long stovkings. And October was a month by which many children had begun wearing long stockings.

Adolf Hitler Day (April 20)

We think the children might have worn their uniforms to school on a special occassion. We think the most likely day that they have been clebrating was Adolf Hitler Day (April 20). Hitler's birtday was a major event in Germany. This was in keeping with the convention in Imperial Germany o celebrate the Kaisser's birthday, This would seem to be the most likely day for all the children to wear their uniforms. And given the way they are dressed, April wouild seem to be a real possibility.

Class

The children hwre seem to be about the same age/ This suggesys it was a class group. They look about 12-13 years old. A few boys look a lottle older, bit most look to be in the 12-13 year range. This might have veen the oldest or next to oldest class in the school.

Hitler Youth

The Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth), the NAZI party's youth movement, indoctrinated German youth to perpetuate the "1,000 year Reich." The Hitler Youth movement emphasized activism, physical training, NAZI ideology, especially nationalism and racial concepts, and absolute obedience to Hitler and the NAZI Party. Indoctrinating children in National Socialist idelogy was a key goal of the NAZI Party. Once Hitler assumed control over the German state, he used the Goverment to make the Hitler Youth the country's all encompasing youth movement. Hitler and other NAZIs leaders saw the indoctrination of young Germans as of critical importance. In the same year that they took power, the NAZIs organized German youth organizations into two branches of the Hitler Youth (Hitler Jugen), one branch for boys and one for girls. Membership was eventually made compulsory and all boys had to report to a neigborhood office to have his racial background checked and be registered for membership. There was then a typically elaborate introduction ceremony on the Füherer's birthday.

Seasonal Uniforms

The Hitler Youth movement had seasonal uniforms. Germany has a temperate climate. Thus there are warm summers and cold winters. The Hitler Youth thus had different uniforms for the warm and cold weather. As many HJ activities were outdoor activites, a light-weight uniform was needed for the summer and a heavier, warmer uniform for the winter. These uniforms differed somewhat depending on the boy's level. The male side of the Hitler Youth was divided into two sections. The younger section, the Deutsche Jungvolk (DJ) consisting of boys from the age of 10 to 14. The older section, the Hitler Youth (HJ) , consisted of boys 14-18 years of age. The Deutche Jungvolk and the Hitler Youth had destictive uniform features for both the Winter and Summer. The basic summer and winter uniform for the two levels were similar, but there were important destinctions.

Wearing the Uniform to School

The students here are all wearing their HJ uniforms. There were some NAZI political schools where the students wore HJ uniforms. The students at regular public schools did not wear uniforms, although one often sees a few children wearing their uniforms in school photographs. They did not wear their uniforms to school on a refgular basis. There was no school rules against it, but most children did not do it. Presumably the children that did were especially ardent HJ members. We do, however, note special days and ceremonies at schools where the children did wear their uniforms. Presumavly this is swhy all the children are wearing their uniforms here.

The Teacher

Notice that their teacher stands in the rear (to the right) wearing a dark suit with white shirt and bow tie. One wonders what his attitude was toward the HJ and the NAZIs. Hitler and the NAZIs were suspious of the school system when they seized power in Germany. There were ardent NAZI teachers, but there were also anti-NAZIs and teachers with no real political commitment. The anti-NAZIs were silenced and dorced out of teaching. The teachers with insufficent political arder were more difficult to deal with. Gradually the NAZIs drew more reliable individuals into teaching which often meant less qualified indivisuals. By 1941, German teachers were increasingly reliable. Even so, the NAZIs never fully trusted the schools.

Winter Uniforms

The boys and girls are wearing their winter unifiorm. The boys wear a black jscket over their brown shirts. The leather halters worn with their shirts are unf\nder their jackedts. The DJ boys wear whort pants while the HJ boys wear ski-style knickers which look rather like long pabts. Some of the boys have the HJ arm bands. Note the military-style belts. At least one boy has brought his knife to school. (The girls didn't get knives.) Most of the boys wear short trousers which was the DJ uniform. Most of these boys probanly wore short pants to school when not in DJ uniform. This would not have been a school rule, but the conventiinal dress for boys this age. The BDM girls are wearing uniform jackets over their white shirts. They contrast in color with the black skirts and are probably tan or perhaps olive green.

Long Stockings

The children also wear long brown cotton stockings. This was probably because it was what they usually wore to school during the wsinter ahnd not wgat they usually wore with their HJ uniforms. The prevalence of long stockings is interesting. We see DJ boys wearing long stockings with their uniform, especially the younger DJ boys. But generally boys wore knee socks for official HJ functions. We see some units wearfing long stockings, but it was not very common. This seems to have been a common convention, although I am not sure to what extent it was an official directive from the HJ leadership. It probably represents a general view among older HJ boys and some leaders that lobng stockings , were too "soft" and "feminine" for manly HJ boys. Thus most photographs of HJ boys wearing long stockings are individual home snap shots. Here we have a schoo; rather than an HJ event. Oronically the boys and girls may have been ebncouraged to wear long stockings as a matter of formality. When ever youbsee all the children in a group portrait wearing the same kind of hosiery like this, it is likely that they were instructed by the school to do so. The girls also wear the same kind of brown cotton long stockings worn by the boys. In hosiery here there was no gender discrepancy, and the boys, especially boys of this age, probably wear male garter belts not too dissimilar in style and function from those worn by girls. We have several personal accounts from German readers that establish this similarity.

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Created: 3:54 AM 10/21/2009
Last updated: 3:54 AM 10/21/2009