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The League of German Girls or the Band of German Maidens (, abbreviated as BDM) was the girls' wing of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
youth movement, the
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...
. It was the only legal female youth organization in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. At first, the League consisted of two sections: the '' Jungmädelbund'' ("Young Girls' League") for girls aged 10 to 14, and the League proper for girls aged 14 to 18. In 1938, a third section was introduced, the ''BDM-Werk Glaube und Schönheit'' ("Faith and Beauty Society"), which was voluntary and open to girls between the ages of 17 and 21. Due to the compulsory membership of all young women, except for those excluded for racial reasons, the League became the largest female youth organization at the time with over 4.5 million members. With the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, the organization ''de facto'' ceased to exist. On 10 October 1945, it was outlawed by the
Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council (ACC) or Allied Control Authority (), also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allies of World War II, Allied Allied-occupied Germany, occupation zones in Germany (1945–1949/1991) and Al ...
along with other Nazi Party organizations. Under Section 86 of the German Criminal Code, the Hitler Youth is an "unconstitutional organization" and the distribution or public use of its symbols, except for educational or research purposes, is not permitted. __TOC__


History

The ''Bund Deutscher Mädel'' had its roots in the early 1920s, in the first ''Mädchenschaften'' or ''Mädchengruppen'', also known as ''Schwesternschaften der Hitler-Jugend'' (Sisterhood of the Hitler Youth). In 1930, the BDM was founded, and in 1931 it became the female branch of the Hitler Youth. The league of German Maidens was derogatorily nicknamed by the counter-cultural Swingjugend "The League of German Mattresses", suggesting sexual promiscuity between the sex-separated groups who claimed to be traditional and conservative. Its full title was ''Bund Deutscher Mädel in der Hitler-Jugend'' (League of German Girls in the Hitler Youth). In the final electioneering campaigns of 1932, Hitler inaugurated it with a mass meeting featuring the League; on election eve, the League and Hitler Youth staged "evening of entertainment." It did not attract a mass following until the
Nazis came to power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the ''German Workers' Party, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Par ...
in January 1933. Soon after taking office as '' Reichsjugendführer'' on 17 June 1933,
Baldur von Schirach Baldur Benedikt von Schirach (; 9 May 1907 – 8 August 1974) was a German politician who was the leader of the Hitler Youth from 1931 to 1940. From 1940 to 1945, he was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) and '' Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich gov ...
issued regulations that suspended or forbade existing youth organizations ('concurrence'). Female youth groups were compulsorily integrated into the BDM, which was declared to be the only legally permitted organization for girls in Germany. Many of the existing organizations closed down to avoid this. These Nazi activities were a part of the ''
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all ...
'' (Equalization) starting in 1933. The ''
Reichskonkordat The ''Reichskonkordat'' ("Concordat between the ... between the Holy See"> ... between the Holy See and the German Reich") is a treaty negotiated between the Vatican and the emergent Nazi Germany">Holy See and the German Reich">Holy See"> .. ...
'' between the Catholic Church and Nazi Germany, signed on 20 July 1933, gave a certain shelter to the Catholic youth ministry, but they were the object of much bullying. The ''Gesetz über die Hitlerjugend'' (law concerning the Hitler Youth), dated 1 December 1936, forced all eligible juveniles to be a member of HJ or BDM. They had to be ethnic Germans, German citizens, and free of hereditary diseases. Girls had to be 10 years of age to enter this League. The BDM was run directly by Schirach until 1934, when Trude Mohr, a former postal worker, was appointed to the position of ''BDM-Reichsreferentin'', or National Speaker of the BDM, reporting directly to Schirach. After Mohr married in 1937, she was required to resign her position (the BDM required members to be unmarried and without children in order to remain in leadership positions), and was succeeded by Jutta Rüdiger, a doctor of psychology from
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
, who was a more assertive leader than Mohr but nevertheless a close ally of Schirach, and also of his successor from 1940 as HJ leader,
Artur Axmann Artur Axmann (18 February 1913 – 24 October 1996) was the Germans, German Nazi national leader (''Reichsjugendführer'') of the Hitler Youth (''Hitlerjugend'') from 1940 to 1945, when the war ended. He was the last living Nazi with a rank equi ...
. She joined Schirach in resisting efforts by the head of the ''
NS-Frauenschaft The National Socialist Women's League (, abbreviated ''NS-Frauenschaft'') was the women's wing of the Nazi Party. It was founded in October 1931 as a fusion of several nationalist and Nazi women's associations, such as the German Women's Order ( ...
'' (Nazi Woman's League), Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, to gain control of the BDM. Rüdiger led the BDM until its dissolution in 1945. As in the HJ, separate sections of the BDM existed, according to the age of participants. Girls between the ages of 10 and 14 were members of the Young Girl's League ('' Jungmädelbund'', JM), and girls between the ages of 14 and 18 were members of the ''Bund Deutscher Mädel'' (BDM) proper.Walter S. Zapotoczny ,
Rulers of the World: The Hitler Youth
"
In 1938, a third section was added, known as Faith and Beauty (''Glaube und Schönheit''), which was voluntary and open to girls between 17 and 21 and was intended to groom them for marriage, domestic life, and future career goals. Ideally, girls were to be married and have children once they were of age, but importance was also placed on job training and education. At the beginning of World War II, the ''
Reichsarbeitsdienst The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the Economy of Nazi Germany, German economy, militarise the wo ...
'' (National Labour Service; RAD) became compulsory also for young women. It lasted half a year. Many young women became ''Blitzmädel'' (''Wehrmachthelferin'' or female armed forces helpers) during World War II. While these ages are general guidelines, there were some exceptions for members holding higher (salaried) leadership positions, starting at the organizational level of "Untergau". As regards lower (honorary) positions, even members of the JM could apply for them after two years of membership and would then obtain such a position typically at the age of 13. The higher leadership was recruited from members over 18 and was expected to maintain salaried office for no more than 10 years, and to leave the BDM by the age of 30. As a general rule, members had to leave when they were married and especially when they had children.


Uniform and emblems

The BDM uniform was a full blue skirt, middy blouse and very heavy marching shoes. In 1939, a new uniform was introduced for regional and national leaders within the League of German Girls, and along with the new uniforms came new rank insignia for leaders. These new rank insignia took the form of a silver, and for higher ranks, gold bullion embroidered open-winged eagle on a black (white, on the summer tunic) shield with various types of borders to indicate grade. They were worn on the left chest of the tunic.


Leaders

Trude Mohr was appointed the first ''Reichsreferentin'' in June 1934. Her main initiative was to nourish a new way of living for the German youth, stating:"Women in Austria"
, Anton Pelinka, Erika Thurner. Transaction Publishers, 1998, . pp. 20–23
In 1937, after marrying ''
Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...
'' Wolf Bürkner, she became pregnant and resigned her duties. Jutta Rüdiger (1910–2001) was a special case. She joined the BDM only in 1933, at the age of 23 and after having finished her doctorate in psychology. She obtained honorary positions instantly in 1933 and early 1934, was promoted to her first salaried position (leader of Untergau Ruhr-Lower Rhine) in June 1935 and was appointed ''Reichsreferentin'' for the BDM (head of the BDM) in November 1937 (aged 27), succeeding Mohr, who had vacated the position on her marriage, as Nazi policy required. She kept this position even until the German defeat, when she reached the age of 34. (1912–2008), a countess and member of the higher
Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
n aristocracy, was appointed leader of ''Gau Unterfranken'' in 1933, at the age of 21, which also seems to have been the age when she joined the BDM, as no earlier date of membership nor any previous lower positions are recorded in her case. She was appointed head of "Faith and Beauty" in January 1938, a few days before her 26th birthday, and was discharged in September 1939 because of her marriage with Wilhelm "Utz" Utermann in October 1939. She was followed by an Austrian member, Annemarie Kaspar (b. 1917), who had been appointed ''Untergauführerin'' at the age of 20 in March 1938 and became head of B&B two weeks before her 22nd birthday. She too married and was discharged in May 1941, to be replaced in June 1941 by Martha Middendorf (b. 1914), who was 27 at the time of her appointment and was discharged already in February 1942, as she too had married. From this time on, Jutta Rüdiger, who was a
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
in lifelong partnership with Hedy Böhmer, a fellow Nazi traveller, and thus uninterested in marriage, took over to lead the BDM directly, thus holding both leadership positions until 1945.


Training and activities

The BDM used campfire romanticism, summer camps, folklorism, tradition, and sports to indoctrinate girls within the Nazi belief system, and to train them for their roles in German society: wife, mother, and homemaker. Their home evenings revolved around domestic training, but Saturdays involved strenuous outdoor exercise and physical training. The purpose of these activities was to promote good health, which would enable them to serve their people and their country. The "home evenings"—ideally to be conducted in specially built homes—also included world view training, with instruction in history. This instruction would include learning the Horst Wessel song, the Nazi holidays, stories about
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...
martyrs, and facts about their locality and German culture and history.Richard Grunberger, ''The 12-Year Reich'', p. 278, Physical education included track and field sports like running and the long jump, gymnastics (e.g. somersaulting and tightrope walking), route-marching, and swimming. The importance of self-sacrifice for Germany was heavily emphasized; a Jewish woman, reflecting on her longing to join the League of German Girls, concluded that it had been the admonishment for self-sacrifice that had drawn her most. Members were also taught the Nazi Party's racial ideas. The League was particularly regarded as instructing girls to avoid ''
Rassenschande ''Rassenschande'' (, "racial shame") or ''Blutschande'' ( "blood disgrace") was an anti-miscegenation concept in Racial policy of Nazi Germany, Nazi German racial policy, pertaining to sexual relations between Aryan race#Nazism, Aryans and non-A ...
'' or racial defilement, which was treated with particular importance for young females. Holiday trips offered by HJ and BDM – for example, skiing in winter and tent camps in summer – were affordable; children from poor families got subsidies. These offers were popular. The League encouraged rebellion against parents. '' Der Giftpilz'' presented the propaganda of a German girl being ordered to visit a Jewish doctor by her mother; the girl protested on the grounds of what she had learned at BDM meetings, and while at the office, remembered the warnings in time to escape being molested by the doctor.Inge’s Visit to a Jewish Doctor
"
She then insisted that her mother admit that the BDM had clearly been in the right. Ilsa McKee noted that the lectures of Hitler Youth and the BDM on the need to produce more children produced several illegitimate children, which neither the mothers nor the possible fathers regarded as problematic. These and other behaviors taught led to parents complaining that their authority was being undermined. In 1944, a group of parents complained to the court that the leaders of the League were openly telling their daughters to have illegitimate children. Public opinion attributed a great deal of sexual laxity to the members. The preparation camps for the 'Landdienst' (land service) of girls and boys often lay adjacent to each other. 900 of the girls participating in the 1936 '' Reichsparteitag'' in Nürnberg became pregnant. In 1937, a prohibition came out saying that camping was forbidden to the BDM. The '' Jungmädel'' were only taught, while the BDM was involved in community service, political activities and other activities considered useful at that time. Before entering any occupation or advanced studies, the girls, like the boys in Hitler Youth, had to complete a year of land service ("Landfrauenjahr").Arvo L. Vercamer
HJ-Landdienst
"
Although working on a farm was not the only approved form of service, it was a common one; the aim was to bring young people back from the cities, in the hope that they would then stay "on the land" in service of Nazi
blood and soil Blood and soil (, ) is a nationalist slogan expressing Nazi Germany's ideal of a racially defined Body national, national body ("Blood") united with a settlement area ("Soil"). By it, rural and farm life forms are idealized as a counterweight t ...
beliefs. Another form of service was as a domestic work in a family with many children. The 'Faith and Beauty' organizations offered groups where girls could receive further education and training in fields that interested them. Some of the works groups that were available were arts and sculpture, clothing design and sewing, general home economics, and music. '' Das Deutsche Mädel'' was the Nazi magazine directed at these girls.


Wartime service

The outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
altered the role of the BDM, though not as radically as it did the role of the boys in the HJ, who were to be fed into the German
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
(armed forces) when they turned 18. The BDM were told by their leaders during the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
that the Poles were a people "worthy of disgust, genuine sub-humans, who deserved to be ruled by a master race." The BDM helped the war effort in many ways. Younger girls collected donations of money, as well as goods such as clothing or old newspapers for the Winter Relief and other Nazi charitable organizations. Many groups, particularly BDM choirs and musical groups, visited wounded soldiers at hospitals or sent care packages to the front. Girls knitted socks, grew gardens, and engaged in similar tasks. In 1943, ''Das deutsche Mädel'' urged on the ten-year-olds just joining the Jungmädelbund that "It is as if the Führer had spoken to you ten-year-old girls as well, who are now joining the community. From this day on, your small strength, too, will contribute to winning the war and building a greater and more beautiful Reich." Girls also helped stage the celebrations after the de facto capitulation of France (see
Second Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...
, 22 June 1940). The older girls volunteered as nurses' aides at hospitals, or to help at train stations where wounded soldiers or refugees needed aid. After 1943, as Allied air attacks on German cities increased, many BDM girls went into paramilitary and military services ('' Wehrmachtshelferin''), where they served as Flak Helpers, signals auxiliaries, searchlight operators, and office staff. Unlike male HJs, BDM girls took little part in the actual fighting or operation of weaponry, although some Flak Helferinnen operated anti-aircraft guns. Many older girls, with Hitler Youth were sent to Poland as part of the
Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...
efforts.Lynn H. Nicholas, ''Cruel World: The Children of Europe in the Nazi Web'', p. 215, These girls, along with Hitler Youth, were first to oversee the eviction of Poles to make room for new settlers and ensure they did not take much from their homes, as furniture and the like were to be left there for the settlers. Their task were then to educate ethnic Germans, either living in Poland or resettled there from the
Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
, according to German ways. This included instruction in the German language, as many spoke only Polish or Russian. They also had to organize the younger ones into the League. Because many Hitler Youth leaders were drafted into the military, the task of organizing the boys into Hitler Youth also fell heavily on the League.BDM-
"
They were also to provide help on the farm and in the household. As the only contact with German authorities, they were often requested to help with the occupation authorities, and they put on various entertainments such as songfests to encourage the down-spirited new settlers. Some members were sent to the colony of Hegewald for such efforts even when they had to receive gas masks and soldier escorts. Conversely, the young Polish girls who were selected for "racially valuable traits" and sent to Germany for
Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people, and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nati ...
were made to join the League as part of the Germanization. By 1944, the drafting of boys resulted in most of the "land service" help, with the harvest being performed by girls. In the last days of the war, some BDM girls, just like some boys of the male Hitler Youth (although not nearly as many), joined with the ''
Volkssturm The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...
'' (the last-ditch defense) in Berlin and other cities in fighting the invading Allied armies, especially the Soviets. Officially, this was not sanctioned by the BDM's leadership, which opposed an armed use of its girls, even though some BDM leaders had received training in the use of hand-held weapons (about 200 leaders went on a shooting course which was to be used for self-defense purposes). After the war, Jutta Rüdiger denied that she had approved BDM girls using weapons in her interview with Junge Freiheit:
(...) At the end of the war,
Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery, private secretary to Adolf Hitler, and a war criminal. Bormann gained immense power by using his position as Hitler ...
wanted to set up a women's battalion. (...) I replied that I wasn't thinking about it. Women are not suitable to fight with guns in hand. (...) At the very end I (however) only allowed the girls to be trained in pistol shooting so that they could defend themselves in dire need – or even shoot themselves."
Some BDM girls were recruited into the Werwolf groups which were intended to wage guerrilla war in Allied-occupied areas.


Dissolution

The 'Kontrollratsgesetz Nr. 2' (enacted 10 October 1945) by the
Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council (ACC) or Allied Control Authority (), also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allies of World War II, Allied Allied-occupied Germany, occupation zones in Germany (1945–1949/1991) and Al ...
forbade the NSDAP and all its sub-organizations, including the BDM. Their properties were confiscated.


See also

* '' Das deutsche Mädel'' * Saxon Greeting


References

Notes Further reading * * "Growing Up Female in Nazi Germany" – Dagmar Reese, translated by William Templer * "The Hitler Youth" – David Littlejohn * "Ein Leben für die Jugend" – Jutta Ruediger * "Deutsche Frauen und Mädchen" – * "Brauner Alltag" – (1981 / 1991) * "Alltag im 3. Reich" – Frank Grube & Gerhard Richter (Hoffmann u Campe; 1st edition 1982 (Pocket book), ASIN: B0025V9XBY (Hard Cover) ** 1930s/1940s publication of the BDM from www.bdmhistory.com digital archives * ''"The Shame of Survival: Working Through a Nazi Childhood"'',
Penn State University Press The Penn State University Press, also known as The Pennsylvania State University Press, is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. Established in 1956, it is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State University ...
, 2009. . Account of Ursula Mahlendorf's childhood in the LGG. *
They Come From Dachau
nthWORD Magazine Issue #7, August 2010


External links


Hitler Youth Forum




the girls' magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:League Of German Girls Nazi terminology Hitler Youth Women's organisations based in Germany Women's wings of political parties in Germany Women in Nazi Germany 1930 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Youth organizations established in 1930 Organizations disestablished in 1945 Youth in Germany Youth wings of fascist parties