German Youth

(Deutsches Jungvolk - DJ)

Deutsches Jungvolk fanfare trumpeters at a Nazi rally in the town of Worms in 1933

The Deutsches Jungvolk (DJ) was founded in 1928 by Kurt Gruber under the title Jungmannschaften (Youth Teams) but was renamed Knabenschaft and finally Deutsches Jungvolk in der Hitler Jugend in March 1931. Following the decree on the Hitler Youth on the 1st December 1936, boys had to be registered with the Reich Youth Office in the March of the year in which they would reach the age of ten; those who were found to be racially acceptable were expected to join the DJ.

The regulations were tightened further by the Second decree on the Hitler Youth on the 25th March 1939, which made membership of the DJ or HJ mandatory for all Germans between 10 and 18 years of age.

Membership badge of the German Youth - DJ

German Youth (D J) Proficiency Badge

(Deutsches Jungvolk Leistungsabzeichen)

After the 26th September 1935, with the introduction of the German Youth Proficiency Badge, DJ members were no longer eligible for the Hitler Youth proficiency badge, and undertook qualifying tests for their own badge.

German Youth Proficiency Badge

German Youth Shooting Award

(DJ-Schiessabzeichen)

Members of the DJ under the age of 14 were eligible to compete for the DJ shooting qualification badge.

Unlike the older members of the HJ, who used small bore rifles to qualify, the younger members of the DJ were restricted to the use of air rifles during their qualification process.

DJ shooting qualification badge

Rifle instruction class before going the the range

12-year-old Deutsches Jungvolk platoon commander, Alfred Zech (from Goldenau in Upper Silesia) earned the Iron Cross Second Class in 1945 for rescuing wounded soldiers whilst under enemy fire.