Buy this book on-line

Multiple Authors : 1941 - 1942 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY AND JOURNAL OF BUND DEUTSCHER MADEL [BdM] CAMP MEMORIES, ACTIVITIES AND THOUGHTS HANDWRITTEN BY THE CREAM OF GERMANY'S YOUNG WOMEN WHO ARE SERVANTS OF THE NAZI REGIME AND THE THIRD REICH

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is an original, historically significant manuscript relic of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler's use and manipulation of German women being a 1941 and 1942 diary and journal of a Bund Deutsche Madel [BdM] (League of German Girls or League of German Maidens in English) at Camp Moosburg in southern Germany. The journal records nine [9] girls from July 10th to September 4th 1941 and ten [10] girls from July 12th to September 3rd 1942. Included in the group was the Jungmadel Fuhrer or Leader of the Jungmadel. In the earliest index of attendees they are marked as all from Coburg Germany a noted town several hundred kilometers to the north of Camp Moosburg. Almost all of the same girls return in 1942 with at least one new 'madel'. The book was obviously a cherished journal with many flourishes: calligraphic headings and poems, photographs, handmade shadow art, some dry flora and drawings. The book appears hand made with three [3] text blocks bound with a canvas cloth over boards with leather tips on the front cover alone. 121 pages, 6 X 8.5 inch. Overall VG. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: 1.) BdM Camps were critical to Hitler's rise to power. One online source quotes Kurt Gruber, the director of the movement saying: the Hitler Youth "a new youth movement of young social-revolutionary minded Germans" trained to risk their own lives if necessary to free Germany from "the shackles of Capitalists and the enemies of the German race." Also known as 'The League of German Maidens' or 'League of German Girls' the BdM was the female branch of the Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany. Also: "BdM....a very heavy emphasis on competition. Just about every task, no matter how big or small, was turned into an individual, team, or unit competition. This included boys and girls sports, the quality of singing during propaganda marches, and Winter Aid collections. Boys and girls were kept constantly busy. The Nazis took advantage of the natural enthusiasm of young people, their craving for action and desire for peer approval, hoping, ultimately, each young person would come to regard his or her HJ or BDM unit as a home away from home, or perhaps as their real home." 2.) The League of German Girls or League of German Maidens was the female branch of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany besides the RAD camp girls and boys. At first, the League consisted of two sections: the Jungmadel, or Young Girls League, for girls ages 10 to 14, and the League proper for girls ages 14 to 18. In 1938, a third section was introduced, the Belief and Beauty Society (Werk Glaube und Sch"nheit), which was voluntary and open to girls between the ages of 17 and 21. Sport was an important section into the movement to educate girls within the National Socialist belief system, and to train them for their roles in German society: perfect healthy wife, mother, and homemaker. Their Home Evenings revolved about domestic training, but Saturdays involved strenuous outdoor training. Some of the girl's work even drew harsh criticism from Nazi party leaders, such as Heinrich Himmler, who felt that these activities were not befitting young girls. Himmler stated in a speech at Bad Toelz: "When I see these girls marching around with their nicely packed backpacks - it's enough to make me sick." The outbreak of war altered the role of the girls as soon as they turned 18. They helped the war effort in many ways. The older girls volunteered as nurses' aides at hospitals, or to help at train stations where wounded soldiers or refugees needed a hand. Often the sports training and other activities of the League stayed. After 1943, as Allied air attacks on German cities increased, many girls went into para-military and military services where they served as helpers, signals auxiliaries, searchlight operators, and office staff.. German Language. Book Condition: Very Good

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.