Hitler Jugend Leistungsabzeichen [Hitler Youth] proficiency badge
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 1.125 inches (2.858 cm)
Archival History
The pin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006 by Cayla DuChene Houston.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Cayla D. Houston
Scope and Content
Hitler Youth proficiency badge that would have been awarded for the successful completion of a series of tests measuring physical and ideological proficiency, rated according to the Leistungsbuch [identity document and performance book]. The tyr-rune [arrow shape] represents the warrior god Tyr. The Hitler Youth was founded by the Nazi Party in 1926 to shape the beliefs and actions of German youth to conform to national socialist ideology. After Hitler's selection as Chancellor in 1933, this became the national ideology, and loyalty to the Nazi Party and its leaders was a central teaching. The Hitler Youth was a pathway for service in the armed forces or, later, in the SS. In 1936, membership in Nazi youth groups became mandatory for all boys and girls between the ages of ten and seventeen.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Silver colored metal pin formed from a tyr rune with a circular badge on the shaft. The circle has an outside ring of text, with a swastika on the inside. On the back is a spring tension pin with a maker's mark on the ring and marking on the point of the arrow. It is worn with the arrow pointing up.
Corporate Bodies
- Nazi Party
- Hitler Youth
Subjects
- Nazi propaganda--Germany.
Genre
- Object
- Jewelry