HJ, Pimpfe, or something else?

[Sturmgeist]

Can anyone identify these photos? I'm guessing they are of the same group because they came from the same man.





Thanks,
-Brendan

EDIT: All of the boys in the first photo seem to be wearing SA Beltbuckles, except for the boy in the first row, second from the left who seems to be wearing an SS Beltbuckle! [???] The first photo is dated 1933.

[Sturmgeist]

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Garry M.]

Hi,

I can't make out the SS buckle but the others certainly appear to be the SA type. A couple of HJ armbands are visible too so this appears to be a HJ Kameradschaft or perhaps part of a Spielmannszug?. The boys in the lighter shirts may recently joined this group from one of the other youth organisations and have not yet had time to get a HJ uniform. It's also possible that they just couldn't get hold of a uniform due to supply problems resulting from the explosion in the numbers of boys joining the HJ around the time this picture was taken. Who knows? Nice picture though

[Sturmgeist]

Would it be common of HJ members to wear party pins?

[douglynn]

nice photo

[Sturmgeist]

Thanks. The back of the photo is dated 14. August 1933. In case you wanted to see the rest of the photos that came from this man, follow this link: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=266736

Could this be that NSDAP HJ that was run by the SA? That would explain the SA beltbuckles, but I swear the guy who these photos came from (front row, second from left) seems to be wearing an SS beltbuckle. Any possible explanation out there?

[Garry M.]

The HJ was placed under the control of the SA on the 27th of April 1931. This lasted until the 13th of May 1932. The HJ buckle was standardised in 1933. Prior to this the SA buckle (among others although an SS buckle would have been odd) had been in use.

[Sturmgeist]

Well, on note about the SS Beltbuckle confusion, I've cropped down the photo and have englarged it. Here is the end result. What do you think?

[1stva_HJ]

look at the kid in the white shirt

[Sturmgeist]

Any explaination on the SS beltbuckle or what the organization is? It is dated for 14. August 1933. Also, many of the guys are wearing party pins, and many of them seem to have HJ knives. Maybe you can tell by the drums? This isn't my corner..

[Garry M.]

There 's no deep meaning behind the SS buckle and you'll often see things in photos (especially early photos) that make no sense to us 70 years later. I have a large photo of a HJ leadership course from 1940 for example which shows many of the boys still wearing the obsolete brown shoulderboards. This and other examples tell us that a certain 'latitude' seems to have been permitted.

It's unfortunate that we can't see a complete armband but I'd lay top money on them being HJ. The SA buckles are a huge clue.

There was a period of grace given to those boys who had recently joined the HJ from the other youth organisations to allow them to continue to wear their old uniforms whilst the parents got the money together for a HJ uniform and the boys in the white shirts are very likely to be a prime example of this.