The introduction of the bronze and silver BDM achievement badges was announced in Verordnungsblatt 132 dated the 3rd of May 1934 but something that always bothered me was the fact that so few of the silver would seem to have been awarded. The numbers on all original badges I've seen up to now were always under 1000. That seems incredibly low for a badge introduced in 1934 so I started cross-checking various period sources and the reason for the low number of silver awarded would seem to be because the silver level did not begin to be awarded until as late as 1940.
In his 1940 book 'HJ, das kommende Deutschland' Günter Kaufmann (who worked on the staff of the RJF) gives the introduction date for the BDM silver as 1940*. The handbook of German youth law (with amendments included up to 1939) shows only one set of award criteria for one BDM achievement badge as does a Gebiet order from 1938 and the 1937 Organisationsbuch der NSDAP shows only one badge for the girls. This is shown in colour and is the bronze badge so it seems possible that the BDM achievement badge in silver, or rather the award of the badge to those qualified to receive it, was for some reason, delayed.
*The book does however give an erroneous date for the introduction of the JM achievement badge and as I say, the BDM achievement badges (bronze and silver levels) were introduced by Verordnungsblatt 132 dated the 3rd of May 1934 so quite what he means with 1940 I don't know.
In his 1940 book 'HJ, das kommende Deutschland' Günter Kaufmann (who worked on the staff of the RJF) gives the introduction date for the BDM silver as 1940*. The handbook of German youth law (with amendments included up to 1939) shows only one set of award criteria for one BDM achievement badge as does a Gebiet order from 1938 and the 1937 Organisationsbuch der NSDAP shows only one badge for the girls. This is shown in colour and is the bronze badge so it seems possible that the BDM achievement badge in silver, or rather the award of the badge to those qualified to receive it, was for some reason, delayed.
*The book does however give an erroneous date for the introduction of the JM achievement badge and as I say, the BDM achievement badges (bronze and silver levels) were introduced by Verordnungsblatt 132 dated the 3rd of May 1934 so quite what he means with 1940 I don't know.