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Introduction
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Printed Hitler Youth armbands are generally viewed with suspicion on the forums and are invariably assigned to the 'late-war' period when they are discussed on forums outside of HJ-Research.The term "late war" is often used for items that cannot otherwise be explained but research here on the HJ forum shows that printed armbands for the Hitler Youth were manufactured, sold and worn in the early period and that they were, for a time, the officially endorsed item. The late-war period may have seen a resumption in the production of printed armbands but this has not been proven by those who support them. Available evidence discussed later on this page certainly does not support the late-war scenario.
(left)1 An early photograph of a boy wearing what appears to be a 2-piece printed armband showing a panel with printed swastika that has been sewn onto the armband.
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A second early photograph (right) showing a further example of what appears to be a printed armband, this time a one-piece version, shows that these items were being worn early. Under magnification, there is absolutely no trace of a seam on the white square.
(left) a further example of the one-piece printed armband.
The Evidence
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The 1936 regulation has already been mentioned but let's go back to a catalogue produced by the firm of Bernhard Richter(left)3 around 1933. This catalogue mainly shows items from the years 1928-33 but also includes a few items from the period when it was published.
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Here is an extract from the catalogue (right) showing that Bernhard Richter was producing two types of armbands for the HJ: a basic, cheaper printed version costing 0,13 RM and a more expensive, multi-part version costing 0,23 RM. So, the printed armband was clearly on sale in 1933.
Let's move forward a little to 1934 and to the publication Bekleidung und Ausrüstung der HJ (left). This book was the official document on the clothing and equipment of the Hitler Youth and was published by Abteilung I within the Reichsjugendführung. The armband is described in great detail on page 81 and the following is stated:
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"The armband has three bands in red-white-red and a black swastika in a white field. Red and black (swastika) are printed ".
"colour only to be applied to bleached cloth".
So, not only do we have further proof of the early existence of printed armbands but also evidence that the printed armband was the official item at that time. Clearly then, the printed HJ armband is an early product and not 'late-war' as invariably stated on the forums. In light of the information in the catalogue and within Bekleidung und Ausrüstung der HJ, the 1936 RZM regulation makes sense and need no longer be seen in isolation.
"But.. these are from the late-war period!''
This is heard very often but examination of the Mitteilungsblatt der RZM for the period January the 9th and December the 27th 19444 reveals no mention of printed armbands. A note for September the 9th, 1944 shows that the woven material required to make such an item would not have been available for delivery to manufacturers anyway. In view of the supply situation, how then could a company or supplier have made printed armbands without the cloth?
There is no evidence that the Mitteilungsblatt der RZM was amended after December 1944 and with the end of the war only 5 months away it is extremely unlikely that this would have happened. It seems clear, based on the documentary evidence that the printed HJ armband is not 'late-war' but rather an item produced in the early period before standardisation was achieved by the RZM. Anyone claiming the contrary should be politely asked to "prove that printed HJ armbands are late-war".
The bad news
Related reading:
Let's talk about printed HJ armbands
1 Link
2 RZM Herstellungsvorschriften für parteiamtliche Bekleidungsstücke und Ausrüstungsgegenstände 1936
3 Link
4 Link
Attachments
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