Hitler Youth in Croatia, membership badge Landeszeugmeisterei in Essegg

Joined
Apr 12, 2011
Messages
3,305
Thanks Received
1,750
Location
-
Circa 1942. Small Deutsche Jugend membership badge produced by the Landeszeugmeisterei in Essegg.

You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Last edited:
Very nice Jo. Very rare badge as you well know.

Here's one I used to own: Deutsche Jugend Kroatien

Pics of the reverse:

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Wim uploaded a few pics of a LZM leaflet 3-4 years ago on another forum.
Yep nice rare badges, there is also another maker of these, KNAUS in ZAGREB.
Very short production period as well, very late 1941 until late 1942.

Its a pity the attachment broke on yours, that mostly seems to be the case with the very rare badges, either enamel damage or a missing/replaced pin.
BUT, even the broken badges were kept, as if they "knew" back then, that the badge was a rare one.

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Last edited:
The background pattern is similar to the pre-1935 Deschler background, gravel/waves instead of the rice bubbles/dots. It has a wicked micro-patina :swiss

You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Very rare - and great to look at - badges. I think they are a dream for most
of the collectors to have!
The first part of the leaflet was also shown on page 569 of my handbook. I might
have around a small article about the LZM. When I find it (and that is a problem),
I will scan it and show it here for the interest of the forum-members! As said:
if I find it!
 
Thanks for the added info chaps. Looking forward to that LZM article if you can find it Wim
 
I know its already posted somewhere but i think it might be interesting to have it here aswell.

You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Me too. The LZM is an obscure subject rarely discussed!
I Agree, and a short-lived one as well. I would also be very interested about learning more information about the Austrian Zeugmeisterei
 
Great badges and a great photo, Albrecht!
I'm researching the Deutsche Jugend (DJ) der Deutschen Mannschaft (DM) for a while now and so it's great to see some pieces of my special interest.
Please find attached the DJ-Raute in large :) It's part of my "CCC - Croatia cloth collecton". Please excuse that I don't want to share more pics in the moment, I need some more time to research.

You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
The badge is constructed in a very similar way to which the HJ- Ehrenzeichen in Gold were, with the sides beveled/tapered.
IMG.2. shows the same small die flaw on both badges, a raised portion along the edge, clearly visible in the same place on Garry`s badge.

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Last edited:
It took me a while to find the article about the Zeugmeisterei, as I really did not know in what
map I had "stored" it. In a wrong map apparently, I found out. And so ten-thousands of pages
I had to take a look at.

First a short article (text is in German) about the Zeugmeisterei. Note that one had to be a member
to buy uniforms and stuff.

Further shown in a seperate post, as an extra, the ranking-system for the Deutsche Mannschaft (DM),
also here the text is in German. Maybe Garry can take care for an eventual translation.

This content can only be viewed by: Blue Group members.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Many thanks Wim :yo:

I'm busy with the HJ-Research wiki at the moment but I will translate when time is available :thumb:
 
I`ll leave the DM for Garry, he l♥ves that stuff...
Here is the rest.

The „Activities“ of the ZEUGMEISTEREI

Upon the incentive of the Volksgruppenführer, The Zeugmeisterei (LZM - Landeszeugmeisterei) was founded in September 1941. In the beginning it was thought that the activities of the LZM would be much more limited/constricted as the case is today. Their main objective in the beggining was the acquisition of Uniforms for Amtswalter der Volksgruppenführung, Kreis and Ortsleitung, as well as relatives belonging to the attached branches. (Sub-divisions)
After the wheels were set in motion, the LZM was suddenly faced with larger contracts. The priority being to clothe the Einsatzstaffel der DM. We are proud to say, even with the acquisition of appropriate material being severely hampered by the war, we still managed to complete all given orders to their fullest.

In the beginning (September 1941) the LZM only had one sales room, and one storage room, with a total of three employees. In 1942 the employee count rose to 26, the bulk of these being woman and children. Regarding membership numbers, at the end of 1941 we had 800, by the end of 11,794, and today over 12,500.


The rise in membership numbers required a larger working area. The following examples give the reader an impression of the amount of work that was completed by the LZM in the first 15 months.



  • [*=1]A few thousand uniforms were constructed for the Einsatzstaffel der DM, including items like Brown Shirts, Ties, Boots, Undergarments, Gaiters(Chaps) and Caps.
    [*=1]For the Amtswalter and relatives of attached branches, 16,000 Brown Shirts, 20,000 Armbands.
    [*=1]About 15,000 meters of fabric was made available to the German Frauenschaft for their Einheitstrachten, as well as material for Führer and Führerinin uniforms for the DJ and DMB.
    [*=1] DJ winter uniforms, FME clothes, Belts, Belt buckles, Ties, Scarf knots, Scarfs, DJ trousers and thousands of swastzika flags for other German families across the country.

From this short account, we can see the very important role that the LZM played in clothing our Volksgruppe. The amount of work completed – and still continuing - by very small amount of workers, is huge, especially when one considers the conditions under which it took place (reference again to materials being very hard to find due to the war)
Going by last years accounts, it can safely be said that the LZM is resting on a solid and stable foundation. This success is also due to the Business owner Matthias Stegh, assisted by Stabsleiter Dr. Anton Lehmann and Kreisleiter Ludwig Ritz ,until his death. Josef F. Schmidt, also deceased, played a role in the success. Peter Hellermann, who shared his valuable knowledge, ideas and help, as well as all the employees of the LZM who are now elsewhere facing the enemy with a gun in their hand have contributed to this success, and have helped to insure that the Volksgrupped in Croatia have the LZM, which they can be proud of.
Even the DJ was not standing in the shadows, and helped out and served the LZM where they could, for example with their Old Material Collections.

View of the Sales dept. of the LZM

You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Last edited:
Here is a LZM stamp with name of a textile factory which is still existing until now.
Tekstilna tvornica Varaždin = Tivar was the largest textile factory in Croatia.
German:
Varteks
English:
Varteks

You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Thanks at all for your research. This forum is definitely the best place to learn.
 
Back
Top