Are there any archives related to membership in the Hitler Youth?

Joe

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My grandfather was orphaned sometime between 1936 and 1939 and he remembers little about his parents. He remembers only a little bit about his life until the age of 16, when he immigrated to Australia. We have discovered the place of his orphanage in Austria but records no longer exist for that period. His birthplace is unknown, his parents are unknown and his country of origin as recorded on his immigration records is questionable (Czech republic). He ran away from the orphanage and among other things worked as a cobbler and became a member of the Hitler Youth in Ebensee. Our family has spent time and money looking for a record that can tell my grandfather more about who he is but with no success. So specifically, we are wondering if records exist for membership in the Hitler Youth that we could access for more information about his parents?

Hope someone can help. Thanks.
 
Hi Joe,

It's going to be difficult, if not impossible, to find out anything useful because there is no surviving centralised list of Hitler Youth members as there is for members of the NSDAP (of which only 80% survives). Most of the Reichsjugendführung (Reich Youth Leadership Central Office) documents were destroyed towards the end of the war and documents held at district level were still being destroyed in the immediate post-war period.

In Hitler Youth organisational terms, Ebensee was part of Bann Gmunden so if any information survives in the local archives it might be found in either the Stadtarchiv Gmunden or the Landesarchiv Oberösterreich.

Sorry I can't be of any more assistance but clearly I wish you good luck and hope that you are able to find out more on your grandfather's past.
 
Thankyou for your help, regardless of whether we find anything. Great info if slightly disheartening. Cheers, Joe
 
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