HJ-Streifendienst questions

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I have a question about the HJ Streifendienst: what would they carry when on duty??
 
Well, they weren't armed with pistols :) Higher leaders were permitted to carry a Walther as part of the uniform but your average SRD boy wasn't armed. The SRD directive was not to incite trouble or aggravate the population and in particular not the formations of the Hitler Youth. The SRD wasn't liked anyway and the opposition to them grew - particularly so in the later years of the war.

The equipment used depended on the type of task. The SRD could be set up in a small office at a large rally, or a large HJ Lager and for that they would have a typewriter, telephone, report sheets - the usual stuff. On other occasions they would be out in the open and would need maps, compasses etc. They also sometimes wore plain clothes, particularly when checking bars and theatres. They had certain powers but none judicial as that was the job of the police with whom they worked in close cooperation.
 
In Bakers book there is a photo of a two shot gas pistol and a story that it was carried by a Strief member, but who know's if the story is true or not.
 
Yes, unless he explains why and more importantly when the pistol was carried it's just fluff. Certainly in the regulations weapons were not part of the SRD equipment.
 
Duties of the Streifendienst

Sir,

I have read in books that the HJ-Streifendienst were supposed to Gestapo like services for the police. What were these services and how were they carried out.

Thanks
MAYURI_303
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm not sure what you mean by 'Gestapo-like services'. Could you expand on that?
 
HJ-Streifendienst

Sir,

By Gestapo like services I mean as the secret police kept surveillance on the general public so this branch of the Hitler Youth must have been asked by the police to keep a watch on the Germans for any signs of treason.

Did the Streifendienst perform such duties? Or can you explain to me in detail what duties this branch of the HJ did?

Thanks in advance for your help.

MAYURI_303
 
Hi,

I've translated a section of a report from 1937 which describes the role of the HJ-Streifendienst (SRD) at that time:

The SRD monitors all Hitler Youth members in accordance with the provisions of the 1936 State Youth Law. The following are monitored:

General bearing and conduct of HJ and BDM personnel

The correct wearing of uniforms
Visits to public houses and bars
Order and cleanliness in youth hostels
Hiking trips

Additional responsibilities and duties of the SRD within the Hitler Youth are:


Security and order at large rallies/events

Policing of tented summer camps
Escorting of vehicles/convoys
Missing person investigation
Conducting investigation/enquiries into criminal acts and failures to comply with HJ regulations
Offering advice and assistance to hiking groups
Railway security
The protection of the youth from criminal elements
Combating youth crime
Prevention of damage to public property by travelling youth formations


From 1939 the SRD gained new responsibilities and its work became increasingly difficult but in essence the SRD was the HJ movement's internal police force* albeit a force with no judicial powers. It worked closely with the German police and there was certainly work done by the SRD to infiltrate illegal youth groups but a Gestapo they were not. Certainly nothing I've read would lend any weight to that comparison anyway.

I think it definitely possible, as you say, that the SRD were very probably keener than most to spot and report signs of treason and defeatism among the population but I have no specific information on that. What have you read in this regard?

*not a 'patrol service' as is often stated in modern English language reference books

Big subject and a very good area to discuss
 
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