BDM Führerinnen Sportabzeichen (Sports Badge for BDM leaders)

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cemifor

cemifor

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BDM Führerinnen Sportabzeichen - BDM leader sports badge (HJ-Wiki)


Sportbuch der BDM-Führerin.


Irmgard Schoenfeld, born 24 October 1917
BDM Leistungsabzeichen Bronze, award number 5613
BDM Leistungsabzeichen Silber, award number 121


BDM Führerinnen-Sportabzeichen
Award number 300, Age-group B
Dated 21 July 1944.


Deutsches Reichssportabzeichen für Frauen in Bronze, awarded 21 November 1938




The award of the BDM-Führerinnen-Sportabzeichen (Sports Badge for Female leaders of BDM) has been described in an article in militaria, March-April 2000, by German author Klaus D. Patzwall:


The badge was intended by the Reichsjugendführer (RJF) that the badge should be one of the highest sports-decorations at all. However, since it was instituted on 17 June 1938 it stood in the shadow of several other sports awards. Presently (2000) no contemporary publication mentioning this badge is known to the author (Klaus D. Patzwall). Even all post war publications are neglecting the badge. The only exception is Klaus D. Patzwall: Katalog der Auszeichnungen, already mentioning it in 1992. the institution of the badge stood in connection with the HJ-Führersportabzeichen which was introduced by the RJF three months earlier.


Same as for the HJ-Führer-Sportabzeichen, it has been ordered to start the Führerinnen-Fünfkampf (Pentathlon for female leaders), which took place in 1938 the first time.


On the occasion of the forthcoming contest, the RJF published the institutional orders, which among others read as follows:


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Fantastic documents some lucky person will own them soon no doubt.. and great info Henrik :thumb:
 
Excellent info Henrik :thumb:

As you say, the badge is clearly mentioned in the regulations and also in Günter Kaufmann's 'Das kommende Deutschland' (1940) but I could find no pictures of the badge anywhere and because none were known to have existed I have always assumed that the RJF never got around to actually having the badge produced and issued even though it had clearly been instituted. The letter which is included in the Weitze set could support that theory - or indeed perhaps not as we can't tell exactly why this woman's badge could not be delivered but this letter can easily be interpreted as saying that the badge could not be sent because it did not yet physically exist and that a notification would be published when the badge was indeed available. The fact that not a single example of this badge has ever turned up would support that.

By the way, Patzwall is incorrect. He was clearly confusing the introduction of the female leader pentathlon competition with the introduction of the badge. The former was indeed introduced in 19381 but the badge itself was not.


1Amtliches Nachrichtenblatt VI/13 17th June 1938

Related reading:

Ünterführerfünfkampf

HJ Führersportabzeichen

BDM-Führerinnensportabzeichen (Blue Group content)
 
Just to come back to this enigmatic badge again... During the thirteen years since this thread was started it remains the case that not one physical example of the Führerinnensportabzeichen has been seen and I'm still of the opinion that none will ever be found because a physical badge was never awarded. I say that because of the following:

In 1938 the female pentathlon was introduced and between then and certainly 1942 it can be shown that those who qualified received a certificate only. Source dated 8.8.1942: "those who reach the required number of points will receive a certificate". No badge was awarded.

In 1943 Bann 183 held its annual Reichssportwettkampf. It is stated in the period source dated 8.6.1943 that the BDM Führerinnensportabzeichen "would be awarded in this year for the first time".

In 1944, the BDM leader in post 1 above was awarded badge serial number 300 but no physical badge was included when the paperwork was returned because they were not yet ready.

You have to then ask the question of whether they were ever actually available. The 1943 source says that the badge would be awarded for the first time but this cannot mean "awarded for the first time within Bann 183". The process was that the paperwork was sent to the RJF who authorised the award and then sent the paperwork and badge back to the winner's command structure for onward transit to the recipient. It would therefore be impossible to award a physical badge to someone who had qualified on the same day.

If this badge was unavailable in July 1944 is it likely that physical examples were made and awarded after this point? I seriously doubt it.
 
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