Hitler Youth racing cyclist in Hildesheim, Germany 1944.

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BlackWatch1

BlackWatch1

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Hitler Youth racing cyclist in Hildesheim, Germany 1944. I did an internet search but couldn't find any HJ racing cyclists. There are plenty of HJ photos on touring/commuter bikes but not the racing style seen here. What do you guys think?

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Nice photo. This chap is a HJ member which is shown by the swastika chest band. A DJ cyclist would have worn the large cloth sleeve diamond in that position. He is dressed in accordance with regulations but should really be wearing black socks too ;)

Cycling was one of around eighteen competitive sports that were permitted and governed by RJF and NSRL regulations. It was split into various disciplines:

Cycle touring
Velodrome racing / indoor racing
Outdoor racing (road or grass courses)
Riding skills (Geschicklichkeitsfahren)
Cycleball


DJ members were not permitted to take part in track and grass racing events.
 
Thank you very much Garry for the detailed information! I wonder why track and grass was not permitted. When you say "track" do you mean outside track wasn't permitted but inside(Velodrome) was ok? Guess he hated wearing socks lol. A lot of racers don't like to wear socks as they believe it slows them down(Aerodynamics).
 
lol Yes, the DJ were not allowed to take part in street racing, outdoor grass and indoor track competitions. The regulations don't explicitly say why but I'm thinking it might have been due to the increased risk of injury or perhaps even over-exertion of the younger kids.
 
Well that truly is interesting! This fellow is a racer though as you can easily tell by his physique with lean non-muscular upper body and very muscular legs. I assume he did race or at least trained as a racer but not officially with the Hitler Youth. This would explain why there are no other photographs showing a racing cyclist wearing a HJ shirt I guess.
 
He wears a patch for the Reichsbund für Leibesübungen.
There was no special "Fachamt for cyclists" in 1938 (maybe
at a later date), but there were independent unions as
the Deutscher Radfahrer-Verband and about 136 so-called
Radrennbahnen (racing tracks) and 8 indoors.
A guy from the HJ surely will have been a member of the over
three-thousands clubs.

Maybe he was a member from the Radfahrer-Touren-Club
"Merkur" from 1892 from Hildesheim, who als were active in racing.
This from the clubs-history:
Heinz Ludewig wurde 1942/1943 Gebietsmeister und 1943 in Erfurt
Deutscher Jugendmeister im Strassenrennen. Einen weitere Titel
eroberte Rudi Theissen, Schumacher und Wagner im Mannschaftsfahren.
 
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Thank you again Wilhelm! I remember years ago when I was this young mans age and owning the same type of bike. I had the same physique and loved racing my bike through the streets of Halifax, Nova Scotia. I felt so free!
 
wilhelm saris said:
Heinz Ludewig wurde 1942/1943 Gebietsmeister und 1943 in Erfurt
Deutscher Jugendmeister im Strassenrennen. Einen weitere Titel
eroberte Rudi Theissen, Schumacher und Wagner im Mannschaftsfahren.
Click to expand...

Yes, as Wim's last sentence regarding Heinz Ludewig and also as the regulations from 1940-43 show, there were pure HJ events as well as "civilian" club events. In German they would be either "amtlich" or "nicht-amtlich" (official or unofficial). Official events were HJ competitions that culminated in the award of the title Deutscher Jugendmeister. These events were: Bann championships, Gebiet championships, Gebiet group championships (Gebietsgruppenwettkämpfe), german youth championships (Deutsche Jungendmeisterschaft). There was also the Reichssieger competition. However, HJ personnel had to dress as per the boy in the photo (but with black socks) for both official and unofficial cycle races so it's impossible to say which type of event he was taking part in on that day. He doesn't have one (or hasn't sewn it on yet) but members of sports clubs were permitted to wear their badge at bottom right of the shirt. As Wim said, the other badge on his shirt is the NSRL membership badge.
 
I often see photos of Hitler youth members on bicycles or mopeds most often in the street. I saw a member of the Deutsches jungvolk Horst Hoppe prancing pony. But I've never seen a photo like this before, is there anything else on the subject?
 
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