Posted 12 years ago
Chrisnp
(310 items)
At the end of the war, my father was in the area of Nuremburg. He found this nailed to a wall, and pulled it down as a souvenir. I’ve identified it through a couple of reference books as a Hitler Youth trumpet banner. Given that Nuremburg was where the big Nazi rallies took place, I wonder if this might have been used in them. Given that at the end of the war, the Hitler Youth were used as a last line of defense, I’ve often wondered how it came to be nailed to a wall, and what happened to the presumably young person who nailed it there.
Although the illustration I’ve found online shows the white band running the other direction, both horizontal and vertical versions exist. Shreds of the original tabs that would have secured this example to a trumpet are present. The banner is made of different colors of material (wool, I think) sewn together, white on top of red. The swastika itself was made from two strips of black cloth folded and sewn in the shape of a swastika on top of the white material. Beige batting beneath the red layer is visible through some of the moth holes. Both sides are identical. Not including the fringe, the flag is 19” wide by 18” long. The fringe adds about 2 ½” to three sides.
The first photo includes my dad’s footlocker, which I will post sometime in the future.
Fascinating piece of history. I watched a documentary on Third Reich (I think my father has it I will look for title for you) and it showed footage of Nuremberg Rallies I had never seen before. It showed the pagentry and mythogical parades that they had through the streets - huge mythological creatures on long trucks etc. Was unlike anything I had seen before. I will find out title for you - it may well have your item how it was used/represented.
p.s and yes they turned the symbols around alot - it all represents different meanings - the way they were hung - the doco mentioned that too.
Very interesting story about your Dad. I know that a lot of WWII vets "picked up a souvenir".
“Hitler's Holy Relics: A True Story of Nazi Plunder and the Race to Recover the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire” by Sidney Kirkpatrick. Tells the story of art and antiquities treasures that the Nazis seized from Europe, and focuses on the treasure that they first seized, i.e., the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire (from Austria), and on its significance. The true-life story reveals secrets of the pagan mystic cult that members of the Nazi hierarchy observed, and discusses the mystic German nationalistic cult that the Nazi’s publically pushed. This is the true story of how American military men hunted down these hidden treasures and why. Gen. Patton thought it most important that the Crown Jewels be recovered in order to crush this nationalistic cult. Some Nazis thought that the Crown Jewels possessed magical powers. I find it most interesting that Himmler believed in this crackpot religion and communally ‘observed’ its secret rites, and that Hitler ridiculed him for his mysticism. (I don’t remember if the part about Hitler ridiculing Himmler is in this particular book.) Kirkpatrick’s book might or might not be the source wherein I read that the Nazi’s forbade the cross to be displayed in Christian churches and instructed that a copy of “Mein Kampf” was to be kept on all the altars.
The father of one of my friends from youth emigrated from Germany to America in his early childhood, before WWII. I remember hearing how his mother had encountered the Hitler youth movement firsthand and had decided that it was time to remove her family from the Nazi poison that had infected Germany. I am very glad that you posted this witness to the corruption of youthful idealism.
I found Kirkpatrick’s book deeply disturbing, and I think that you might appreciate it. It is a true story, and it reads like a detective story.
“Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by Eric Metaxas is another book that deals with the Nazi era. It is a scholarly, critical account of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and though a very long and rather expensive book, I recommended it to everyone on my Christmas card list circa 2010 as hands down the best book I had read that year. It is magnificent. miKKo
Cool Item Chris! Thanks for sharing, have not came across too many of these before! Did your father bring back any other items? I would love to see them!
Thats a good question. I don't know for sure. I would assume alot of the Hitler Jugend panicked when they first saw combat. I think alot of them were captured.
Another from of defense they used as a last ditch effort was the Volksstrum. Made of of mainly old men. Armed with what ever Germany had left.
Thanks for the love petey, Driewer, Kevin and miKKoChristmas11. Also, thanks for the info flowerrose and miKKoChristmas.
Driewer, although I'm sure many Hitler Youth did flee, many were so indoctrinated for most of their young lives that they fought fanatically. The last ditch efforts by Hitler Youth in 1945 - by then we are talking about 12 year olds being sent to fight - were as suicidal as they were tragic, especially against the Russians in Berlin. After the war was over, American soldiers treated the former Hitler Youth as misguided children, but the adults who were in charge of the Hitler Youth were generally treated with disdain.
I know it's only a dramatization, but I can't help thinking of the movie Der Untergang:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdqaZNfs1mk&feature=fvsr
no translation on this version, but it finishes the above:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qANdxpwCWWg&feature=related
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/530580_3492865211217_1371454879_a.jpg
Here is a original photo. I love this photo. The boy is about 12 or 13 years old.
I loved Der Untergang! It was a great movie. Kind of shows how scary it was to be a German citizen at the end of the war. Crumbling govt, Military is dwindled. all hope is lost.
Not once , but twice in some thirty years. Americans in the last 100 yrs. have been blessed that war hasnt come to our front door.
GREAT piece! And wonderful souvenir.
Thanks for the comment. zguy, and thanks for the love all of you.
Nazi crap
What a well thought out, mature intelligent comment. We are all history buffs here. I think we should not refer to history as 'crap'