Hitler Youth Banners and Flags

Figure 1.--The basic banner of the Hitler Youth was black with a single rune. This was a contrast to the SS which used a double rune as its symbol. The HJ single rune flag was commonly carried at the front of the column when HJ units paraded. Notice the the Hitler Youth girls saluting. This photograph appears to have been taken in 1934. Notice that they did not carry the national flag. A reader writes, "I can't tell, but is the tall boy wearing long pants or long stockings?" Thats a good question. HJ leaders wore jodpurs and high boots. I at first assumed that was what he was wearing, but in looking closely I don't think they are high boots. I don't think he would be wearing shorts and long stockings, but it is a little unclear just wha he is wearing.

We note HJ boys with a variety of banners. Here we are taling about boys marching as well as banners at HJ activities. The basic banner of the Hitler Youth was black with a single rune. This was a contrast to the SS which used a double rune as its symbol. The rune was the "S" symbol, mean sieg or vicyory. The HJ single rune flag was commonly carried at the front of the column when HJ units paraded. Often we see the standard bearer flanked by color guards. Notably we do not see the boys carrting the swastica flag, even adter 1935 when it became the official German flag. We note that often the single rune banner was the only banner or flag that the HJ units carried. We do note other banners, but we are not sure just what they represented. Hopefully HBU readers will be able to provide some insignts.

Rune Banner

We note HJ boys with a variety of banners. Here we are taling about boys marching as well as banners at HJ activities. The basic banner of the Hitler Youth was black with a single rune. This was a contrast to the SS which used a double rune as its symbol. The rune was the "S" symbol, mean sieg or vicyory. The HJ single rune flag was commonly carried at the front of the column when HJ units paraded. Often we see the standard bearer flanked by color guards. This is the banner we most commonly see with the HJ boys.

Flags

We do see HJ boys with some flags. We do not see them with the tri-color flag of the German Republic. This was the national flag before the NAZI take over (January 1933) and for more than 2 years after they were in control of Gerrmany Hitler of course heavily criticized the Weimar Republic and its association with the World War I Versailles Treaty. Interestingly, we also do not see the boys carrting the swastica flag, even adter 1935 when it became the official German flag. This is rather curious given the hyper-nationalism of the NAZIs. We note that often the single rune banner was the only banner or flag that the HJ units consistently carried. We do note the swastica flag flying at HJ camps at a central flag pole, but it was very rarely carried at HJ events. Somewhat more common was the red and white HJ flag which include the swatical in the center, but even this was mot all that common. We note some other flags that we can not identify. But the single rune blavl and white flag is what we see most commonly. What this essentially meant was that the boys were being taught that their loyalty was not to Gwrmanay, but to Hitler and the NAZI Party.

Other Banners

We do note other banners, but we are not sure just what they represented. Hopefully HBU readers will be able to provide some insignts.