Figure 1.--Thiscis the cover of the German family photographic album from the 1930s. We were surprised to find many photographs of Boy Scouts. The NAZIs closed down the Scouts in 1933 when most youth groups were banned or incorporated into the Hitler Youth organization.

We have found a cloth photo album kept by a German Boy Scout or his parents during the 1930s. Only a few of the photographs are dated, but they seem to cover the period from 1932-40. The album starts in 1932 with photos of individuals and school classes and ends in 1940 with the dual images of a youth in 1940, in a class photo and an image in his Scout uniform. Many of the photos are, in fact, of Boy Scouts. The Smoket Bear caps clearly indicate a Scout troop. They are clearly not Hitler Jugend. These Scout photos are from 1938 to 1940 which covers the outbreak of the war and also, obviously, during the NAZI era when Boy Scouting was forbidden and forced to blend into the HJ. But there is absolutely nothing about these youths uniforms which reflect the HJ and the only banner shown has a number as in a Scout pack. many of the images have annotations, in Germanm and the only place name I could find was Teufelsburg which is in the Saarland. (This was an area of Germany occupied by France after World War I that voted to join NAZI Germany (1935). There are also some family snapshots. The only family name is Schwarz and this is in 1940. In fact, there is not one sign to indicate the NAZI rule or concern about openly engaging in Scouting. The photos are glued int he album and are in very good condition except for some developing faults which might indicate the images were home developed. In any case, a unique album.

Chronology

We have found a cloth photo album kept by a German Boy Scout or his parents during the 1930s. Only a few of the photographs are dated, but they seem to cover the period from 1932-40. The album starts in 1932 with photos of individuals and school classes and ends in 1940 with the dual images of a youth in 1940, in a class photo and an image in his Scout uniform.

Album

The photos are glued int he album and are in very good condition except for some developing faults which might indicate the images were home developed. In any case, a unique album. Albums like this were very common for German families to keep.

Family Snap Shots

There are also some family snapshots. The only family name is Schwarz and this is in 1940. The family pictures seem to show the boy we also see in the Scouting photograpgs. We see the boy as a todler at the beginning of the album, about 4 years old. He is pictured with a younger brother or sister. This would have been a little earlier than the first dated photograph, probably in 1930, We wee the children wearing basic pinafores. Another photograph shows them wearing winter sticking caps and coats. Most of the photographs show the children and not the adults.

School Groups

There are a few school photographs, but they are of very young children. The first photograph is captioned Klasse 1 1932. This is apparentlt shows the boy in the album with his claass during the first year of school. It looks to be an all boy class.

Scout Photographs

Many of the photos are, in fact, of Boy Scouts. The Smoket Bear caps clearly indicate a Scout troop. They are clearly not Hitler Jugend. These Scout photos are from 1938 to 1940 which covers the outbreak of the war and also, obviously, during the NAZI era when Boy Scouting was forbidden and forced to blend into the HJ. But there is absolutely nothing about these youths uniforms which reflect the HJ and the only banner shown has a number as in a Scout pack. In fact, there is not one sign to indicate the NAZI rule or concern about openly engaging in Scouting. It is especially surprising to see Scouts in Germany during the War. When the NAZIs took over the German Youth Organization, Catholic groups were allowed to continue operating. They wee, however, eventually absorbed ingto the HJ as well.

Location

Many of the images have annotations, in Germanm and the only place name I could find was Teufelsburg which is in the Saarland. (This was an area of Germany occupied by France after World War I that voted to join NAZI Germany (1935).

Portrait