Over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of October 1932, the 1st annual Hitler Youth rally was held in Potsdam, where an estimated 30,000 boys and girls gathered to hear Adolf Hitler speak. The rally was a significant event for the Nazi Party, occurring shortly after it had become the largest party in the Reichstag in the July 1932 federal elections. The propaganda spectacle demonstrated the party’s growing appeal and its focus on indoctrinating Germany’s youth.

The National Socialist youth field day opened on the evening of 1 October 1932 with a huge mass meeting in the Potsdam Stadium, where about 30,000 boys and girls in brown uniforms listened spellbound to Adolf Hitler’s oratory. The young Nazis came to Potsdam from all parts of the country, and many had hiked for many days because they did not have enough money for train fare.

A huge tent city was built just outside Potsdam by the Berlin storm detachments, and the youngsters spent their nights supervised by the older comrades. The management of the camp was in the hands of Baldur von Schirach, the Hitler Youth leader who at 25 was the youngest Deputy in the last Reichstag. Herr von Schirach introduced Herr Hitler to the boys and girls, lined up in the middle of the stadium, which was filled with more than 50,000 spectators. The police were forced to close the gates before the meeting started because the crowd kept streaming in although all seats had long been taken. Flags decorated with flowers were raised by the boys and girls in a joyous welcome when Herr Hitler stepped upon the platform.

“We must learn once more to feel as a nation and act as a nation if we want to stand up before the world,” he said. “Not the generations that are about to disappear but those that are coming today must learn it. That is the great task of our movement. You shall fully accomplish what we have begun.”

Raising his voice, Herr Hitler exclaimed: “Let no German boy ever bow to an injustice—be proud and defiant and never yield if others try to force you to commit an injustice. Never abandon your people and be more faithful than ever if it is in the greatest distress and danger.” He had to wait for several minutes because it seemed as if the cheers would never end. “Through our movement a new and strong generation is growing up that has new courage and does not surrender. The spirit of the policy of fulfillment does not fit this generation.”

In April 1932, Chancellor Heinrich Brüning had placed a ban on the Hitler Youth movement in an attempt to stop widespread political violence, but in June, Brüning’s successor as Chancellor, Franz von Papen, lifted the ban. Reichsjugendführer (Reich Youth Leader) Baldur von Schirach, later to be appointed head of the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend), began planning the first Hitlerjugend (HJ) rally to be held in Potsdam. When he first suggested the idea to Hitler, he told him that he expected around 50% of the official membership of the Hitler Youth to attend, which amounted to around 17,000 at that time. It became clear that more capacity would be required, and the tented camp erected at the Potsdamer Luftschiffhafen eventually had the capacity to accommodate 50,000. 

For seven hours, a parade of Hitler Youth members carrying flags marched at the Reich Youth Day rally in Potsdam. This organization, founded in 1926 was a paramilitary youth group, utilized to indoctrinate children and gradually incorporate them into the Sturmabteilung (also known as SA, Brownshirts, or Storm Troopers). The group would eventually grow to include millions of members and became the only legal youth group in Nazi Germany in 1939.

A Demonstration of power in Potsdam 

When the Nazi Party emerged as the strongest political force in the Reichstag elections of 31 July 1932, Adolf Hitler claimed the mandate to form a government. However, President von Hindenburg appointed the Center Party politician Franz von Papen as the new Chancellor. In order to underpin the NSDAP’s claim to power, the Hitler Youth organized on 1 and 2 October 1932 a “Reich Youth Day” to be held in Potsdam. Around 60,000 young people marched through the city for over seven hours and then held a large rally in the stadium. Despite numerous organizational shortcomings, the event became the first major demonstration of power by the emerging Hitler Youth.

Reichsjugendführer Baldur von Schirach had chosen the city of Potsdam for the Reich Youth Day because he felt it revealed the most sacred concepts of the German nation like no other site. Frederick the Great, the Prussian army, leadership, socialism and fulfillment of duty. He laid down a wreath for Frederick the Great at the Garrison Church “as a greeting and confession to the Indomitable, who was the first servant of his people.” Later, ten thousand young people and Nazi officials passed by the garrison church with flags. In the evening before, Adolf Hitler had spoken to 70,000 present, and Prince August Wilhelm was enthusiastic about the revival of the Prussian spirit: “Admired much and much scolded, this spirit, founded in the great historical traditions, which was believed to be dead and sought to speak dead, frees a new awakened German family. […] He [Adolf Hitler] has the trust of all of us who experienced the collapse, him the unwavering faith of the youth who want to create Germany’s future together with us in complete, self-denying surrender. All for leader – people – fatherland – Heil Hitler!”

On the 1st /2. October 1932, the youth organizations of the NSDAP celebrate their Reichsjugendtag in Potsdam, which is also known as the “Day of Potsdam”.  This special commemorative book was produced for the NS-Reichsjugendtag in Potsdam 1932.

This badge was awarded on the occasion of the 1st NS Reich Youth Day on the 1st and 2nd of October 1932 in Potsdam by the Reichsjugendführer Baldur von Schirach. The badge was issued or sold to participants and spectators for 1 mark, with silver badges for participants and bronze badges for spectators. The design was created by Adolf Hitler.

The League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel [BDM]) was the female section of the Hitler Youth, its role was to indoctrinate girls into the beliefs and ideals of the Nazi regime.  The BDM focused on developing girls into women who were dedicated to Nazism, dutiful housewives, and whose role within in society was to become a mother. 

At the end of the 1920s, “Hitler Youth sisterhoods” had been formed for girls. These were primarily made up of siblings of Hitler Youth members. They supported the activities, cooked, sewed, and cared for the wounded in the numerous fights. In 1930, the organization was renamed “Bund Deutscher Mädchen in der HJ eV” (League of German Girls in the Hitler Youth). By 1931, there were only 1,700 members. On 7 July 1932, Baldur Von Schirach and Gregor Strasser dissolved other Nazi girl’s groups, transferring all memberships to the BDM. By the end of 1932, membership was estimated between 10,000 to 15,000 girls. 

The Bund Deutscher Mädel [BDM] movement increased momentum after the Nazi rise to power, with dissolution of all non-Nazi girl’s groups. The BDM’s inclusion in the Nazi propaganda campaign and association with the Hitler Youth increased its popularity. In 1939, on the implementation of the Law on the Hitler Youth, it became mandatory for all young girls aged 10 to 14 to be in the Young Girls League (Jungmädelbund), and girls 14 to 18 to be in the League of German Girls. The indoctrination of young people into Nazi ideals was the purpose of the groups, with a focus on the role of young girls as future mothers of the Third Reich.

The Hitler Youth’s activities initially attracted few young people. By the onset of the Great Depression in the fall of 1929, only 2,000 boys had joined nationwide. Therefore, the youth organization aggressively recruited members and tried (albeit in vain) to persuade other youth groups to join. From 1930 onwards, however, the Hitler Youth benefited from the NSDAP’s electoral successes: By the end of 1930, its membership had already reached 20,000, rising to over 42,000 by the beginning of 1932, and then reaching 100,000 by the end of the year.