Description
WWII GERMAN BDM GIRL’S PERSONAL PHOTO ALBUM – BUND DEUTSCHER MÄDEL – 1931-1949 – CAPTIONED
135 photos. An interesting and extensively captioned German personal photo album documenting the childhood, BDM service, wartime experiences, friendships, and postwar family life of a young German girl named Ilse Volker. The album contains numerous photographs of Ilse and her friends wearing BDM uniforms, including white blouses, black neckerchiefs, dark skirts, and distinctive BDM insignia. Highlights include BDM group portraits, outdoor sporting competitions, swimming and recreational activities, photographs of young men in Wehrmacht uniforms, wartime family gatherings, and numerous postwar portraits, weddings, and family photographs. The album also documents a 1941-42 *Pflichtjahr* (compulsory service year) at the Lindenhof in Poggenhagen, including rural activities, horses, and farm life. Another particularly interesting section records a six-day G.D. training course at a youth hostel in Pestinghausen near Syke in 1944, with photographs of the participants, their group leader, and their departure by railway. Many photographs are identified with handwritten captions, names, locations, and dates, including **”Heinz u. ich 1931″** – Heinz and me, 1931; **”Herberts Konfirmation in Oldendorf 1936″** – Herbert’s confirmation in Oldendorf, 1936; **”Auf Ruthis Geb. 1940″** – At Ruthi’s birthday, 1940; **”Erinnerungen aus dem Pflichtjahr 1941/42″** – Memories of the compulsory service year, 1941/42; **”Nach den Sportwettkämpfen Sommer 1943″** – After the sports competitions, summer 1943; **”Pestinghausen bei Syke, Jugendherberge 1944″** – Pestinghausen near Syke, youth hostel, 1944; **”Mein unbekannter Soldat 1942 – Erich Hetzer”** – My unknown soldier, 1942, Erich Hetzer; **”Mein Buskamerad Friedr. Jäger aus Riede”** – My bus companion Friedrich Jäger from Riede; **”Im Januar 1948″** – In January 1948; **”Heinz und Karlas Hochzeit 17.4.1949 Ostern”** – Heinz and Karla’s wedding, Easter 1949; and **”in Schwarme 25.9.1949″** – In Schwarme, September 25, 1949. Additional photographs identify friends and acquaintances, including Gisela Fischer, Mathilde, Berta Bosche, Marga Bartels, and several other individuals. The album is housed in a distinctive red cover with wear and separation along the spine.
The Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM) was the girls’ branch of the Hitler Youth organization under the Nazi regime. Membership became compulsory for eligible German girls, and the organization emphasized physical fitness, outdoor activities, domestic instruction, ideological indoctrination, and preparation for service to the Nazi state. During WWII, BDM members increasingly participated in agricultural work, collections, childcare, and other wartime support activities. This album offers an unusually personal photographic record of a German girl’s experiences during this period, extending from her childhood through the war and into the early postwar years.
