Hitler Jugend Messer, Hitler Youth Knife

To start this week off, I'm posting on another item out of my collection of war souvenirs that came back with GI's from WW2.  

Today's posting is a WW2 German Hitler Youth Knife.  (As a note to those who do not know me....... I do not subscribe to, endorse or believe in the ideology of the Nazi Party..... in any form, or any way!  I am a collector of military artifacts and history).

These knives were issued to members of the Hitler-Jugend, or Hitler Youth.  The Hitler Youth was formed in1926 and served as an indoctrination and training organization for the youth of Nazi Germany.  The Hitler-Jugend or HJ, was formed as a paramilitary organization, and run by the political arm of the Nazi's.  The groups were organized on a military framework:  Squads, Platoons, Companies, etc.  There were boys groups and girls groups......... the youth were divided by age, 10-14 years, and 14-18 years.  The boys were trained and programed to be soldiers and good Nazi Party members.  The girls were trained and programed to be good, racially pure, mothers.  The HJ was basically the "Boy and Girl Scouts" of Nazi Germany........ only with an evil and deviant twist.  Enough about that...........  now on to the knife.

This knife is in exceptionally good shape.   Most of these HJ knives are in pretty rough shape and missing a good portion of the finish .  The RZM Number (Reichszeugmeisterei) indicates that this particular knife was manufactured by Artur Schuttelhofer & Company in Solingen-Wald.  The exact date of the manufacture is unknown.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves...........

Here are a few archive photos of the Hitler Youth.  In the second picture, you can see one of the boys in the front of the photo wearing an HJ knife like mine.

These are the same type of bicycles as my BGS bike.

An HJ poster for the boys......

....and one for the girls.