Description
(Book) Clementine u Castell, Glaube und Schönheit – Ein Bildbuch von den 17-21jährigen Mädeln, Franz Eher Verlag, München, (1940), 88 pp. Full linnen bound. 30,5 x 28 cm.
With a foreword of Hitleryouth leader Baldur von Schirach.
This is a big size BDM photobook with amazing “kupfertiefdruck” photo’s.
In very good condition.
This is quite a rare book to find!
A bite more background:
THE SOCIETY FOR THE 17-21 YEAR OLD GIRLS THAT FILLED THE GAP BETWEEN BUND DEUTSCHER MÄDEL (BDM) AND NS-FRAUENSCHAFT!
This very hard to find book was written by Clementine zu Castell and published in 1940 by the NSDAP Central Publishing House, Franz Eher Nachf. in Munich. The 11 x 12 inch (!), 88 page hardcover book in very good condition contains little text. Most of its content are fantastic full and half page photos that give a very good impression of the Glaube und Schönheit organization. There were not very many Third Reich publications on Glaube und Schönheit but this book is definitely the best!
Many people don’t know that the Glaube und Schönheit even existed and what it was. The BDM Werk Glaube und Schönheit (Belief and Beauty So-ciety) was founded on January 19, 1938 at the Hitler Youth Leadership con-vention in Berlin to close the gap between the BDM (League of German Girls) and the NS-Frauenschaft (Nazi Women’s Organization). The Glaube und Schönheit was for young women between 17 and 21 and, even though membership was voluntary often entire BDM age-groups were directly transferred over. It was operated under the umbrella of the Hitler Youth. The idea was that girls should be part in the work for the whole Volksge-meinschaft before they went on to either jobs, or – ideally – to marry and have children. The main goal was toward priming the girls for their tasks as wives and mothers, and while courses offered were very interesting for many girls and ranged from fashion design to healthy living, the overall idea was to teach them home economics so they would properly run their households, cook well for their future families, and care properly for their future children. Dr. Jutta Rüdiger, since 1937 leader of the League of German Girls put it that way: “The task of our Girls League is to raise our girls as torch bearers of the National Socialist World. We need girls who are at harmony between their bodies, souls, and spirits. And we need girls who, through healthy bodies and balanced minds, embody the beauty of divine creation. We want to raise girls who believe in Germany and our Führer, and who will pass these beliefs on to their future children.”