The DLV/NSFK Silver Medal "Meinshausen-Flying of Berlin School Youth Berlin 1938" represents a significant chapter in National Socialist aviation propaganda and youth education in the Third Reich. This award, manufactured from silver-plated zinc with a diameter of 38mm, documents the systematic efforts of the NS regime to inspire German youth for aviation at an early age and to indoctrinate them ideologically.
The German Air Sports Association (Deutscher Luftsportverband - DLV) was founded in 1933 as the successor organization to various Weimar-era aviation sports associations and served as a civilian cover organization for the secret establishment of the Luftwaffe, which was not officially announced until 1935. The DLV organized preliminary flight training and formed an important instrument of paramilitary education. In 1937, the DLV was transformed into the National Socialist Flying Corps (NSFK), which served as an NS organization responsible for flight training and aviation propaganda until 1945.
The medal is named after Dr. Walter Meinshausen, an influential figure in the Berlin NSDAP hierarchy. From 1930 to 1933, Meinshausen served as deputy to the notorious Berlin Gauleiter Joseph Goebbels. Beginning in 1931, he served as a Reich speaker for the NSDAP, using his rhetorical skills to spread National Socialist ideology. In his function as City School Councilor of Berlin, Meinshausen had direct influence on the Berlin school system and could directly implement NS educational policy in the Reich capital.
The year 1938 marks a period of intensified war preparations by the NS regime. Flight training for school youth was systematically expanded and propagated as a patriotic duty. Events such as the "Meinshausen-Flying" served multiple purposes: they were intended to generate enthusiasm for aviation, identify potential recruits for the Luftwaffe, and accustom youth to military thinking.
The use of silver-plated zinc as a material corresponds to common practice for NS awards of the middle category. While high-ranking orders were made from precious metals, more cost-effective materials were used for mass awards and event medals. Nevertheless, the silver plating gave the medals a dignified appearance and emphasized the ceremonial character of the award.
Such flight events for school youth were an integral part of the National Socialist educational system in the 1930s. They typically included theoretical instruction in aerodynamics and aircraft knowledge, practical exercises with model aircraft, and occasionally glider flight training. The best participants received medals and awards that served both as incentive and as a means of social control.
Berlin's school youth were a special focus of NS propaganda. As the capital of the German Reich, Berlin was to serve as a model for the entire Reich. Goebbels, as Gauleiter and Reich Minister of Propaganda, used his position to make Berlin a venue for spectacular mass events. The involvement of Meinshausen as City School Councilor ensured that schools actively participated in such events.
The NSFK organized a dense network of flight schools, model aircraft groups, and glider schools throughout the Reich. For youth aged 14 and older, the NSFK offered structured programs that took on an increasingly military character as the danger of war increased. The graduates of these programs formed a pool from which the Luftwaffe recruited its personnel.
Medals such as this are today important historical documents that demonstrate the penetration of all areas of life by NS ideology. They show how the regime instrumentalized sports, education, and youth training for military purposes. The connection with Meinshausen's name also illustrates the personalization of power in the NS system, where local functionaries were honored through the naming of events and awards.
For collectors and historians, such medals offer insight into the complex organizational structure of the Third Reich and the diverse methods of youth mobilization. They document a dark chapter in German history in which children and adolescents were systematically prepared for coming wars.
