The participant badge of the 2nd Great Water Journey of the Westphalian Marine-HJ from 1939 represents a significant aspect of the National Socialist youth organization during the final months of peace before the outbreak of World War II. This badge, crafted from silver-plated and toned Cupal, documents an ambitious river journey from Passau via Vienna to Budapest, which took place from August 1 to 31, 1939 – just days before Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.
The Marine-Hitlerjugend (Marine-HJ) was founded in 1933 as the maritime branch of the Hitler Youth and was intended to prepare young people for service in the Kriegsmarine. Under the leadership of Reich Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach, the Marine-HJ developed into an important institution for pre-military training. By the late 1930s, the organization comprised several tens of thousands of young people who were prepared for maritime activities through theoretical instruction and practical exercises.
The Westphalian Marine-HJ, from which the participants of this journey came, was part of the organization's regional structure. The fact that an inland unit from Westphalia undertook such a great water journey demonstrates the importance of river navigation for maritime training in regions without access to the sea. The Danube was particularly suitable as a training area, as it flowed through several countries as an international waterway and offered various nautical challenges.
The route of the journey – from Passau via Vienna to Budapest – led through the then Greater German Reich and Hungary, which was allied with Germany. After the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938, Vienna had become part of the German Reich. The journey illustrates the foreign policy situation in summer 1939, when Germany had already annexed Austria and the Sudetenland and occupied the “rump Czechoslovakia.” Hungary under Regent Miklós Horthy maintained close relations with the German Reich at this time.
The badge itself was manufactured by the renowned Munich firm Deschler & Sohn, one of the most important manufacturers of NS awards and badges. The company, which had existed since the 19th century, produced numerous official party and state badges, including the Blood Order and various service decorations. The marking “Deschler u. Sohn München 9” on the reverse indicates the workshop at Prannerstraße 9 in Munich.
The design of the badge with the portrait of Adolf Hitler in the center corresponds to the typical iconography of the NS period. The Führer cult manifested itself in numerous badges, medals, and other symbols of power. The inscription precisely names the occasion, the participating unit, and the year, which was characteristic of participant badges of this type.
Such participant badges (also called commemorative badges) were issued at various HJ events and served multiple purposes: they were mementos for participants, status symbols within the organization, and means of promoting camaraderie and esprit de corps. Young people frequently wore these badges on their uniforms to document their participation in special events.
The timing of the journey in August 1939 gives the badge particular historical significance. While the young people were traveling on the Danube, the German leadership was already preparing the invasion of Poland. The German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact was signed on August 23, 1939, possibly while the journey was still ongoing. The participants of this seemingly peaceful youth event would, a few years later as young men, many of them be sent into combat.
The choice of material – Cupal, a copper-aluminum alloy – was common for NS badges, especially as strategic metals became scarcer with advancing war preparations. The silver plating and toning gave the badge a high-quality appearance, which was meant to emphasize the importance of the event.
Today, such badges are important contemporary historical documents that provide insights into the youth organizations of the NS state and their activities. They document the systematic ideological penetration and pre-military education of youth in the Third Reich. The Marine-HJ played an important role in introducing young people to maritime professions and ultimately to service in the Kriegsmarine.
