Storm troop

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The Sturmschar was a federation of the Catholic youth movement , which was founded in 1929 from parts of the German Youth Force (DJK) and the Catholic Young Men Association (KJMV) and was able to work until the general ban on Catholic youth associations in the German Reich in 1938/39.

history

Although numerous groups shaped by the youth movement had already left the DJK in 1922 and founded the Youth League of Crusaders , after a short time numerous hiking groups were formed again within this Catholic sports association, which took up the forms and ideas of the emerging Bündische Jugend . Initially, from 1926 onwards, these groups formed the “Reichsgemeinschaft der Wandergruppen”, which was headed by a “Reichswanderwart”.

With Ludwig Wolker , who became Reichspräses of the KJMV in 1926, the migratory movement won an important sponsor in the Catholic youth associations. Wolker promoted in particular the idea of ​​elite coming from the Bündische Jugend within the hiking groups in order to create a stable core group for taking on leadership tasks in Catholic youth work.

On the KJMV Association Day on October 7, 1929, the hiking groups became independent in two independent associations, both of which became members of the KJMV. A smaller part was formed by the German Scouting Association of Saint George , while the majority of the groups formed the Sturmschar. The new youth league grew rapidly, at the beginning of 1933 Sturmschar had 23,040 members, most of whom took on leadership roles in the local Catholic young men’s clubs. Whitsun 1932, the first imperial meeting of the storm troop was held at the fortress of Emperor Alexander near Koblenz . The meeting with 2,700 participants had the slogan: "We are building on the Reich."

From the summer of 1933, the work of the Catholic youth associations was severely restricted in favor of the Hitler Youth through state regulations and bans . Nevertheless, the Sturmschar - also together with other Catholic youth organizations - was able to hold various larger meetings until 1935. For example, at Easter 1934 on an “extraterritorial” Rhine steamer, because a meeting was forbidden by the district governments on the right and left of the Rhine . At this meeting the originally from the closed Quickborn coming German Master Boy shaft , even in the Willi Graf was active, the storm band of.

The climax and turning point of the work of the Sturmschar was a pilgrimage to Rome with an audience by the Pope on Easter 1935, in which 1,570 members participated under the leadership of Franz Steber and Hans Niermann . On the return journey, all participants at the German-Swiss border were detained and searched by order of the Gestapo , flags, tents and parts of the crevasse were confiscated on the charge of "allied activities". The onward journey was only permitted after protests from abroad.

To avoid the increasing persecution, the Sturmschar changed its name in 1937 to Community Sankt Michael and released all members under the age of 18 from the covenant. Together with the KJMV, it was dissolved by the Gestapo on February 6, 1939 under this name - after several regional bans.

After the Second World War , former members of the Sturmschar founded the Catholic Young Team (today: Association of Catholic Men and Women ).

organization

The storm troop was divided into two age groups:

  • the boyhood for 14 to 18 year olds and
  • the young team for members over 18 years of age.

In the young team, ten members each formed a so-called “block” and five “blocks” each formed an “active”. At the same time, the pupils of the secondary schools were grouped into "Albertus guilds". Almost all members of the young team took on leadership roles in other Catholic associations.

The storm band's outfit consisted of a silver-gray shirt and short, dark-gray trousers.

literature

  • Bernd Börger, Hans Schroer (Ed.): They held up. Sturmschar in the Catholic Young Men Association of Germany . Verlag Haus Altenberg, Düsseldorf 1990 (2nd corr. Edition). ISBN 3-7761-0007-9
  • Franz Henrich: The unions of the Catholic youth movement . Kösel, Munich 1968
  • Karl Hofmann: A Catholic Generation Between Church and World. Studies on the storm troop of the Catholic Young Men Association Germany . Wißner, Augsburg 1993 (2nd modified edition). ISBN 3-928898-21-3

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ a b Werner Kindt (Ed.): Documentation of the youth movement, vol. 3 , p. 763ff. ISBN 3-424-00527-4
  2. ↑ Ulrich Stoll: Sturmschar, 1929–1938 / 39. In: Historical Lexicon of Bavaria . February 10, 2010, accessed February 25, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Hans Niermann ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 1, 2006 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / das-emsland.net
  4. ↑ Sturmscharführer in Cologne called on 1 June 2006