WWII GERMAN BUCKLE - HITLER YOUTH (1)
The Hitler Youth, abbreviated HJ was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung (the SA).

The HJ was originally Munich-based only. In 1923, the organization had a little over one thousand members. In 1925, when the Nazi Party had been refounded, the membership grew to over 5,000. Five years later, national HJ membership stood at 25,000. By the end of 1932 it was at 107,956. At the end of 1933, the HJ had 2,300,000 members. Much of these increases came from the more or less forcible merger of other youth organizations with the HJ.

This is a WWII German Hitler Youth belt and buckle. The belt is made of black leather with brown inside. The buckle is made of aluminum. The buckle bears an eagle clutching the double triangle symbol of the Hitler Youth. The words "Blut und Ghre" are scrolled atop the eagle.

Two ropes form two circles, one inside the other, that encloses the eagle. Part of the Hitler Youth triangle crosses the inner most circle. Ribbing is found between one rope and the other. Pebbling is placed all around the eagle.

The back of the Hitler Youth buckle has RZM markings M/4/22. Not all the buckles are marked. The catch is the thick type. Not all the buckles have markings stamped on them. It is possible to find samples that do not have any markings.

This belt buckle may currently be reproduced. It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this buckle. Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of the belt buckle.

If you have an interest is seeing other belt buckles of the Third Reich, you can do so by going to our WWII German Belt Buckles identification guide. Where we cover Heer (Army), Navy (Kriegsmarine), Air Force (Luftwaffe), political and civilian buckles.