Reichsarbeitsdienst für die weibliche Jugend (RADwJ)
State Labor
Corps – Reichsarbeitsdienst
Origin:
On June 5, 1931, a
two full years before the NSDAP party arose into power, the Weimar Republic was
in a great depression and unemployment was rampant.
Chancellor Heinrich Brüning
issued an emergency decree establishing the “Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst” ('Voluntary Labor Service', FAD) for
the men and the Freiwilliger
Frauenarbeitsdienst for the women.
In 1933, the
then State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Labor, Konstantin Hierl, was
responsible for all FAD matters. Hierl
was already a high-ranking member of the NSDAP and head of the party's labor
organization, the "Nationalsozialistischer Arbeitsdienst" or NSAD. Hierl
developed the concept of a state labor service organization similar to the Reichswehr army, with a view to implementing a compulsory service.
Following a law
enacted on June 26 1935, the RAD moved from being a voluntary service to
becoming compulsory. All German men between the ages of 18 – 25 were obligated
to serve in the RAD for six month before enlisting in military services. It
would not be until September 1939 that this law would become universally
enforced.
On July 11, 1934,
the NSAD was renamed "Reichsarbeitsdienst" (RAD, "Reich Labor
Service") with Hierl as its director until the end of
World War II. This agency will help to mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarize
the workforce, and indoctrinate its members in the National Socialistic
ideology. It was the official state labor service, divided into two sections:
one for men (RAD/M) and one for the women (RADwJ).
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| RADwJ 1/142 Dumzin, Germany - 1941 |
In 1934, there were
7,347 women in RADwJ. These women worked in agriculture, forestry, economics,
and horticulture. They also participated as maid cattle breeders/caretakers in
the country.
 |
RADwJ 1/142 Dumzin, Germany
Kindergarten Class 1941 |
Although the
National Socialistic view of the women’s place centered on domesticity, female
RAD members were also employed on farms and for community service such as
caring for the elderly and for children. Generally, the women’s branch of the
RAD was not a highly disciplined organization, being fairly relaxed and
sociable. A full-time career as a permanent member of the RAD was also open to
young women from the ages of 20 – 25.
Women in RADwJ had
to be at least 20 years old and serve for a period of six months. The women
worked for 12 hours a day and up to 76 hours a week. They served mostly in
agriculture but also in various industries.
Those women who chose to continue their service in the RADwJ went on to
achieving a high-raking command position. The women received a daily wage of
0.20 RM per day (about 0.04 cents an hour, or about 50 cents in today’s US
dollar).
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| In 1937, there were about 25,000 Arbeitsmaiden |
On March 12, 1938,
Austria was annexed into Germany. By October, it was mandatory for all men and
women ages 17 – 25 to join RAD. The male youth were used mainly for land
reclamation, road construction, and forest operations while the women worked
exclusively in agriculture.
On September 1,
1939, World War II began and by 1940, about 50k women are serving in the RADwJ.
The first major
change came in 1941 when a “Führer Decree” introduced the concept of Auxiliary
War Service (Kriegshilfdienst) for RAD women. In many cases, this service was
restricted to serving as factory workers in firms whose business was
contributing to the war effort (munitions factories, etc.), or serving in
essential civilian jobs such as auxiliary hospital staff, postal workers, bus
or tramcar conductresses, and railway workers, etc. Auxiliary formations were
developed which provided support for the Wehrmacht armed forces. Many RADwJ
women served with the Aircraft Reporting Service of the Luftwaffe as
Flakhelferinnen.
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RADwJ Women making gas masks
© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/ Germin |
By special decree
dated June 29, 1941, the service was for a period of six months (Reich Law
Gazette I, p. 491). With the introduction of the “War Relief Service,” service
was extended to a period of 12 months. By this time, there were over 130k women
and by 1942, there were over 150k women serving in the RADwJ.
Those that chose to
work in the RAD Lager (Camps), worked on the farms as assistants, nannies,
teachers, and were also domestic helpers in families who had many
children. These camps were located in
rural and scenic settlements mainly in old school buildings, manor homes, or
palaces.
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RAD Lager 1/142 - Dumzin, Germany
Palace Domacyno
Domacyno, Poland |
Each camp held
about 40 women.
Thirty-three were regular helpers (Arbeitsmaiden):
Three were of higher
ranks (Kameradschaftsältesten)
While 3 were nurses (Gesundheitshelferin),
 |
And one Camp Leader (Lagerführerin) - here she is teaching class
(c) Jugend1918-1945.de |
The camp leaders and nurses received a
regular salary while the Arbeitsmaiden received 0.20 RM per day.
Districts:
There were thirteen
RADwJ districts. The first German town is the name of the district, followed by
the seat (location) of the district headquarters. Later on, another 20 districts were added to conform to the male RAD/M districts.
1 Ostpreußen - Königsberg in Preußen
2 Pomerania - Stettin
3 Nordmark - Schwerin in Mecklenburg
4 Kurmark - Berlin
5 Schlesien - Breslau
6 Mitteldeutschland - Weimar
7 Sachsen - Dresden
8 Niedersachsen - Hannover
9 Westfalen - Dortmund
10 Koblenz - Rheinland
11 Hessen - Wiesbaden
12 Südwestdeutschland - Stuttgart
13 Bayern – München
Uniforms:
Working Dress: The basic dress of a RADwJ was their working blue dress, white apron, and a red scarf.
Service Dress: The RADwJ service dress consisted of a jacket,
blouse, skirt, shoes, and a fedora hat. The uniform jacket was a
single-breasted tunic style garment cut from light brown wool, with a
contrasting dark brown collar, four front buttons, and a matching cloth waist
belt with a rectangular buckle made from horn or wood. The jacket skirt had two
internal pockets with slanted external buttoned flaps. Leadership ranks had
aluminum or gold-colored cord piping to the collar depending upon the rank
grouping. The skirt was cut from the
same brown wool as the jacket, and could be either plain or with two front
pleats. The blouse was white and worn under the jacket, buttoned up at the
neck. It was not worn with a necktie as with the BDM girls. Both long and short-sleeved models were
used. The short sleeve version could be
worn without a jacket in the summer months. In place of a necktie was a brooch
worn at the base of the throat. The
design differed accordingly to rank. The hat featured a green hatband onto
which was pinned, on the right side, a badge in silver or gold colored metal
depending upon the rank.
Insignia: The insignia was worn on the upper left
sleeve. It was in the shape of a shield and machine woven. The field was brown
with a black outer edge. In the upper portion was a white disc bearing a
swastika over a chevron formed from ears of barley, all in black. Below this
was a Roman number indicating the area of the wearer. This number and the inner border just inside
the black edging were in white for junior grades, silver for an officer grade,
and gold for the most senior position.
Brooch: The brooches were designed by Egon Jantke. It
was worn at the neck and was made from stamped sheet metal. Various patterns
existed. Some were introduced after the outbreak of the war and fall into two
basic patterns. The first was worn by
auxiliaries between the ages of 18 and 21. These were circular with the
regulation swastika over ears of barley, all on a pebbled field. The border, in conjunction with the brooch
color, indicated the wearer’s rank as follows:
Arbeitsmaiden
– iron color, smooth border
Kameradschaftsälteste
– iron color, ribbed border
Jungführerin
– bronze color, smooth border
Maidenunterführerin
– bronze color, ribbed border
Maidenführerin
– bronze color, roped border
Maidenoberführerin
– silver color, ribbed border
Maidenhauptführerin
– silver color, roped border
Stabsführerin
– gold color, smooth border
Stabsoberführerin
– gold color, ribbed border
Stabshauptführerin
– gold color, roped border
Those who served
after a full year but did not yet hold a leadership rank, were permitted to
wear a membership brooch in a grey color metal, with the usual central motif
but with the edging bearing the inscription “Reichsarbeitsdienst weibliche
Jugend.”
Another brooch is known to be round in shape with the swastika in the center surrounded not only by the ears of barley, but also whole stalks on a textured background. The flat edge bore in the old German Sütterlin script: “Arbeit für den Volk, Adelt dich Selbst, Deutscher Frauenarbeitsdienst,” (Work for our People, Enoble Yourselves, German Women’s Labor Service). Nothing else is known about these brooches except that these brooches bear serial numbers suggesting they were a form of an award whose issue was regulated.
The badge was worn
on the upper left sleeve. An example here gives the insignia as a "Gesundheitsdienst". The
stripes (two 10 mm wide brown) are rank insignia for "Lagergehilfin"
(later for Jungführerin). The one stripe was for
"Kameradschaftsälteste". On 30 September 1943 these rings were
replaced by a 70 mm long grey bar with zig-zag pattern (1 or 2, according to
rank).
Cap Badges: The cap badges were made from metal and worn
on the band of the fedora. This featured
the swastika and ears of barley motif in a circular frame, the field normally
being pierced out. It was in iron color for Arbeitsmaid and Kamaradschaft, in
bronze for the Jungführerin and Maidenunterführerin, silver for the
Maidenoberführerin and Maidenhauptführerin. Gold color was for the rank of
Stabsführerin to Stabshauptführerin. The rank of the Maidenführerin wore an
embroidered version of this badge, in bronze color wire.
Wartime Special Badge:
In July 1941, a special badge to recognize service as a wartime helper was introduced. This consisted of a swastika over a chevron formed by two ears of barley. Over this chevron was draped a scroll bearing the initials RADwJ (Reichsarbeitsdienst weibliche Jugend – State Labor Service Female Youth).
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| Maidenunterführerin |
The standard RAD jacket when worn by women serving as drivers featured a dark green rather than a dark brown contrasting collar.
In late 1943, the specialist leader (Sonderführer) role was introduced. Three grades equivalent to the lower, middle, and higher specialist careers found in the military were Sonderführerin “U,” “M,” and “H,” for Unten, Mittel, Hoche (Lower, middle, high).
The Unten Sonderführerin wore a brown/red mixed cord collar piping and a bronze brooch with a silver border. The Mittel Sonderführerin wore a silver/red collar cord and a silver brooch, and the Hoche Sonderführerin wore a gold/red collar cord and a gold brooch with silver borders.
Cuff Rings: Somewhat analogous to the ‘command’ rings of
military auxiliaries, female RADwJ members with the rank of
Kameradschaftsälteste wore a single 10 mm wide brown cuff ring on both sleeves,
while the Jungführerinnen wore two such rings. These cuff rings were replaced
in 1943 with short gray braid stripes on a brown base.
In 1944, a change
was introduced for NCO equivalent grades specifically serving with Flak units.
The rank of Kameradschaftälteste was changed to Obermaid and the rank of
Jungführerin to Hauptmaid.
Late in the war, a
‘battledress blouse’ type jacket was introduced for women RAD personnel. This
short, single-breasted, waist-length garment had six front buttons and two
patch breast pockets with buttoned flaps. The sleeve cuffs were also
adjustable, with button fastening. The usual RAD badge was worn on the left
upper sleeve. The skirt worn with this jacket had two-pleat front and two
slanted side pockets. This basic uniform was the same as that issued to
military auxiliaries; however, the RAD version was not announced until February
1945. What level of issue was achieved is unknown.
In many cases,
female RAD personnel wore the uniforms of the service with which they were
serving as auxiliaries. In some cases, such as factory workers, this would be a
simple overall. In other cases, such as
railway guards/conductors or postal service workers, the full uniform of that
service would be worn but with the Kriegshilfdienst badge displaced on the
lapel. A cuff band with the inscription “RAD Kriegshilfdienst” was also worn on
some occasions, and an armband “Kriegshilfdienst/des Reichsarbeitsdienst’ is
also known to have been used. Female RAD
personnel serving with the Luftwaffe Flak units wore the standard Luftwaffe
auxiliary’s uniform, but with the RAD sleeve patch.
Source: Gordon Williamson – Osprey Publishing
To order a copy of
World War II German Women’s Auxiliary Services:
https://ospreypublishing.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=World+War+II+german+Women%27s+Auxiliary+Services+
