| Reichsjugendführer Baldur von Schirach (May 9, 1907 – August 8, 1974) addresses 132,000 members of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) and Bund Deutscher Mädel (literally “Band of German Maidens” or League of German Girls), at the Olympic Stadium for the May Day celebration. Also speaking were Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) and Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reich Chancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945). Baldur von Schirach gave the traditional May Day “youth’s greeting” to the assembly. Hitler arrived in Berlin’s Olympic stadium before his May Day speech in his Mercedes 770K, his usual car. He drove around the stadium before exiting the vehicle and ascending the special platform built especially for his speeches. The members of the Hitler Youth rose unanimously to give the Nazi salute. The crowd’s contrasting blue and white uniforms spelled out the words “We belong to you” in giant letters in the crowded stands. Hitler talked of Lebensraum (“Living Space”) 4 months before the attack on Poland. In his speech the Chancellor said: “The time has passed when youth must feel ashamed of its elders. For centuries the world denied us our vital rights. Those days are gone; they will find their final consummation in you, the youth of Germany, and it is necessary that you realize this responsibility while you are yet young.” “There are nations around us that do not desire German unity. This is because they do not want to grant us our vital rights. We have regained these rights, and it may be that we shall have to defend them. In that I rely on you, and when the hour comes, when the world tries to encroach on German freedom, I trust that from millions of throats of Germany’s youth will burst a cry that will show the world once and for all that the time of German disintegration is past.” Baldur von Schirach was drafted for service in France in 1940. He was appointed Reich Governor and Nazi party Gauleiter (district leader) in Vienna, Austria from 1940-1945. In the this position, his responsibilities included deporting Jews from Vienna to ghettos and camps in occupied Poland. At the Nuremberg trials, Schirach was found guilty on count 4 (crimes against humanity) and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. He was released in 1966. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1797.jpg |
| Image Size | 61.97 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 500 x 700 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 1, 1939 |
| Location | |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database