Hitlerjugend: An In-Depth History:1929 - Internal power struggles for control of the HJ
by Arvo L. Vercamer

The year 1929 was an important year for the HJ. This was the year Baldur von Schirach re-organized the HJ and formally established the relationships between the German Nationalist Socialist Workers Party (NSDAP) and the Hitlerjugend (HJ); these rules and regulations being formally published on April 23rd, 1929. A key point centered around the fact that from this point forward, no child of a card carrying NSDAP member could belong to any other youth organization other than the Hitlerjugend. This served to strengthen the bond between the individual and the party and it also served to further isolate those youths who did not belong to the HJ. After some discussion and debates (and some reservations posed by Kurt Gruber), the NSDAP confirmed von Schirach's stand as being the correct one.

By March of 1929, in addition to increasing the membership, Gruber was also able to publish and circulate two monthy newspapers in Germany; "Die Junge Front" and the "Hitler Jugend Zeitung" (obligatory subscription for HJ members). A decree was issued in April of 1929, making the Hilterjugend the only officially recognized youth movement of the NSDAP.

In November of 1929, the HJ held a very large display of activities and functions in Munich as a part of a concentrated recruitment drive. A similar gathering was conducted in Berlin in March of 1930 having the theme of "Vom Wiederstand zum Angriff" (From resistance to the attack).

Political struggles continued to plague the HJ. Both von Schirach and Gruber were jockeying themselves for the key leadership position. Gruber had Oberster SA-Führer (OSAF) von Pfeffer as an ally and for a short while, Gruber continued to remain Reichführer der HJ. Von Schirach had Hitler as an ally and in the end, that would be the decisive factor.