League of German Girls

The League of German Girls (German: Bund Deutscher Mädel or BDM), was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany. It was the female branch of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. At first, the League consisted of two sections: the Jungmädel, or Young Girls League, for girls ages 10 to 14, and the League proper for girls ages 14 to 18. In 1938, a third section was introduced, the Belief and Beauty Society (BDM-Werk Glaube und Schönheit), which was voluntary and open to girls between the ages of 17 and 21. The BDM was founded in 1930 as the female branch of the overall Nazi Party's youth movement, the Hitler Youth (HJ). Its full title was the League of German Girls in the Hitler Youth, (Bund Deutscher Mädel in der Hitler-Jugend). It did not attract a mass following until the Nazis came to power in January 1933, but grew rapidly thereafter, until membership was made compulsory for eligible girls between 10 and 18 in 1939. Members had to be ethnic Germans,... full article at wikipedia