The Collector’s Encyclopaedia · Signatories · Government & Party

Baldur von Schirach (1907–1974): Signature, Documents and Historical Profile

Baldur von Schirach (1907–1974) – archive portrait photograph
Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Born 9 May 1907, Berlin
Died 8 August 1974, Kröv an der Mosel
Key offices Reich Youth Leader of the NSDAP (1931); Youth Leader of the German Reich (1933); Gauleiter and Reich Governor of Vienna (August 1940)
Documents bearing his name Hitler Youth documents and certificates (often facsimile), Vienna Gau papers, post-war letters
In the collection No pieces currently available

Baldur von Schirach led the Hitler Youth and later governed Vienna. His name appears on a wide range of youth-organisation documents, many with printed signatures, and on official papers of the Vienna Gau, where he took part in the deportation of the city’s Jews.

Who Was Baldur von Schirach?

Schirach was born in Berlin in 1907. Hitler appointed him Reich Youth Leader of the NSDAP in October 1931, and in 1933 he became Youth Leader of the German Reich, with authority over the education of young people outside school. In August 1940 he became Gauleiter and Reich Governor of Vienna.

What Documents Bear Schirach’s Signature?

Hitler Youth certificates and printed material frequently carry his name as a facsimile. Original signatures appear on correspondence, appointment papers and dedications, and on Vienna Gau documents from 1940 to 1945. Post-war signatures after his release in 1966 also exist. See original signature or facsimile.

What Should Collectors Watch For?

  • Printed facsimiles are common on Hitler Youth certificates.
  • Vienna documents cannot predate August 1940.
  • Separate wartime from post-war autographs.

Responsibility and Fate

From October 1940 Schirach took part in the deportation of Vienna’s Jews. The Nuremberg tribunal sentenced him to 20 years for crimes against humanity. He was released from Spandau in October 1966 and died in 1974.

Collector’s Note

Youth-organisation documents are often a collector’s first encounter with Schirach’s name. I explain clearly when that name is printed, because it is easy to mistake a neat facsimile for ink.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When did Schirach become Reich Youth Leader?

In October 1931 for the party, and as Youth Leader of the German Reich in 1933.

Are Schirach signatures on Hitler Youth documents original?

Usually not: many are printed facsimiles.

What was Schirach sentenced to?

Twenty years, at Nuremberg in 1946.

Historical Responsibility Notice: this entry documents historical figures and artefacts of the National Socialist period for collecting, preservation, education and research. It does not endorse or glorify any ideology, and it is written in memory of the victims of the regime.

References & Further Reading