[Above: A Japanese soldier holds up the baby of a German family from Batavia, Dutch East Indies, from the front cover of a Japanese magazine from 1942.]



[Above: This is the Japanese embassy in Berlin.]


[Above: Adolf Hitler meeting Japanese diplomats. Joachim von Ribbentrop and others can be seen in the background.]




[Above: This photo is entitled 'Der Führer empfängt eine japanische Marineabordnung 1934' (The Führer receives a Japanese naval delegation in 1934).]


[Above: Japanese navy soldier guarding the German embassy in Shanghai, circa 1937.]



[Above: Italian, Japanese and German officers reading a magazine.]


[Above: Japanese General Hiroshi Oshima and the Emperor Showa's brother Prince Chichibu with Luftwaffe officers conversing with German soldiers. Circa 1938.]


  • As part of the Germany/Japan mutual goodwill youth exchange, thirty Hitler Youth members landed at Yokohama Port on August 16, 1940 to a large crowd of 3,000 people. They stayed for 90 days and visited sites all over Japan. The group was led by chief guide Reinhold Schulze and deputy leader Rolf Redeker.

    Their activity log is listed below, but in very short form, as they took part in many other events not listed.

    August 16th-17th - Tokyo (Yasukuni Shrine worship), 19th Lake Yamanaka (Fuji Mountaineering)
    August 23 - Karuizawa (Konoe House Reception and others)
    August 28 - Sunlight Zhengji Lakeside (Tohoku Palace)
    August 31 - Aizu Wakamatsu (Grave of the White Tiger Corps)
    September 04 - Hakodate, September 05 - Sapporo (Sipter Lakeside)
    September 10 - Iwate/Sendai (Masamune Statue) Aomori (Okuase) Akita (Oppel Festival)
    September 22 - Kamakura (Tsuruoka Hachimanomiya)
    October 2 Gifu, 3rd Kanshachi (Japan Sword Training Tour) - Nagoya
    October 7 - Ise Shrine worship, October 10 - (Horyuji tour)
    October 13 - Kyoto - Osaka (Shimizuji, Kanakuji, Osaka Castle visit and others)
    October 22, Setouchi Sei-katsu (unknown/Noura, etc.)
    October 23 - Beppu, October 25 - Miyazaki (Cormorant Tojin worship)
    October 29-31 - Kumamoto/Yunssen, November 3 - Nagasaki (Beron Visit)
    November 4 - Fukuoka (Hakata Doll, Sakushin, unknown)
    November 7 - Ikushima Shrine visit
    November 12 - Redemption Kobe Oriental Hotel, returning from Kobe Port


    [Above: German Hitler Youth in front of the Japanese battleship 'Mikasa'.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth parade.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth welcoming ceremony at a Tokyo Women's School.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth exploring Japan.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth and Japanese officers.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth and Japanese colleague.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth and BDM girl at the German embassy in Japan. They are dining on traditional Japanese dishes while being served by a Japanese girl in traditional dress. August 16, 1938.]

    [Above: A delegation of Hitler Youth visit the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo during a several-month-long friendship tour in 1938.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth in Japan. Note the German-Japanese youth exchange badges on their jackets (see below).]


    [Above: A member of the Hitler Youth making some new friends.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth in Japan carry a wreath in a ceremony with their Japanese comrades. Circa October 1938.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth in Japan carry a wreath in a ceremony with their Japanese comrades. Circa October 1938.]


    [Above: German Hitler Youth with their Japanese comrades and children in a very odd and interesting picture!]


    [Above: Japanese and German officers laughing with a German civilian. Germany, 1940.]


    [Above: An interesting private photo of what I presume is a Japanese woman being led by a Waffen-SS officer. The girls are BDM -League of German Girls.]


    [Above: German-Japanese officers and dignitaries toast to their friendship.]

    [Above: A larger version of the photo above, although washed out.]


    [Above: On December 17, 1940, children of Japan, Germany, and Italy meet in Tokyo to celebrate the signing of the Tripartite Alliance between the three nations. Japanese education minister Kunihiko Hashida, center, holding crossed flags of Japan and Italy, and Mayor Tomejiro Okubo of Tokyo were among the sponsors.]

    [Above: Color version of the above photo.]


    [Above: Germans and Japanese officers with geisha girls!]


    [Above: This picture is said to be from 1942 and is of two Japanese officers wearing Wehrmacht uniforms.
    The meaning of their arm patches is unknown to me. It is also said that this photo was taken in Russia, so they are most likely on a training exercise of some kind.]


    [Above: Another shot.]


    [Above: Note the same sleeve patch as that above.]


    [Above: A cigar-smoking Japanese officer enjoys a little European vice! ]


    [Above: Circa 1943/44, courtesy of the Bundesarchiv.]


    [Above: A German restaurant in downtown Tokyo.]


    [Above: A crowd goes wild to see Adolf Hitler and Yosuke Matsuoka (Japanese diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs), Wilhelm Plaza.]


    [Above: This is from the 1943 issue of the 'Illustrierter Beobachter' (Illustrated Observer).]


    [Above: An interesting newspaper showing German and Japanese cooperation called the 'Kölnische Illustrierte Zeitung' from October 28, 1943.]


    [Above: This poster says 'Deutsch-Japanische Gesellschaft' (German-Japanese Society) and advertises a concert held at the Künstlerhaus on Tuesday, June 13-18 at 6:00. The headliners were Trude Kronzucker singing with Udo Dammert on piano and Kurt Redel on flute.]