Soon after taking office as "Reichsjugendführer" on 17 June 1933, Baldur von Schirach issued regulations that suspended or forbade existing youth organizations ('concurrence'). Female youth groups were compulsorily integrated into the BDM, which was declared to be the only legally permitted organization for girls in Germany. Many of the existing organizations closed down to avoid this. These Nazi activities were a part of the "Gleichschaltung" (Equalization) starting in 1933. The "Reichskonkordat" between the Catholic Church and Nazi Germany, signed on 20 July 1933, gave a certain shelter to the Catholic youth ministry, but they were the object of much bullying.