I think of all the countries that participated in the Second World War, Germany was the hardest hit in terms of rationing and shortages. For this post in particular I want to focus on the impact this had on clothing and beauty goodies rather than on food stuffs and the like. I know food is important but so is clothing.
Nazi Germany was plagued with rampant shortages during the war years starting in September of 1939. One key aspect of the shortages which many found to be particularly painful was the lack of good shoes. Part of the lack of good shoes was due to the fact that there was no raw materials to make shoes and to even buy a new pair there were many restrictions, check out pages 117 - 118 in "Fashioning the Women of the Third Reich" by Irene Guenther in Lisa Pine's Edited work Life and Times in Nazi Germany for more. Also see pages 215 an 216 of Irene Guenther's larger work Nazi Chic? Fashioning Women in the third Reich for more on shoes . . or the lack of. . .Some of the restrictions involved a voucher in which to get a new pair, one had to have at most two pairs and one of the pairs had to be beyond wear. (pg. 118 in Life and Times)To ensure that no one had more than their fair share, random checks were common which created a great deal of dissent among neighbors (pg. 118 again). To help ease the issue over footwear, magazines offered instructions on how to make shoes from old scraps. Aside from shoes, these same magazines offered advice on how to make new undies and clothes from those either too small or worn and how to cut up men's suiting into women's (which is not too far away from what wat in the U.S. actually for a fun fact). To put it simply, these women were forced to get creative. . .
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| German Ration Card for Clothes, source |
Nazi Germany was plagued with rampant shortages during the war years starting in September of 1939. One key aspect of the shortages which many found to be particularly painful was the lack of good shoes. Part of the lack of good shoes was due to the fact that there was no raw materials to make shoes and to even buy a new pair there were many restrictions, check out pages 117 - 118 in "Fashioning the Women of the Third Reich" by Irene Guenther in Lisa Pine's Edited work Life and Times in Nazi Germany for more. Also see pages 215 an 216 of Irene Guenther's larger work Nazi Chic? Fashioning Women in the third Reich for more on shoes . . or the lack of. . .Some of the restrictions involved a voucher in which to get a new pair, one had to have at most two pairs and one of the pairs had to be beyond wear. (pg. 118 in Life and Times)To ensure that no one had more than their fair share, random checks were common which created a great deal of dissent among neighbors (pg. 118 again). To help ease the issue over footwear, magazines offered instructions on how to make shoes from old scraps. Aside from shoes, these same magazines offered advice on how to make new undies and clothes from those either too small or worn and how to cut up men's suiting into women's (which is not too far away from what wat in the U.S. actually for a fun fact). To put it simply, these women were forced to get creative. . .
Clothes were also rationed due to shortages. To ensure clothing was evenly distributed, ration cards were handed out but there was nothing equal or even about these cards as their distribution was unpredictable and often unfair (pg. 216 in Nazi Chic?) Many people also did not trust this system either (216 in Nazi Chic?) With these cards came a point system as well with each garment having a different point value and only less than 25 points could be spent in a two month time span. Seasonal restrictions applied too. Below a series of brief charts detailing the ration system in Nazi Germany:
Cards issued by year and although the point value had increased by 1942, that did not mean much considering there were no clothes to buy . . .homemade items were excluded to the best of my knowledge . . ..
- 1st card (1939 - 1941) 100 points
- 2nd card (1941- 1942) 150 points
- 3rd card (1942 - 1943) 120 points
Each garment was given a point value as well. . .
- Woman’s pullover (sweater) - 25
- Skirt - 20
- Blouse - 20
- Dress - 40
- Suit - 45
- Socks - 5
- Summer coat – 35-50
- Winter coat - 100 & had to prove old coat was beyond wear
- Hats and turbans were point free
For more on the points system, check out page 216 in Nazi Chic?
As rationing and shortages continued to get worse, Das Reich suggested to women to make do with trims, pockets, and collars to update old clothes even though many magazines featured many elegant and expensive clothes that were for “export only” (pg. 218 in Nazi Chic?). As you can imagine that did not make women feel any better and Guenther goes on to offer some examples of the distaste this put in the mouths of many women, especially young mothers and factory workers (pg. 217) Stores also continued to have lavish displays in their windows even though they had nothing for sale inside. With rationing in effect, women had to make do with either what they already had for else be exceptionally creative because by 1941 civilian goods had started to become kind of thin but by 1942, clothing had become so hard to come by either made commercially or made at home because supplies like fabric were scarce for the woman who lacked means or did not use the black market. (pg. 220 - 221, Nazi Chic?).
As for beauty and hair products those were not spared. Although there were many advertisements for beauty products, these goods were hard to find on the market (pg. 105 in Nazi Chic?). Hair products like chemicals used for permanents and getting that ideal blonde color were declared war materials and gradually were pulled from the civilian market (pg. 106, Nazi Chic?).
Nothing seems to have been spared when it came to clothing and beauty items in in terms of rationing and shortages in war torn Nazi Germany but women were still expected to remain cheerful and manage a household. It must have taken a great deal of strength to put up with the chaos of the ration cards, the painful lacking of basic goods all while being taunted by glamourous magazine covers and contents. For the woman of means and connections she probably lived reasonably comfortably and stylish and the same to the woman who used the black market with no shame. . .For the woman who tried to live a clean life and follow the rules her life must have been very hard. I know I cannot imagine how hard.
Sources:
As rationing and shortages continued to get worse, Das Reich suggested to women to make do with trims, pockets, and collars to update old clothes even though many magazines featured many elegant and expensive clothes that were for “export only” (pg. 218 in Nazi Chic?). As you can imagine that did not make women feel any better and Guenther goes on to offer some examples of the distaste this put in the mouths of many women, especially young mothers and factory workers (pg. 217) Stores also continued to have lavish displays in their windows even though they had nothing for sale inside. With rationing in effect, women had to make do with either what they already had for else be exceptionally creative because by 1941 civilian goods had started to become kind of thin but by 1942, clothing had become so hard to come by either made commercially or made at home because supplies like fabric were scarce for the woman who lacked means or did not use the black market. (pg. 220 - 221, Nazi Chic?).
As for beauty and hair products those were not spared. Although there were many advertisements for beauty products, these goods were hard to find on the market (pg. 105 in Nazi Chic?). Hair products like chemicals used for permanents and getting that ideal blonde color were declared war materials and gradually were pulled from the civilian market (pg. 106, Nazi Chic?).
Nothing seems to have been spared when it came to clothing and beauty items in in terms of rationing and shortages in war torn Nazi Germany but women were still expected to remain cheerful and manage a household. It must have taken a great deal of strength to put up with the chaos of the ration cards, the painful lacking of basic goods all while being taunted by glamourous magazine covers and contents. For the woman of means and connections she probably lived reasonably comfortably and stylish and the same to the woman who used the black market with no shame. . .For the woman who tried to live a clean life and follow the rules her life must have been very hard. I know I cannot imagine how hard.
Sources:
"Fashioning Women in the Third Reich" By Irene Guenther in Life and Times in Nazi Germany edited by Lisa Pine. New York: Bloomsbury, 2016
Guenther, Irene. Nazi Chic?: Fashioning Women in the Third Reich. New York: Berg, 2004.
Edited 09/28/2019
Guenther, Irene. Nazi Chic?: Fashioning Women in the Third Reich. New York: Berg, 2004.
Edited 09/28/2019
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