This is an interesting topic that many, I am certain, wonder about but have not the courage to ask. Well, to address this topic head on I thought a post about it would be in order. Irene Guenther addresses this topic briefly in her work Nazi Chic? and I have included an excerpt of it here for you to read as well. I thought that this would an interesting topic to address because it was an issue that average and everyday women were faced with . . .once a month.
Both pads (sanitary napkins) and tampons were available in the 1940s and both were limited due to shortages. What did these look like? Well, that is rather easy to answer as the tampons really did not change much but the pads are a different answer. Since much of the women's underwear was much more "breezy" than what we have today, women needed a different kind of pad so to speak. Also, the pad that can adhere to the undergarments had not yet been invented. The pads they used and had available were pads that were held in place with a thin elastic belt. Below, one of the belts in its packaging:
Sanitary Belts in an Advertisement. The clips go in the front and back to secure the pad which was either disposable or reusable (after a thorough washing of course). The materials for the belts seem to be elastic webbing, about an inch wide if not wider. The "clips" I am guessing are very simple where the pad portion can slipped though and secured simply with ties based on the below illustration or else the pad itself had the clips to secure it in place. Safety pins could be used as well.
And what about in Germany during the war? In Germany, these were classified as a “war essential” and women’s sanitary pads (and tampons) were in short supply as they were put to use on the front. By 1942, production had stopped because of a lack of resources and by 1943 they were not even available for purchase on the market. If the very necessary items a woman needed each month were not available to her, then what did she do? Irene Guenther asked this very question and found that:
“ . . .the magazine Mode und Wasche offered a remedy for this monthly dilemma. Instructions in verse accompanied by a diagram educated readers on how to make a worn – out pair of men’s long johns into two sanitary napkins, one bra, two dust cloths, or one large dish cloth, one washcloth, and two patches for threadbare stocking toes and heels.” (Guenther, pg. 221)
Readers were also encouraged to knit their own using yarn and other such scraps of thread.
Interesting right? I thought so. I'm so thankful that today we don't have to worry about such shortages but women in the 40s did. That is why I thought that this would be an important post and an important point to discuss too. Next, some more ads and images showing some of the brands and options available:
A little extra image that I thought was interesting. From the early 20th or late 19th century, a German instruction "manual" for making a sanitary belt and pads.
You many be wondering at this point what was it like to wear one? Well, since I don't plan to wear this item anytime soon, thankfully there are some more bold than me who have tried to wear this item. Gabrielle Moss choose to wear one and you can read about her experiences here on her own blog. Definitely interesting and worth a read.
Guenther, Irene. Nazi Chic?: Fashioning Women in the Third Reich. New York: Berg, 2004.
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