How I Started WWII Reenacting

 

This year my interview series is all about getting back to basics and having you all share how you all got started and some of the lessons you have learned along the way. I figured I'd also share my story as well. I mean, it is my blog, and I figured by now you might have some curiosity how I got started. I started reenacting in 2010 doing American Civil War. I had a passion for history and wanted to give reenacting a try. I joined a local unit and since I was underage at the time, I dragged my mom along with me. We both loved the hobby, and we did it together until her health rapidly declined and then passed away in 2020. During that time, I got into WWII. In 2018 I found a WWII unit through the internet, Facebook actually. 

Back in 2013 or so I had taken a keen interest in the1940s and had started sewing my own vintage or retro inspired wardrobe. I was into vintage clothes from the 1920s to the 1980s but I found sewing patterns were both expensive and had a lot of fitting issues because of my body type. After struggling with modern patterns for a couple of years I started sourcing, buying, and using vintage patterns and that is how I found my first German pattern book. My first book was from 1941 and had over 200 patterns in it that once scaled out with a little special ruler fit me perfectly. 

After working with my little pattern book for a couple of years I decided that I wanted to know more about the book and the culture and world in which it was first printed and used. That is what got me into studying WWII German fashion and culture and everything with it. I was fascinated by the history and since I was already a Civil War reenactor, getting into WWII, I guess, was a natural jump for me. 

Finding a WWII unit was the hardest part. I asked around my Civil War unit but came up dry - no connections to help me get in. Then I turned to the internet, I found a lot of units but none that took women. Funny enough, a couple of the units I contacted back in 2017 I hang out with now at events. I don't think they know it was me who emailed them all those years ago - ha!  One day by sheer chance I met someone through the 1940s World on Facebook who had a boyfriend who was the head of a German unit in Michigan that took women. She gave me his email and we started talking. 

Me at my first WWII event

A few months later I was taking a Greyhound bus to meet him in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We met in a McDonald's parking lot and away we went to Rockford's WWII Days in Illinois. I had never met this guy before in person and only knew he was a WWII reenactor too because he was wearing parts of a German officer's uniform. We became fast friends and still are to this day. 

Now, you are probably thinking that that was an incredibly dangerous and wild thing to do - to get into a car with a stranger and go across state lines with them. Yes, I agree that was wild but, my life at home was in shambles. To be blunt, I had nothing to lose. My mom, although a wonderful person when I was little, had grown into an abusive alcoholic. My sister had moved across the country, my family had cut me off. I didn't have much to lose. So, getting into a car with a stranger to go WWII reenacting was, at the time, a pretty good idea. 

Now, would I recommend this everyone? Absolutely not.  

My first WWII event was at Rockford, Illinois in September of 2018. Aside from the guy I came with, I knew NO ONE! And the guy I came with I had just gotten to know. Was I terrified? I actually was but I was excited too because it was an adventure.  After my first event, I got to know dozens and dozens of people. I learned a lot fast, and it was like a whirlwind. I came to that event as a complete stranger but left surrounded by new friends, many of which I now consider to be my family. 

When I started WWII reenacting, I knew no one and knew very little. Today, fast forward to 2025, I can say that is now no longer the case. When you start on your own reenacting journey, let life guide you and you never know where it will take you. If someone told me back in 2018, let alone in 2010, that I would have a blog about women's fashion in WWII Germany I would have brushed it off as hog wash. Well. look where we are now. . .  Not only that but since then I have been to many more events, a tactical, and have hosted events on my property. I think reenacting has a peculiar way of taking you places and introducing you to people that you never would have guessed. 

Well, that is how I got started WWII reenacting. My best advice for you? Meet as many people as you can and get to know them. You don't have to like them or get to know what their favorite color is but talk to them and listen. Be bold! You don't have to be a brave person, but I think you should be a little crazy a little bit of the time to really enjoy reenacting.