What material was used to manufacture Hitler Youth shorts?

Hi,

Regulation HJ and DJ shorts were originally made of Cotton twill (Zwirnköper) and were brown and black respectively. In 1935 there was a problem with shorts made of Velveton (Velveteen) being purchased by HJ members. This was quickly addressed and sellers were required to mark such shorts with a label saying "Not authorised for HJ and DJ".

From January 1937 the colour of HJ shorts was changed to black and at some point after this (I can't find the date of introduction at the moment) black shorts in corduroy (Genuakord) were introduced.

So, to answer your specific question, materials used to manufacture HJ shorts were:

Cotton twill (Zwirnköper)
Velveton (for a short period. These should not be found with RZM labels)
Corduroy (Genuakord)
 
Hi,

Regulation HJ and DJ shorts were originally made of Cotton twill (Zwirnköper) and were brown and black respectively. In 1935 there was a problem with shorts made of Velveton (Veleveteen - the material used for the BDM / JM Kletterweste) being purchased by HJ members. This was addressed and sellers had to mark such shorts with a label saying "Not authorised for HJ and DJ".

From January 1937 the colour of HJ shorts was changed to black and at some point after this (I can't find the date of introduction at the moment) black shorts in corduroy (Genuakord) were introduced.

So, materials used to manufacture HJ shorts were:

Cotton twill (Zwirnköper)
Veleveton (these will not be found with RZM labels)
Corduroy (Genuakord)

Thank you Garry. I'm wondering if you have any examples of the velveteen fabric, or was this just another name for corduroy. My reason for asking is, there is a thread on a French Scout forum, which also mentions velvet shorts. I'm curious to know why velvet fabric was used for youth organisations such as the HJ or Scouts for that matter.
 
Hi,

An example of this type of material would be that used for the BDM Kletterweste.

It may have been a matter of cost for HJ members. Velveton was being used to make civilian hiking shorts/trousers around this time and they were very similar in colour to the RZM regulation shorts for the HJ so boys who already owned Velveton shorts (possibly from their pre-HJ scouting days?) may simply have carried on wearing them when in HJ uniform rather than spending money on something they saw as an unnecessary purchase. Perhaps the Velveton shorts were cheaper than the RZM version or "cooler". Difficult to know really.
 
No problem. One of the qualities of Velveteen is that it stretches so probably more comfortable to wear than cotton twill. I would imagine that it's warmer than cotton twill too but perhaps not as hard-wearing.

Are you a collector of scouting items?
 
Yes, I started collecting Scout annuals years ago along with other Scouting material. HJ material's pretty hard to get in the UK so I rely on the Internet for my material. I'm fascinated not just with HJ uniforms, but the whole aspect of historical boys clothing.

I've also written a series of 9 fictional stories on another website set in 2267 on a parallel Earth where Germany won the war, which is loosely based around the HJ. I'm not sure if they would go down well on this website though.
 
Ah, excellent. You share the specific scouting interest with Christian, one of our German members.

PeterMuller said:
I've also written a series of 9 fictional stories on another website.....I'm not sure if they would go down well on this website though.

Sounds intriguing. What do they get up to?
 
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