Zone of Interest Costuming

[Theresa]

I've scoured the net to figure this one out. The filmakers were proud of their historical accuracy so I'm a bit nonplussed. How accurate is Klaus' uniform form "Zone of Interest"? Specifically, what does he have on his hands? Are those gauntlets? And did they issue police battons to HJ? Or was that supposed to be something from the Camp? Thanks.

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[Jack]

Well, I'll try my hand at an answer, even though I haven't seen the film: it depends. It depends on when the scene shown takes place. As far as I can tell from the picture, he's wearing an HJ uniform (which is missing the armband). That's what the shoulderstraps suggest. However, as he was born in 1930, this could only have been the case after April 1944, as he must have belonged to the Jungvolk before then.
What looks strange: the shirt collar seems to be sticking out. But it's difficult to tell with the picture quality.
And no, there were no batons in the HJ.

 

[Theresa]

Well, I'll try my hand at an answer, even though I haven't seen the film: it depends. It depends on when the scene shown takes place. As far as I can tell from the picture, he's wearing an HJ uniform (which is missing the armband). That's what the shoulderstraps suggest. However, as he was born in 1930, this could only have been the case after April 1944, as he must have belonged to the Jungvolk before then.
What looks strange: the shirt collar seems to be sticking out. But it's difficult to tell with the picture quality.
And no, there were no batons in the HJ.

I can't find the section of the film(Thanks YT). It's where Klaus locks his brother in the greenhouse. What's on his hands? Did they issue fingerless gloves for winterwear? It looks out of place. Thanks for answering.

 

[Garry]

I would have answered before but the screenshot quality isn't really clear enough to see exactly what he is wearing. However, the fingerless gloves and the baton will have a context within the film as neither were part of the official uniform. One detail that can be clearly seen is that he is missing either a HJ armband or a Jungvolk sleeve rune on the left upper arm. Depending on his age in the screenshot he would have worn one or the other. I suspect that he is wearing the standard HJ/DJ winter uniform but as I say, the screenshot is too unclear to state that 100%

Can you possibly post more screenshots?

 

[Theresa]

The shoulder triangle patch would be district insignia "sud"? Someone mentioned the messy collar. I get maybe the baton from the camp but the gloves? Like gauntlets. I've never seen that before.

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[Jack]

If they wore gloves at all, it was usually mittens, as in the photo. It also shows the correct Jungvolk uniform.
I'm actually more familiar with those cut-offs from later times, but who knows.

Once again, I don't know the film. But with the long stay there with the family, I would expect an area triangle Ost (East) - Generalgouvernement.

The possession and carrying of weapons of any kind was forbidden (Regulation on the Jungvolk Service, 01.02.1938, p. 42). The HJ-Fahrtenmesser (knife) was not considered a weapon, it was a tool.

Garry will certainly have some more information for you.

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[Theresa]

If they wore gloves at all, it was usually mittens, as in the photo. It also shows the correct Jungvolk uniform.
I'm actually more familiar with those cut-offs from later times, but who knows.

Once again, I don't know the film. But with the long stay there with the family, I would expect an area triangle Ost (East) - Generalgouvernement.

The possession and carrying of weapons of any kind was forbidden (Regulation on the Jungvolk Service, 01.02.1938, p. 42). The HJ-Fahrtenmesser (knife) was not considered a weapon, it was a tool.

Garry will certainly have some more information for you.

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Very helpful. I've never seen this image before. Thanks.

 

[Garry]

The shoulder triangle patch would be district insignia "sud"?

The triangle should say "Ost Oberschlesien". This was the HJ-Gebiet in which Auschwitz was located.

 

[Theresa]

The triangle should say "Ost Oberschlesien". This was the HJ-Gebiet in which Auschwitz was located.

Thanks. I'm guessing now the fingerless gloves, whatever they are, are artistic liscense. They looked more ominous in the scene though.

 

[Jack]

The triangle should say "Ost Oberschlesien". This was the HJ-Gebiet in which Auschwitz was located.

Garry, you're right.
Because of its proximity to Krakau and its previous affiliation to Austria-Hungary, I would have placed Auschwitz in GenGouv. But it was annexed directly to Oberschlesien (the new district of Bielitz) in 1939 and thus, unusually, to the German Reich.