Quote:
Originally Posted by L-Pink
Well they were spiffy dressers.
|
They sure did!
Especially those desinged and made by Hugo Boss:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Boss
"Hugo Boss started his clothing company in 1924 in Metzingen, a small town south of Stuttgart, where it is still based. However, due to the economic climate in Germany at the time Boss was forced into bankruptcy. In 1931 he reached an agreement with his creditors, leaving him with 6 sewing machines to start again. The same year, he became a member of the Nazi party and a sponsoring member ("Förderndes Mitglied") of the Schutzstaffel.[10] He later stated himself that he had joined the party because of their promise to end unemployment and because he felt "temporarily" withdrawn from the Lutheran church.[10] He joined the German Labour Front in 1936, the Reich Air Protection Association in 1939, the National Socialist People's Welfare in 1941.[10] His sales increased from 38,260 RM in 1932 to to over 3,300,000 RM in 1941, while his profits increased in the same period from 5,000 RM to 241,000 RM.[10] Though he claimed in a 1934/1935 advertising he had been a ?supplier for Nazi uniforms since 1924?, such supplies are probable since 1928/1929 and certain since 1934, when he became an Reichszeugmeisterei-licensed (official) supplier of uniforms to the Sturmabteilung, Schutzstaffel, Hitler Youth, National Socialist Motor Corps and other party organizations.[10] To meet demand in later years of the war, Boss used about 30 to 40 prisoners of war and about 150 forced laborers, from the Baltic States, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the former Soviet Union.[10] According to German historian Henning Kober, the company managers were ?avowed nazis?, ?the Boss were all great admirers of Adolf Hitler? and Hugo Boss had in 1945 in his apartment a photograph of himself with Hitler taken in the latter's Obersalzberg retreat.[11]
In a 1946 denazification judgement, based on his early party membership, his financial support of the SS and the uniforms delivered to the Nazi party even before 1933, Boss was considered both an ?activist? and a ?supporter and beneficiary of National Socialism?. He was stripped of his voting rights, his capacity to run a business and, fined ?a very heavy penalty? of 100,000 marks.[10] He died in 1948 but his business survived."
Hugo Boss, A.G. tried to start the spin here:
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/15/bu...zi-regime.html
"Hugo Boss Acknowledges Link to Nazi Regime
Published: August 15, 1997
Before Hugo Boss A.G. became known for classic men's suits and flashy ties, the clothing manufacturer made uniforms for the Nazis, a company spokeswoman acknowledged today.
The company said it had become aware of the dealings with the Nazis after the name of its founder, Hugo Boss, who died in 1948, appeared on a list of dormant accounts released by Swiss bankers last month.
''Right now we are trying to get a handle on the situation,'' a spokeswoman for Boss, Monika Steilen, said. ''This is a very new theme for us. We have nothing in our archives.''
Ms. Steilen said the company had not determined what kind of account Mr. Boss might have had in Switzerland. She added that Hugo Boss was considering hiring a historian to look into its past, something that other concerns, including the Allianz insurance company and the German railroad, have done.
In the 1930's, when the company began making Nazi uniforms, it was a family-run business that manufactured police and postal uniforms."