Here another Leseprobe of the Inserate, with the kinds of personalities and events of 1937. The people seeking these jobs interest me endlessly. They are the ones who would have know all the answers, and some of them must still be alive, although surely not many. Notice the qualifications of the Werkmeister in the cap works, where the traits of organization, the assessment of cots, and the drawing of the Muster (the patterns) were essential to a profitable enterprise.
See here, too, the embroidery specialist (a woman) equipped for all kinds of embroidery work, as well as a traveling salesman of the uniform branch and his specialties.
Another aspect of the year was the so called Preistopp, whereby inflationary pressures in the uniform trade were capped with a set of price controls. This policy was also part of the Four Year Plan and the march to the war economy that began in 1936. This event reflects an interesting phenomenon that I must read carefully to understand.
But it also speaks to why SS contract made caps are of inferior quality to the early caps, i.e. say from 1933 until 1936 or so....
Dear JWS, thanks for the kind words and we look forward to your contribution, in turn. Fifty years from now you will write these posts with even greater authority and knowledge, while we shall have turned to dust.
Once again, F-B says it best. JWS, welcome as well!
“Show me the regulation, and I’ll show you the exception.”
The Reichsberufswettkampf was a national competition organized by the DAF, HJ and NSDStB to show case skilled workers in industry and the trades and crafts, and other facets of society in approved roles. The rapid growth of all industry and trade associated with rearmament as well as the militarization of society led to a shortage of skilled workers (to include our cap makers...) which the regime attempted to redress with wide spread vocational training.
Here is an article in which Claere Bargmann, a cap crafts woman from the Fa. Opolka & Mueller in Hamburg, won recognition in her craft in this national competition. A uniform tailor from Karlsruhe also received such an award.
The other cap gurus on the other sites don't know her, you can bet.
Opolka & Mueller's license number is also attached here. Maybe she made this hat.
Each edition of UM in the years prior to 1939 or so contained an abstract of the most recent Mitteilungsblatt der RZM.
Here are two such abstracts in its full size also from mid 1937.
Has anyone digitalized these or otherwise reproduced them?
Barring same, even this abstract of its contents is useful.
Reading it brings tears to my eyes, especially with the description of the "wildmatt" pebbled buttons.
The planning, programming and budgeting aspect of my wretched soul makes me wonder how many little gnomes with brown shirts in the big RZM building in Muenchen were engaged each day in the theology of Pfeifenschuerchen?
Where is the table of organization of the RZM, as well as a register of said personnel strength?
Finally, the SS does not appear frequently in these extracts.
Once more, to beat what I consider to be a very dead horse, here is an article--an essay, really-- entitled "what is regulation?" on the range of the possible in so called Extrakleidung or Eigentumskleidung, in which the potentialities of fashion and taste played far more prominent a role, apparently, than our wizened old gun show savants would allow in their posts. The latter have no comprehension of what Clausewitz and his successors called "freedom in obedience," an idea I shall not elucidate here.
These articles on such freedom in obedience within the span of army regulations on personal clothing are quite the eye opener.
Since Mr. Chris Stonemint has an advertising tick, here is another example of the omnibus advert of the era 1936 that these leading cap makers launched in UM. The advert presence of Lubstein is by no means as strong as either that of Kupper or Wagner.
Re: Muetzenfabrik
.
) doctoral thesis!
by Friedrich-Berthold
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