Huet made Binoculars

[BILLG128]

Hello,
I'm hoping someone can give me information about these binoculars. They are marked "HUET Paris" but they are alsoe marked "Dienstglas" which is German for "service glasses". Why did the French make binoculars for the germans? Where they forced to? Did they freely collaborate? Where these made for use by the Afrika Corps? If not, why are they tan? Why are some cases bakelite while others like mine have a denim-like cloth covering. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Bill

BTW I bought these yesterday at an estate sale for $85 but their value isn't that important to me I like knowing about that period items.

[lebus12]

Hello, during the "visit" of German Army, Huet made there material High Quality....

[Willmore]

Hi Bill.

I have had a search and a lot come up for sale, but I couldn't find much actual information about them.

Huet 7x50 "Dienstglas" Monokular / Monocular

MiniatureBinoculars.com

The French factories would have come under the control of the Germans after the occupation. Local industry, resources and people would have been utilised to help supply and equip the German forces. Whether this 'help' was imposed on the natives, or they did it willingly for profit, I don't know.

As for the tan colour, this can be seen on many items of German equipment and was done both in the factories and in the field. It was also not just the Afrika Korp that would have used tan painted equipment.

I would hazard a guess that variations in the cases was caused due to the availability of raw materials that were used to construct them, or different factories used different materials/construction methods.

I hope this helps in some way.

Kind regards,

Will.

[BlackCat1982]

A nice pair of dienstglas for an excellent price also.

[BILLG128]

Thanks to all especially Will

[JohnB1945]

Bill,

Congrats on the binoculars and for the price you paid.. quite a bargain.

As Will mentioned, the Huet factory in Paris would have fallen under control of the Germans when they invaded France in May of 1940.

Early in the war, the Germans began omitting the manufacturer’s mark/emblems on their military-use binoculars and replaced them with a three-letter code.

The code for Huet was “lww”.

Your binoculars still have the Huet maker’s mark, so I’m curious when they were manufactured.
From what I’ve read previously, as of Jan. 1st 1941, the three-letter codes were mandatory.

So.. the binoculars would have thus been manufactured second half of 1941?
Or did this not apply to items made in France?

Not sure. Maybe the many experts here can assist.

JB