# Nice Nazi Uniform! You Really Like It? It's Hugo Boss! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 24, 2007, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802 "2007-10-24T10:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/1 "2007-10-24T10:58:22Z")
I was listening to a history podcast and the host mentioned that Hugo Boss made SS uniforms. You know, it’s a strange thing, sort of like priestly vestiments, in that I never once thought about who must have made the uniforms for the them, or that the company might still be around (much less a top fashion company). You just sort of expect that the folks are born with the outfits or something. Anyway, [here’s the NYT piece which broke the story.](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E4DF153FF936A2575BC0A961958260) (Way back in 1997, I might add.) > [@](#): > > 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.’’ ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/2 "2007-10-24T11:28:32Z")
So what? Most companies in Germany during 1933-1945 probably made things for the government (Nazis). GM made cars there, and some of their factories were eventually making parts for Tiger tanks. IBM-Germany made the calculating machines that were used to keep the records in the concentration camps. Even the Zyklon B gas used in the camps was made by a subsidiary of IG Farben, who also makes Bayer aspirin. There’s nothing very unusual about this. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/3 "2007-10-24T12:19:56Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Even the Zyklon B gas used in the camps was made by a subsidiary of IG Farben, who also makes Bayer aspirin. [/QUOTE] Which they could have justified for it’s intended purpose as bug-killer, but the Nazis specifically requested their order be prepared without the indicator (the warning order that’s added to potentially lethal substances). I G Farben filled the order without question, or more specificaly, asking a lot of questions among themselves, then agreeing for their own sake to discuss it no further. So long as Hugo Boss didn’t employ slave labor to produce the uniforms, they are off the hook morally. (But I wonder if they added a special charcoal filter in the seat of Hitler’s pants, and since he only had one testicle, didn’t have to alter them according to which side he “dressed.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/4 "2007-10-24T14:16:24Z")
Figures. The uniforms were generally very sharp-looking, although the SS “death’s head” [emblem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_SS_Division_Totenkopf) was a _little_ over the top. [QUOTE=Slithy Tove] So long as Hugo Boss didn’t employ slave labor to produce the uniforms, they are off the hook morally. [/QUOTE] I disagree. Conventional workplaces (not using slave labor) were arguably less egregious in their profiteering and less cooperative with the regime, but any firm signing government contracts – and especially those involving anything directly involved with the war effort – after Hitler’s rise to power shared moral culpability for Nazi aggression, IMHO. I doubt many large German firms were free of the slave labor taint, however. The Germans exploited millions of slave laborers, both inside German borders and for _in situ_ labor in the occupied territories. Notably, two million slaves were transported from France to Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/5 "2007-10-24T14:20:34Z")
Okay, so the Nazis were the bad guys. Well, that’s just 20-20 hindsight, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/6 "2007-10-24T14:28:44Z")
I say big whoop. Lots of modern brand names - Volkswagen, Porsche and Mitsubishi just to name three - have ties with the losers/bad guys in WWII. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/7 "2007-10-24T14:37:11Z")
Nazis should have been naked? They had to get their clothes from somewhere. We get our clothes from some third world countries that have shameful work practices, not excluding slave labor. I read an article a few months ago about the “Made in America” label and how that refers to an offshore island where slave labor is common practice. (name of island escapes me at present). I don’t get it. If it turns out that Hugo Boss was an anti-semitic jerk, then don’t buy suits from the company anymore. The Volkswagen and the Autobahn are both great inventions–should we not use them because of their history? Isn’t taking over enemy technology and equipment a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/8 "2007-10-24T14:38:56Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Okay, so the Nazis were the bad guys. Well, that’s just 20-20 hindsight, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] No, not at all. The Nazis were known to be evil at the time, but even moral people have numerous (legitimate and flaky) reasons to not confront evil. After all, we know the Chinese regime is evil, but all sorts of “Not be Evil” companies bend over backwards to cut deals with them. You have to wonder how history will judge us for ignoring what is obviously true ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/9 "2007-10-24T14:40:38Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Okay, so the Nazis were the bad guys. Well, that’s just 20-20 hindsight, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] Not entirely, given the transparency of Hitler’s long-term goals in his public utterances and in his memoir, Mein Kamf, the street thuggery and political intimidation tactics characteristic of the young Nazi movement, and the fact that any significant military buildup would be in defiance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles ending WWI – particularly given that Germany had unlawfully suspended payments on its war reparations in 1931. Sure, from the supplier’s P.O.V., it may or may not have been readily apparent what the aim of the government was, depending on your business and the terms of your contracts. But some of these firms had blinkers on, as exemplified in **Slithy Tove** ’s post on I.G. Farben. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/10 "2007-10-24T15:45:56Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Nazis should have been naked? They had to get their clothes from somewhere. We get our clothes from some third world countries that have shameful work practices, not excluding slave labor. I read an article a few months ago about the “Made in America” label and how that refers to an offshore island where slave labor is common practice. (name of island escapes me at present). [/QUOTE] Northern Marianas, I believe. Jack Abramoff lobbied on their behalf. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/11 "2007-10-24T16:05:57Z")
Every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/12 "2007-10-24T16:25:04Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] Figures. The uniforms were generally very sharp-looking, although the SS “death’s head” [emblem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_SS_Division_Totenkopf) was a _little_ over the top. [/QUOTE] Can’t blame the Nazis for that, either: the Death’s Head Hussars were part of the Kingdom of Prussia’s army that fought in the Napoleonic Wars, and were still around in [World War One](http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/graphics/ww_mackensen_01.jpg) cite: [Brassey’s Book of Uniforms (1998)](http://www.amazon.com/Brasseys-Book-Uniforms-Tim-Newark/dp/1857532430/ref=sr_1_7/103-1403516-7605446?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193241950&sr=1-7) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/13 "2007-10-24T20:25:28Z")
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove] So long as Hugo Boss didn’t employ slave labor to produce the uniforms, they are off the hook morally. (But I wonder if they added a special charcoal filter in the seat of Hitler’s pants, and since he only had one testicle, didn’t have to alter them according to which side he “dressed.” [/QUOTE] It appears they _did_ use slave labor > [@](#): > > Hugo Boss founded the textile factory in 1923, Ms. Steilen said. He joined the Nazi Party in 1931, and two years later, began manufacturing Nazi uniforms. Production continued throughout the war, and according to Profil, the company brought forced laborers from Poland and France to its factory to increase output in the later years. And I’ll note that I put this in MPSIMS and _not_ the Pit or anything, because I found it interesting. There _are_ people who refuse to buy products made by certain German companies because of what they did during the war. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/14 "2007-10-24T20:38:22Z")
[Quote=eleanorigby] I read an article a few months ago about the “Made in America” label and how that refers to an offshore island where slave labor is common practice. (name of island escapes me at present). [/Quote] [QUOTE=Great Dave] Northern Marianas, I believe. Jack Abramoff lobbied on their behalf. [/QUOTE] Specifically, the island of [Saipan](http://www.cleanclothes.org/legal/04-01-08.htm), which is the largest of the fourteen islands in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-nazi-uniform-you-really-like-it-its-hugo-boss/423802/15 "2007-10-24T20:41:07Z")
**Paul in Saudi** , **The Scrivener** … Whoosh!