Figure 1.--This class photograph was taken in 1948. Obly a few boys wore lederhosen which is a little surprising because several boys wore Bavarian-style jackets. This was a 3rd year class with boys about 9 years old. Notice the boys are no longer wearing sailor suits.

Lederhosen continued to be popular in the 1940s. Leather was a critical commodity during World war II, especially for the Germans who relied on horses as draft animals. By the later stages of the World War II, especially by 1944. Lederhosen were very difficult to obtain as leather became hard to get. Of course, Lederhosen were hard wearing and durable so there were still plenty in circulation. The Allied bombing in 1944-45 devestated German cities creating problems with both production and transportation. By the end of the War in 1945 lederhosen and other leather products were virtually impossible to obtain. Immediately after World War II, lederhosen were no longer readiably available in Austria and Germany. There was a clothing shortage as the industrial base of Germany had been destoyed. Leather was in especially short supply, notice the number of boys going barefoot in this period. That's why many boys were still wearing the black corduroy shorts that were part of their uniform in the Hitler Jugend until other trousers (including lederhosen) became available. Conditions did not begin to improve signifianly until 1948. Some class photographs show only a few boys wearing lederhosen. Some boys wearing halters were not necesarily wearing lederhosen. We see boys wearing Lederhosen to school and for play during the 1940s. We are not sure how common they were for boys' dressing up. Here one boy wears a suit jacket with Lederson while another boy wears what looks like a casual shirt.

Popularity

Lederhosen continued to be popular in the 1940s. As far as we can tell, Lederhosen increased in popularity during the 1940s, although prevalence was affected by the lack of availability and the buying power of German parents. We believe that during the 1940sm Lederhosen were still largely confined to Bavaria and not very common un the rest of Germany.

Availability

Leather was a critical commodity during World War II, especially for the Germans who relied on horses as draft animals. By the later stages of the World War II, especially by 1944. lederhosen were very difficult to obtain as leather became hard to get. Of ourse, Lederhosen were hard wearing and durable so there were still plenty in circulation. The Allied bombing in 1944-45 devestated German cities creating problems with both production and transportation. By the end of the War in 1945 lederhosen and other leather products were virtually impossible to obtain. Immediately after World War II, lederhosen were no longer readiably available in Austria and Germany. There was a clothing shortage as the industrial base of Germany had been destoyed. Leather was in especially short supply, notice the number of boys going barefoot in this period. That's why many boys were still wearing the black corduroy shorts that were part of their uniform in the Hitler Jugend until other trousers (including Lederhosen) became available in the post-War period. Conditions did not begin to improve signifianly until 1948.

Conventions

We have begun to collect informations about the the conventions associated with Lederhosen during the 1940s. Class photographs show boys wearing lederhosen. Assessing the school photoigraphs can be difficult. Often you can not see the pants that the boys are wearing. Some boys wearing halters may look mlike they are wearing Lederhosen, but were not necesarily wearing Lederhosen. In fact, as far as we can tell, the boys often as not were not wearing Lederhosen with these haltars. We see boys wearing Lederhosen to school. This can be assessed by looking at the German 1940s school pages. We believe that Lederhosen by the 1940s had begun more than a regional Bavarian style. We also see boys wearing Lederhosen for play. We suspect that Lederhosen were not pants that boys commonly changed when they came home from school. And we note many snapshots showing younger boys wearing Lederhosen for play and older boys wearing for casual wear. We are not sure how common they were for boys' dressing up with suit jackets. Here one boy wears a suit jackets with Lederson while another boy wears what looks like a casual shirt. These colored checked shirts seem to have become populasr with Lederhosen after the War, both for schoolwear and casual wear.

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Created: December 3, 2003
Last updated: 8:57 PM 6/21/2022