Figure 1.-- Emil wears a variety of clothes. Here he is in his Hitler Youth uniform which he brought with him to America. It seems to be a fairly accurate depiction of the actual uniform, except he wears the NAZI armband, bit the HJ armbnd.

Emil wears a variety of costumes. Most notable is his Hitler Youth uniform, but with black kneesocks.. He also wears a black knicker suit, white shirt, and tie with black stockings and rather high buttoning shoes. The Hitler Youth uniform in the play seems basically authentic. It includes a brown shirt, black short pants, and black shoes with a Hitler Youth belt buckle. As in the play he wears a necktie rather than kerchief. [HBC has noted HJ boys wearing neckties in the early years, but the kerchief was much more common.] His HJ arm band was the red band and black swasastika in a white type as worn by the SA and SS. It is not the Hitler Youth arm band with the square swasastika and white stripe. In the movie Emil wears a kneckerchief. At school, the boys where typical 1940s American boys clothes, long sleeved sports shirts, and long trousers. Emil after the early scene in knickers wears thesame long pants outfits. The boys also appear in rather full cut suits or sports jackets with long trousers. None of the boys wear shorts. One Scout wears the knickers uniform, which the Boy Scout Association by 1944 had phased out. Some Scouts presumably still wore the old knickers uniform.

Knickers Suit

The first shot shows Emil just after he arrives in America--wearing a dark knicker suit, white shirt and tie, black hosiery, and high-button shoes. I am not sure if he is wearing kneesocks or long stockings. The dark knicker suit is not especially accurate for a German boy of 12 or 13 in the 1940s although some German school boys may indeed have worn knicker suits. Most of our HBC images show German boys of that age wearing short trousers rather than knickers--either with knee socks or long stockings. Emil's knicker suit seems to be somewhat influenced by conservative American fashions of that period in which dark suits were popular, although knickes were going out of style by 1944. We have seen European boys wearing dark suits, both short pants and knicker suits for confirmation, so the suit is not completely inaccurate.

Hitler Youth Uniform

Most notable is Emil's Hitler Youth uniform, but with black kneesocks. The Hitler Youth uniform in the play seems basically authentic. It includes a brown shirt, black short pants, and black shoes with a Hitler Youth belt buckle. As in the play he werars a necktie rather than kerchief. [HBC has noted HJ boys wearing neckties in the early years, but the kerchief was much more common.] His HJ arm band was the red band and black swasastika in a white type as worn by the SA and SS. It is not the Hitler Youth arm band with the square swasastika and white stripe. In the movie Emil wears a kneckerchief. Also we have not noted German boys wearing black kneesocks with their inigorm, even thought the short pants were black. More common were grey kneesocks and occassionaly for dress occassions, white kneesocks.

Long Pants Suit

Emil after he has begun to dress like American boys wears a long trouser suit and other long trouser outfits. The American jacket and long trousers worn with a white open-necked shirt do seem more in keeping with actual clothing styles of the 1940s in America, although Emil, even when he is dressed like an American boy, seems to dress a bit more formally than his fellow students in school. Of course the exaggerated formality is part of characterization of Emil, who is portrayed as much more rigid in every way than his American coeqals. It also seems an accurate depiction as German boys at the time did dress somewhat more formally at school than more casual American boys.

Other Boys

At school, the boys where typical 1940s American boys clothes, long sleeved sports shirts, and long trousers. Emil after the early scene in knickers wears the same long pants outfits. The boys also appear in rather full cut suits or sports jackets with long trousers. None of the boys wear shorts. One Scout wears the knickers uniform, which the Boy Scout Association by 1944 had phased out. Some Scouts presumably still wore the old knickers uniform.

Created: 10:38 PM 9/19/2006
Last updated: 1:14 AM 9/23/2006