For years, stories have circulated that the designer of the infamous black SS uniform was none other than Hugo Boss. But how much truth is there to this, and what role did this clothing brand actually play in World War II?
Pre-War History
Hugo Ferdinand Boss was born in Metzingen in the Kingdom of Württemberg as the youngest of five children to Luise (née Münzenmayer) and Heinrich Boss. He trained as a merchant, completed his military service from 1903-1905, and then worked in a weaving factory in Constance.
After World War I, Hugo Boss, then 33, took over his parents’ clothing store in Metzingen, Germany, and in 1922 registered it as an industrial goods manufacturer. Two years later, he founded a factory for workwear together with two partners, Albert and Theodor Bräuchle. The company produced basic shirts, jackets, workwear, sportswear, and raincoats. Like nearly every business of that time, the global economic crisis following the 1929 New York Stock Exchange crash affected Hugo Boss. The company initially had to cut staff by a quarter and, in 1931, even declared bankruptcy. All that remained for Hugo Boss were six sewing machines, with which he attempted to rebuild his business.
Work for the Nazis
In 1931, Hugo Ferdinand Boss became a member of the Nazi Party. Available sources suggest that he was not an ardent supporter of Hitler but, like many Germans at the time, wanted to believe that the Nazi Party could lift the country out of its severe economic crisis (in 1932, nearly 45% of Germans were unemployed). As a pragmatic businessman, he realized that party membership might provide better access to government contracts. Like almost every German entrepreneur of that time, he worked for whoever was ordering and paying.
Indeed, after joining the party, he began receiving orders to produce clothing for the Nazi Party and its organizations, which helped him stabilize the company and significantly increased its revenue. The company became a licensed supplier of uniforms for the Sturmabteilung (SA), Schutzstaffel (SS), Wehrmacht, Hitler Youth, the National Socialist Motor Corps, and other party organizations. Hugo Boss was one of the first manufacturers of the brown SA shirts and later produced other components. However, at that time, he was just one of many smaller manufacturers involved in producing Nazi uniforms.
Did Hugo Boss Design the SS Black Uniforms? No
Despite widespread rumors, Hugo Boss was not the designer of the infamous black SS uniforms. The designers were actually two other SS members: artist Karl Diebitsch and graphic designer Walter Heck. However, Hugo Boss was among the companies that ultimately manufactured these black uniforms for the SS.
Post-War Era
Due to his early membership in the Nazi Party, financial support of the SS, and supply of uniforms to the Nazi Party, Hugo Ferdinand Boss was considered an “activist” and a “supporter and beneficiary of National Socialism” after the war. A court ruling in 1946 stripped him of his voting rights, business license, and imposed a “very high fine” of 100,000 Reichsmarks, although this was later reduced. Hugo Ferdinand Boss appealed the court’s decision and was ultimately classified as a “follower,” a lower category that meant he was not considered an active propagandist of National Socialism.
Hugo Ferdinand Boss died in 1948, but his company survived. His son Siegfried Boss, along with Eugen Holy, took over the company’s leadership. Initially, production focused on uniforms for the French army and Red Cross, then on uniforms for postal workers, railway workers, and police. In 1950, the company received its first order for men’s suits, which led to an increase in employees to 150 by the end of the year. Hugo Boss men’s suits first appeared on the market in 1953.
In 1999, Hugo Boss agreed to pay into a fund for reparations for forced labor used during World War II.
In Conclusion
Difficult times pose difficult questions to those living through them. Many of these questions cannot be answered unequivocally in hindsight, nor can they be easily condemned. Actions and behaviors of individuals and companies can be evaluated in retrospect, but it is preferable to do so with an understanding of historical and socio-economic contexts. Additionally, it’s easy to fall into one of the common cognitive biases: the tendency to view past events as predictable, even though, at the time, they were not.
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