Contemporary Egyptian Migration: An Overview of Voluntary and ...
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Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres
- cours - matière potentielle : the nile
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- major determinant of the spatial distribution of population
- kind of ‘natural response
- economic impact of migration
- research papers
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Der Zug Sample Article Number 2Copyright www.grossdeutschland.com
Enlisted Men’s Collar Insignia:The History Behind the“Litzen”by Brian Bell
AsWWII re-enactors we oftennew style in art that was called Em-take for granted the insignia that arepire style. worn on our uniforms.We oftenThe development of the double see these items as something thatbar collar insignia closely parallels needs to be presentthat of the heraldic eagle. He-in order to lookraldic eagles have for a long proper and histori-time been the emblems of cally correct.Little Europeancountries such as do we often knowRussia, Austria, and Prussia. about the history ofIn 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte, these insigniaunder the throne of the new whether it be theirempire, declared the “the designs, color varia-realm of the eagle'“. Along tions, and reasonswith this declaration came for being worn. Notvarious forms of heraldic knowing the answersymbols directly acquired or often means weadopted from ancient Roman cannot answer anyheraldry. Sinceno European questions aboutcountry since the time of the them if asked byRoman Empire had acquired someone passingthe power and might that through our lagerFrance did (camp) at a publicunder Na-event. Oneof thepoleon, the items I have beenuse of such asked about moresymbolism Prussian Line Infantry than any other is thebecame collar litzen we allwide-wear on our tunics.This article willspread among deal with the history of the “litzen”many armies and how they became a prominentwho were influ-part of the enlisted man’s uniform.enced by Aswith all military insignia, theFrance’s military double bar insignia worn on thevictories. Infact collar of every infantryman’s tunicit was Napoleon (including officers) has a long his-who proclaimed tory of development.The birth ofhis country to be the litzen can be traced as far backthe heir of the as the Roman Empire.During thegreat Roman days of early civilization, the Ro-Empire. man Empire played a significantLike other and influential role in shaping thecountries, the culture of central Europe (and spe-early Prussian cifically Germania). Roman mili-military was tary symbols became an inseparablegreatly influ-part of the ornamental motifs of theenced by the
weapons, uniforms, and tactics em-ployed by the French. In this era of military history, it was common for armies to adopt similar styles of military clothing.For the Prussian army, this included the creation and use of a variety of laces that were used to enhance the appearance of military uniforms.In many armies it was common to use cloth or me-tallic lace around the collars of uni-forms. Uniqueor distinct guard units often received the most detail when it came to uniform design. The level of uniform quality made the men who served in these units “elite” in the sense that they often hand the best training and also the best uniforms. Duringthe 19th and the early part of the 20th Centuries (prior to the First World War) the military as a profession was considered a pres-tigious enterprise. There was no greater reflection of this prestige than the uniforms of the various
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men who wore uniforms decorated with this type of lace.While officers were generally entitled to wear a higher quality version of the litzen, during the early days of armed forces. One might even sur-the Prussian military the mise that before the advent of use of this insignia was modern sports that the men in mili-permitted only for wear tary service of their country might by enlisted men who be considered the "team" that rep-served in prestigious guard units. resented national, regional, or local DuringWWI the collar litzen pride. In Europe most large com-slowly began to appear on field uni-munities had "Honor Guards" forms of the common infantryman. made up of societies finest who While not widespread, its use by would don their fancy if impracti-selected military states serving under cal uniforms for ceremonial occa-the Kaiser’s combined military can sions and to escort visiting digni-often be seen in use during the latter taries. Following the Napoleonic part of the conflict.Following Ger-Wars military fash-many’s defeat in ion was at its peak WWI, the collar as the combatants litzen was aban-and their heirs on all doned by not for-sides of the conflicts gotten altogether. relived and reveled Military traditions in their past glories. inspired by the Duringthe height Prussian army of this time in mili-under the direc-tary fashion the tion of officers Prussian army who helped re-adopted the litzen as build Germany’s a standard form of military during uniform decoration the 1920’s and for use on tunics 1930’s inspired worn by guard units. the resurgence of The actual design of military tradition. the litzen can be Roman columns like the onesThese men rein-traced back to the shown above are the inspiration troduced the in-image of the Roman for the design of the collar litzen. signia for wear on stone column.In both officer’s and Roman architecture, enlisted men’s uniforms of the as well as military structures, the Reichswehr. Duringthis time many stone column represented the no-enlisted men wore high quality offi-tion of “strength and solidarity”. cer’s grade insignia that differed The double bared litzen insignia is from those used during WWII. actually a modified form of the WhenHitler assumed control image of the Roman column over Germany in 1934 and estab-placed on its side and slightly an-lished the Wehrmacht as the com-gled for appeal.Worn on either bined military forces of Germany, he side of the collar, this image car-continued to permit the collar litzen ried the message of strength for the
to be used on the uniforms of both officers and enlisted men. Afterbeing redesigned for mod-ern appeal, collar litzen worn by enlisted men took the form of a stylized and angled litzen similar to those used in early Prussian uni-forms of the 19th Century.These new litzen were slightly smaller that previous examples with the addition of having colored high-lights denoting army branch of ser-vice (waffenfarbe).The new collar litzen had five basic components which included the: Dopplelitze: Thisportion of the insignia contained the main hori-zontal bars angled slightly to the rear both top and bottom.The en-tire insignia was produced by a ma-chine woven process on a continu-ous strip of woven material.The Dopplelitze were produced in a va-riety of colors starting with white (1934-1936) and quickly moving to shades of dull gray (1936-1945) often referred to as “mouse gray“. The dopplelitze was generally pro-duced in artificial rayon silk but can also be found in cotton. Kragenpatte: Thiswas the bottle green wool backing to which the Dopplelitze was sewn.The color of the wool varied from very dark
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green to field gray depending on the maker and time period in which they were constructed.The back-ing was supported by a glue treated burlap fabric.Beginning as early as 1939 the Dopplelitzen was often sewn directly to the uniform collar without the Kragenpatte backing. This practice became the standard about 1941 although many insignia with dark green backings contin-ued to be used from old stocks through May 1945. Mittelstreife: Thewide stripe in the center of the two parallel Dop-plelitze. Thisstripe was generally the same color as the Kragenpatte backing. Howeverit could also be found in black, green, or mouse gray colors for all branches of ser-vice. Thecolor remained consis-tent and did not change from one branch of service to another. Litzenspiegel: Thesewere the center lines running down the mid-dle of each of the main bars.The woven lines or “lights” as they were termed by many soldiers were different in color from one service branch to another.White was the color that denoted infantry.In an effort to standardize supply and transfer of men and material be-tween various branches of the army, beginning in 1941 many litzen were produced in mouse gray color without branch waffen-farbe. Theseinsignia were “universal” in nature and made it more efficient to transfer men from one unit to the next without the need for changing collar insignia or re-issuing a new uniform. Thefirst pattern of collar litzen issued as part of the new insignia introduced in 1934 was a version that was white or light gray in color with black or dark green
Fig. 1:Litzen with Cloth Backing (Dark Green Universal Stripes)
Hand Sewn Tack Down Points (same on right side)
Right Collar Example
Machine Sewn (straight stitch same on top)
Fig. 2:Litzen with Cloth Backing (White Infantry Stripes)
Tack Down Points (same on right side)
Right Collar Example
Machine Sewn (straight stitch same on top)
Folding Technique on Backside of Litzen
litzenspiegel and mittelstreife.This was soon changed to a light gray color with a dark black or green center stripe with litzenspeigel “lights” in the correct branch color for the wearer.These early ver-sions were sewn to the kragenpatte backing directly to the uniform col-lar. Asthe war progressed, the use of the kragenpatte backing was eliminated and the litzen were sewn directly to the uniform collar.In
addition these mid– to late-pattern insignia were generally mouse gray in color with dark green litzen-speigel and mittelstreife.The last type of litzen elminated the dark green portions of the insignia mak-ing the entire litzen appear uni-formly gray in color. Therewere several different methods by which litzen were sewn to a
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to a tunic.In most cases, all the in-signia was applied directly at the factory prior to delivery to supply center’s and military warehouses or bases. Thefollowing methods were used to apply the insignia to the col-lar: Litzen with Kragenpatte: Litzen with backing were applied directly to the collar as a single patch using machine straight stitch all around the rectangular patch.The litzen itself was applied to the kragenpatte in a technique the employed both hand tacking and machine straight stitch (see Figure 1).The exact process was the same when the litzen was sewn without the backing cloth as described below.In some cases, the litzen was applied to the kragenpatte by machine sewing all around the insignia in straight stitch. However, this is not as common as the technique that used both hand and machine stitching. Litzen without Kragenpatte: In many cases the litzen was applied directly to the collar.This was done in an effort to shorten the production time of uniform manufacture and also to save on wartime materials. The process involved cutting a right and left side litzen from a manufac-turer’s roll.The angle of the cut determined which insignia was to be applied to the right or left side of the collar. Theedges of the insignia were folded under as well as the inside corners.In many cases the strings on top and bottom of the backside of the litzen were also re-moved (see Figure 2).These were generally steam pressed into shape to initially form the material in the proper shape.Because original litzen are made of artificial rayon silk, the steam pressing was suffi-cient to hold the material in shape while sewing.Reproduction litzen
are made of cotton and this requiresthe collar.This technique mirrored additional steam pressing in orderthat used on late war eagle insignia to get them to hold their properapplied to the right breast of the shape upon application.When thefield combat tunic.Its important to insignia was ready to be sewn tonote that as re-enactors we should the collar, it was positioned withdo our best to replicate the actual the top front edge angled back-techniques used in the manufacture wards. Someinsignia can be seenof our reproduction uniforms. where this was not done at all.Litzen were not hand sewn to the These variations are due to the ap-collar but machine sewn (or a com-plication technique of the workerbination of the two) as already de-employed in the process of apply-scribed. ing the insignia.In general, theIn summary, a few final notes insignia was designed to have anregarding collar litzen are worth angular look rather than beingmentioning. Manywartime tunics straight or blocked on the ends.saw service through May 1945 with When positioned correctly, thepre-1939 types of litzen applied.In litzen wasaddition, hand manytunics tacked receivedsur-using grayplus stocks silk threadof insignia on thewhich re-front andsulted in rear sideslitzen with as well askragenplatte corners. backingsbe-Then theing applied insignia tofield gray A factory roll of uncut collar litzen. was ma-collars that chine werenot bot-sewn in the same thread colortle green as found on the M36 tunic. down the top and bottom insideAs one can clearly see from war-edges. Thissewing technique mir-time photos, a variety of uniforms rored that used in the Prussian uni-and insignia variations were used forms of the 19th Century and pro-throughout the war.While all of vided the proper look intended forthem were made with the same the litzen. As one might imagine,standards, it is clear that in a war-the extra steps needed in this proc-time economy many expected stan-ess took additional time and wasdards are not held to as a result of soon eliminated.When needs dic-shortages and the need to expedite tated, the litzen was properlyproduction. folded as previously described andNow that you know the history then machine straight stitched allbehind the litzen that you wear on around the outer edges.Most lateyour collar, the next time you are war tunics show this form of expe-asked to describe what the insignia dient application.While not asmeans you will have a better under-common as the techniques de-standing of how to explain the scribed here, in some cases litzenlitzen and its place in German uni-were machine “zig-zag” stitched allform history! around the outer edges directly to
