Bearded Soldiers

Discussions on High Command, strategy and the Armed Forces (Wehrmacht) in general.
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sylvieK4
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Bearded Soldiers

#1

Post by sylvieK4 » 28 Jul 2002, 17:24

Most of us have seen photos of sailors and officers of the Kriegsmarine sporting full beards during the war, and occasionally men in ground forces as well, but these seem to have been fewer of the latter.

During the First World War, many more German soldiers appeared wearing beards and/ or moustaches, but during the Second World War, many more men appear in photos as clean shaven.

Did the any of the armed forces of the Third Reich have policies about facial hair? Were beards allowed for men of the Kriegsmarine or Heer, but not those in the SS, for example?

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Kurasier
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#2

Post by Kurasier » 28 Jul 2002, 17:52

Hi,
I read that, only the U-Boat Sailors were allowed to have beards.
The other thing is that the gasmasks don't "work" if you have a beard.

Christoph


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Christian Ankerstjerne
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#3

Post by Christian Ankerstjerne » 28 Jul 2002, 19:09

Also, you're less likely to get lice, etc. at sea than at land - and when you're in hand-to-hand fighting, you don't want your opponent to be able to yank your beard...

Christian

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Christoph Awender
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beards...

#4

Post by Christoph Awender » 28 Jul 2002, 22:55

Hello!

Basically no beards were allowed and the soldier had to shave as soon as possible after marching, fighting and so on. Mustaches were allowed in some units (it was up to the unit commander) and of course you know the U-Boot crews (don´t know if there was a official permission)
And of course von Mackensen was an exception also... :wink:

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Gott
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#5

Post by Gott » 29 Jul 2002, 23:37

my grandfather said they were not allow to have beards in the Luftwaffe. Maybe because he wouldn't be able to wear all those headgears since he was a fighter pilot.

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Erich
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hair ?

#6

Post by Erich » 29 Jul 2002, 23:50

He would not have had the clearance in the oxygen mask, plus the possible freezing of the facial hair at high altitude during a bail out in winter.

facial hair was seen on several offiziers in the Alpine units.....

E

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Gott
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#7

Post by Gott » 29 Jul 2002, 23:54

Yeah, he bailed out many times, so he should know.

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#8

Post by Caldric » 30 Jul 2002, 00:49

I would imagine the submarine saliors had no choice, fresh water is a prize on a submarine. I have never shaved in salt water, but for some reason it does not sound like a good idea. Dry shaving without any water is about as tempting as sliding down sandpaper .

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Mountain Troops Beards

#9

Post by JLEES » 30 Jul 2002, 02:50

Erich is correct! Here's a W. Willrich postcard with General Ringel on it with a beard. I've got other German WWII cards with mountain troops having beards.
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TL
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Bearded Uboot crewmen...

#10

Post by TL » 30 Jul 2002, 11:12

Hello guys,

Michael Gannon in his book Black May states that the commander of U-515 Kplt. Werner Henke was one of the few U-boat commanders that did not allow the men to have beards; who the other commanders were and why they did not tolerate facial hair is not explained by Gannon.

Cheers,

TL

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Penn44
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#11

Post by Penn44 » 01 Mar 2004, 20:31

My understanding is that the "Hitler mustache" actually originated with the British. For example, Charlie Chaplain wore one.

One of Hitler's front teeth was reportedly darkened and he may have wore the mustache to help conceal or distract away from that.


Penn44

CHRISCHA
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#12

Post by CHRISCHA » 01 Mar 2004, 20:47

Further to the comment about facial hair during WW1, it was actually discouraged to stop lice. As facial hair was a major fashion accessory at the time, most soldiers kept it.

I think a shaved head was mandatory at the front, but have no facts about this.

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rh_LiteVixeN
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#13

Post by rh_LiteVixeN » 01 Mar 2004, 22:49

Would some soldiers have grown beards if they didn't have time to shave for a week?

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Christoph Awender
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#14

Post by Christoph Awender » 01 Mar 2004, 23:07

CHRISCHA wrote:I think a shaved head was mandatory at the front, but have no facts about this.
Well, you can get the facts yourself. Look at any photo where soldiers don´t wear headgear.

rh_LiteVixeN, I strongly believe they got a beard when not shaving. :wink:

\Christoph

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#15

Post by CHRISCHA » 02 Mar 2004, 14:28

Christoph Awender wrote:
CHRISCHA wrote:I think a shaved head was mandatory at the front, but have no facts about this.
Well, you can get the facts yourself. Look at any photo where soldiers don´t wear headgear.

rh_LiteVixeN, I strongly believe they got a beard when not shaving. :wink:

\Christoph
Sorry, what I mean is a shaved head was mandatory at the front with lice infestations.

I ahve a few photos from WW1, but no hatless.

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