Design and Corruption
The Nazi Party is known for having a very strong visual identity with a clear set of guidelines. Unfortunately, the brand identity of the party is incredibly strong. Whilst incredibly bad for society, the designs were an interesting piece of design.
Hugo Boss was given the task of designing and creating uniforms for the Nazi party in 1931. Not long after the end of WWII, Boss declared that he only took it on to pay the bills. But after the initial success, Boss was given the task of making the uniforms for the armed forces and by 1940 were making near 1000000 Reichsmark (Llyons, 2017).
Soon, the uniforms were made from the forced labour of 180 people, mainly women who were treated terribly.
“In the barracks there were lice and fleas.”-Jan Kondak, Boss factory slave, 1942–1945
Whilst there were people going hungry in the factory, Boss also became a sponsoring member of the SS and gave them monthly donations.
It’s clear there was corruption involved in the case of Hugo Boss and the Nazi Party. Despite trying to initially deny any sympathy for Hitler and the Nazis, Boss was soon outed as a member of the party and removed from the company. However, the company only tried to make amends by paying into a fund for victims of slave labour in 1999.
“It is clear that Hugo F Boss did not only join the party because it led to contracts for uniform production, but also because he was a follower of National Socialism,” — Roman Koester, economic historian at Bundeswehr, University in Munich
However, the company still kept its popularity and is one of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world today. There is no doubt that Hugo Boss would not be a successful brand like it is today had it not been for the Nazi party. Although it has been many years, ethically this raises the question of whether or not they should be supported as a company. Ultimately it’s down to the individual to decide where they draw the line.
BBC News. (2011). Hugo Boss apology for Nazi past. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15008682 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2018].
Lyons, J. (2018). Was Hugo Boss Hitler’s Tailor?. [online] WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Available at: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/hugo-boss-hitlers-tailor.html [Accessed 8 Nov. 2018].
Paoletti, G. (2017). 7 Popular Brands That Owe Some Of Their Current Success To Their Nazi Ties. [online] All That’s Interesting. Available at: https://allthatsinteresting.com/major-brands-nazi-collaborators/4 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2018].
