This is not a traditional German costume, but Sunday clothing from northern North Rhine-Westphalia. The man is holding a Steinhäger schnapps bottle (also sold under the name Schinkenhäger) made of earthenware. The town Steinhagen, where the schnapps is produced, is not far from Bielefeld, so the clothes should come from this room.These ceramic schnapps bottles are also traditionally used for jenever (in the Netherlands). The womans clothing is closest in style to those in the eastern parts of Saxony but looks like both outfits were reinterpretations and maybe even custom made for this occasion. The mans clothing looks like a traditional sorbish mens church going outfit. The style fits somehow, but the colors are off. Traditionally the long coat was blue and the vest usually red. The collar (of the coat. The shirts collar looks way off) and buttons are on point, but buttons on the sleeves are missing and there's not visible of any pockets on the picture. The cylinder top hat was usually but not always reserved for more festive occasions like weddings. It looks like someone recreated the style from a description or a very old black and white photo, which would make sense because the traditional sorbish mens clothes went out of style decades before the Nazis took power. It is possible that those people were there for propaganda reasons and not so much because of tradition.
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222925565841126&set=gm.1658973144288102
I agree, most propably reenactors for propaganda reason: nazi ideology loved this sort of theater. I have no idea for the costume, but the sort of slate facade we see in the background is typical for North Rhine-Westphalia, Bergisches Land.
ReplyDelete