German women's hair collection
The German Women's Hair Collection was an action organized by the German Red Cross during the First World War for the public donation of women's hair. The purpose was to procure replacements for camel hair that was hardly available for the German war industry (drive belts, felt plates and seals).
A real enthusiasm for donations developed, so that the mobilization committee of the German Red Cross felt compelled to accept only brushed hair in order to prevent women and girls from cutting their hair. In total, several hundred tons of hair were collected during the First World War and fed to industry. In the posters and appeals to the population, reference was made to Ferdinande von Schmettau , who cut off her hair to finance the wars of liberation and sold it in order to donate the proceeds.
The business instructions for the Bayerische Frauenhaar-Sammlung (Augsburg, 1918) say in section 8 that, taking into account the patriotic purpose, hair should be donated as free of charge as possible. But there will certainly also be cases in which a remuneration is requested. If this occurs, one should pay 1/2 to 1 pfennig per gram of hair, whereby there is still a clear economic benefit.
Bavarian women's hair collection, appeal for donations, 1918
Bavarian women's hair collection, appeal for donations, 1918
Bavarian women's hair collection, collection bag for hair, 1918
Bavarian women's hair collection, hair acceptance certificate, 1918
Bavarian women's hair collection, business instructions, 1918
Web links
- Poster of the German women's hair collection by Jupp Wiertz (1918) on the homepage of the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art
Single receipts
- ↑ The Red Cross collects brushed woman's hair in the First World War ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the Red Cross blog of the Austrian Youth Red Cross
