Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Blue and white striped uniform pants from Gross-Rosen concentration camp. Upon entry into camp, prisoners’ clothes were often confiscated, and they were issued uniforms. Men received a cap, pants, and a jacket, while women received a dress or skirt with a jacket and kerchief for their head. Prisoners received an identification number, which was often paired with a color-coded triangular badge. Red was for political prisoners, and the “P” on the badge indicates the prisoner was Polish. Most uniforms were made in larger camps such as Dachau, Sachsenhausen, and Ravensbrück, and were then continuously altered for fit by prisoners as their bodies deteriorated physically. By the time Gross-Rosen was established in 1941, blue and gray prisoner uniforms had become standard issue in the concentration camp system. Gross-Rosen was originally a subcamp of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, but was designated as an autonomous camp in 1941. Initially, prisoners constructed the camp and performed hard labor at the nearby granite quarry. Later, the camp expanded to encompass approximately 97 subcamps, and a network of armaments production facilities that utilized forced labor. Camp authorities often beat and abused prisoners while they worked. Prisoners were forced to sleep on vermin infested straw sacks, and were fed watery soup and miniscule portions of bread with a little margarine or horse sausage. In early February 1945, the camp was evacuated ahead of approaching Soviet forces. Many prisoners died during the evacuations, due to lack of food and water. Approximately 120,000 prisoners passed through Gross-Rosen, and 40,000 perished.
- Date
-
issue:
1940 August 02-1945 February 13
- Geography
-
issue:
Gross-Rosen (Concentration camp);
Rogoznica (Wojewodztwo Dolnoslaskie, Poland)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the State Museum of Gross Rosen
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Clothing and Dress
- Category
-
Concentration camp uniforms
- Object Type
-
Pants (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Prison uniforms.
- Physical Description
- Blue and white, vertically striped, medium-weight, straight-leg, herringbone weave linen pants with several matching patches. The stripes are woven into the cloth, and the seams are machine stitched with cream-colored thread. There is one black, plastic, circular suspender button on the right front waistband. Centered on the front of the waistband, above a hidden fly is a finished buttonhole. Below, are three finished buttonholes sewn into a hidden placket. All of the accompanying buttons are missing. At each hip, cloth pockets hidden by an in-seam opening have been torn out. The opening to the left pocket is partially sewn shut with thick cream-colored thread. The right pocket is covered with a rectangular blue and white striped patch pocket. Large, rectangular patches cover each leg from just below the hip to just below the knee. A smaller, rectangular patch is sewn over the bottom of the larger patch on the right leg. Each blue stripe on the smaller patch is a mix of light and dark blue. On the back at the waistband there are two tightening straps with a two-pronged metal buckle at the end of the left strap. A small, rectangular patch is sewn onto the left rear near the center seam. The interior waistband is lined with a shiny, cream-colored cloth. The left leg has additional fabric sewn to the interior around the hem. It is sewn shut on the front, but left open on the back creating a small pocket. The pants are heavily stained and worn overall with industrial oil and tar stains concentrated near the bottom of the legs.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 25.500 inches (64.77 cm) | Width: 22.000 inches (55.88 cm)
- Materials
- overall : linen, thread, metal, plastic
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Concentration camps--clothing and dress--uniforms. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Concentration camps.
- Geographic Name
- Rogoźnica (Województwo Dolnośląskie, Poland)
- Corporate Name
- Gross-Rosen (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The pants were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by the State Museum at Gross Rosen.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 17:50:30
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn6784
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Also in State Museum at Gross Rosen collection
The collection consists of concentration camp uniform pants and jacket relating to Gross-Rosen concentration camp during the Holocaust.
Date: 1940-1945
Concentration camp uniform jacket worn by a prisoner
Object
Blue and white striped uniform jacket with a prisoner number and red triangle badge from Gross-Rosen concentration camp. Upon entry into camp, prisoners’ clothes were often confiscated, and they were issued uniforms. Men received a cap, pants, and a jacket, while women received a dress or skirt with a jacket and kerchief for their head. Prisoners received an identification number, which was often paired with a color-coded triangular badge. Red was for political prisoners, and the “P” on the badge indicates the prisoner was Polish. Most uniforms were made in larger camps such as Dachau, Sachsenhausen, and Ravensbrück, and were then continuously altered for fit by prisoners as their bodies deteriorated physically. By the time Gross-Rosen was established in 1941, blue and gray prisoner uniforms had become standard issue in the concentration camp system. Gross-Rosen was originally a subcamp of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, but was designated as an autonomous camp in 1941. Initially, prisoners constructed the camp and performed hard labor at the nearby granite quarry. Later, the camp expanded to encompass approximately 97 subcamps, and a network of armaments production facilities that utilized forced labor. Camp authorities often beat and abused prisoners while they worked. Prisoners were forced to sleep on vermin infested straw sacks, and were fed watery soup and miniscule portions of bread with a little margarine or horse sausage. In early February 1945, the camp was evacuated ahead of approaching Soviet forces. Many prisoners died during the evacuations, due to lack of food and water. Approximately 120,000 prisoners passed through Gross-Rosen, and 40,000 perished.