Sports played an important role with the League of German Girls – they held one weekly sports afternoon, usually on a Saturday, and also had sports events and festivals. The sports uniform seen in the drawing to the right was also often worn around camp when girls were just spending time together or playing games. When you’re at events, this is also a very comfortable outfit to sit around the campfire in, or to sleep in if you don’t want to bring along an set of period correct pajamas.
The basic sports uniform that was worn in summer was originally identical to the sports uniform of the male Hitler Youth (which was later changed). It consisted of a white tank top and a pair of black shorts. In addition, there was also a dark blue track suit that could be worn over the sports uniform in the evenings or during the colder months of the year.
→ Tank Top
The sports shirt is a white, non-ribbed, cotton tank top with a molded collar. A molded collar means that the collar is folded over and sewn on, rather than the crew-style separate collar piece that is used on most modern T-shirts. The shirt was worn tucked into the shorts and with the cloth Hitler Youth insignia, a red and white lozenge with a swastika in the center, sewn to the center of the chest. We do see a lot of photos where girls don’t have the insignia, though, and you don’t have to wear it if you’re not comfortable with showing a big swastika in public.
The correct style tank top can be fairly easy to find, and it’s best to check your local department stores first to see what they have. I found Hanes brand T-shirts that are 100% cotton and virtually identical to the ones used by the League of German Girls, for about $5. But make sure that you remove any modern labels from the shirt so they won’t show at events.
→ Sports Shorts
The shorts are of a very simple design and were identical for the male and female Hitler Youth. They are usually made of a lightweight or medium weight cotton material. The material is usually, but not always, a little shiny which is due to the types of dyes used on the fabric back then. A cotton-rayon blend is also correct and is fairly cheap to purchase if you’re planning to sew your own.
The shorts have a simple draw-string closure at the top and either no pockets, or just a small back pocket. Because of the cut of these shorts, it often looks in photos as if they have elastic along the leg openings because the shorts tended to roll up along the thighs. Examples with elastic also existed, but aren’t as common. These shorts are fairly ill fitting and unflattering because they were, in effect, a boy’s cut and didn’t account for a girl’s natural shape – in other words, if you have a pair that makes you look good, they’re probably the wrong cut. 🙂
→ Tracksuit
The BDM’s track suit consisted of a pair of long pants and a pull-over sweater with a half-zipper closure. The track suit pants either had an elastic or draw-string closure at the top and some styles had side pockets, but not all of them did.
Modern Jerzee’s brand sweat bottoms are a good substitute if you can’t find a reproduction tracksuit, as long as they are 100% cotton. The top of the tracksuit has a silver colored half-zipper closure at the front and elastic at the bottom and wrists. The track suit was dark blue in color, but if you cannot find a dark blue one, a black one is a suitable substitute.
→ Sport Shoes
BDM girls wore plain black leather sports shoes with their gym outfits. The shoes were made of thin black leather and were generally of the lace-up type, although some shoes with closures similar to Chinese slippers are seen in a few photos.
Correct shoes have sewn-on flexible leather soles similar to those on ballet slippers. Modern leather dance shoes can be found in very similar styles at reasonable prices, often for under $20. The shoes were usually worn without socks, although that is really up to personal preference since there are photos of girls wearing plain white ankle socks as well.
“Converse” type sneakers and tennis shoes were very uncommon in Germany and shouldn’t be worn for your impression. The only photo I have of rubber soled tennis shoes with canvas uppers were on girls playing tennis.