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Hi, I really like your channel, and was shocked by that promo. War Thunder is a russian game, developing in moscow, owned by russian citizens. Even if they have like a "front" in USA, profits will still go to russia. Are you ok with promoting russian companies, so they can pay taxes to putin, who invaded Ukraine and will continue genocide of Ukrainians on that money?
They are likely mid 1950s East German officer or NCO boots. The east Germans kept a lot of the military traditions and uniforms of WW2 including jack boots. The rubber is likely recycled from old tires. West Germany didn't have a military again until the mid 1950s, then was outfitted with American uniforms in the beginning.
The Bundeswehr wasn't created until the mid 50s, but the Bundesgrenzschutz was active in the meantime and would have served as the west German military before the creation of the Bundeswehr
West German police , considering the back flap ... the inner tops of NVA officer boots tend to be white leather , and unless resoled , a terrible vinyl sole that doesn't live very long ... I've had quite a few over the years , and you can always tell the ones that were issued as they had been brought to a cobbler for stacked leather soles with rubber caps
This is probably post war Bundeswehr boot, since german officer boots were made of high quality leather and the soles were stiched, sometimes with an iron toe plate and heel iron. German officers weren't issued boots , but bought themselves from the shoemaker, like they bought their uniforms from professional tailor.
Yeah I was thinking about seeing that sweet Heeres Waffenamt seals which one sees in all Third Reich items (although those have been forged to death now)
No, y´all are wrong. While the post war Bundeswehr Jackboots had a buckle, the "Demokratieschnall" (buckle of democracy) on the side. They were 10cm lower, have stitched rubber outsoles, bulckier toes and steel plates under the soles, at the toes that curve up so u can see them from the front and no supported Schaft. I´dsuspect that those are cavalry boots. Or eastern European dress/officers boots
The rubber(?) heel says "MATADOR" on it which used to be a czechoslovak tire manufacturer. Judging from the rubber midsole, nylon strip and abundance of metal I'd guess that this is probably a pair of eastern block made boots, maybe for the east german peoples army or just the regular civil market. This style of boots was neither exclusive to germany, ww2 or the military. Alot of the stuff sold as suppodedly original german ww2 material on ebay is not genuine, but surplus material from either the east german peoples army (NVA) or west german ferderal border patrol (Bundesgrenzschutz). Both formations used more or less evolutions of ww2 uniforms all the way untill the late 1980s. Original ww2 clothing is very rare as many german soldiers burnt their uniforms to avoid captivity. Whatever surplus material was left got either used up in the late 40s or ended in landfills by the 50s.
i second that, i am from slovakia and i saw the Matador logo on it. but the matador company existed during ww2, it use to be a slovak company and Slovakia was an independend nazi ally in ww2,so it could have been a suplier in ww2
I've got a Kar98k that was made in Czechoslovakia early in the war. First thing Germany did was get those world renowned factories to work. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was a legit boot made by Czechoslovakia for Germany.
@@RADIOACTIVEBUNY You are right but judging from the rubber pieces, the nylon strap, the fake welt and the abundance of the typical steel spikes. I think this rather might me a CSSR made civilian boot from the 60s or so.
This boot is best known as "Knobelbecher". They were used even to the 80th; I have a pair from my time with the Red cross. I have walked through water and salt water with them without getting my feet wet.
8:07 as a shoemaker I can assert with 99% certainty that the guy in the middle has custom made boots. Very slim profile, they sit on his feet as tight as stockings would. And the toe shape is much more elegant than mass produced military boot, which are more practical than fashionable
There is no way to preserve these things forever, putting them in a digital form helps keep the history alive and more interactive for a longer period of time. Keep it up!
Why can’t soliders keep dressing like this. I despise the Nazi but damn their uniforms were awesome! The uniforms alone caused fear in people. Modern uniforms are so blah. I even liked the look of the US uniforms from Vietnam.
I've worn many designs of hobnailed boots and can verify that they indeed improve both traction and durability when you're on open ground (dirt, grass, mud etc). The only surface where you're disadvantaged would be on solid, stone-based materials, like tiles, cobblestones, marble, sandstone etc. Grip on asphalt varies depending on what size of stone filler they used on the road. Wood floors are also fine. I have a very strong suspicion that if OP was sold the boots in the video under the understanding that they're WW2 German, OP might have been fleeced. The fact the boots are officer-style, have a weird adjustment strap on the calf area, no hobnails and a *rubber* heel is just very suspect. (Germany had abysmal rubber supplies during WW2, so anything that could be made with leather was). You should be able to see some sort of ink stamps from the factory if they are genuine. It would help if we could see a close up of that rubber heel cap. Most originals also tend to be pretty crusty from age, or in completely unissued condition (still light brown), but generally in smaller sizes that weren't commonly used up by soldiers. I think what's probably the case is that these are officer boots from the days of the early Bundeswehr or possibly the NVA (East Germany's army) for use in parade/ceremonial use, hence why the leather isn't as thick. ruclips.net/video/tRrdXX2eFGM/видео.html ruclips.net/video/qmQZX4wmAIM/видео.html Here's three examples of pretty high-end reproductions of German jackboots. The first link is probably some of the best made out there, by Jan Berger. lederarsenal.com/en/WW2/shoes/shoesww2.php? www.koutny-cz.cz/en/shark-nose-jackboots-marschtiefel/ www.atthefront.com/product-p/gbjbtx.htm
I’m addition to the practicality of the hob nails on the boots, it would have been very similar to Roman Legionaries which the Third Reich tried to imitate in military tradition.
@@tristondaniels599 Almost everyone was using hobnails into WW2. Only the USA had enough rubber stocks for their boots. The Roman style hobnails used in caligae are actually more retentive in the soles than the more modern style, due to how they're attached. Don't really have an illustration unfortunately.
So have i, i wore them on the farm growing up and in the Army as a parade boot. You have to take care on hard concrete as i ended up on my arse many times, highly embarrassing when in Uniform best dress.
A couple of people in the comments have said that "MATADOR" is the name of a manufacturer in Bratislava and that they believe these to be Warsaw Pact boots
I inherited a pair from my grandfather. He bought these post war in Greece for hunting. I believe they were continued to be manufactured after the end of WWII. Unfortunately the internal wool lining deteriorated .
@@jtothed8575Corrected translation: grandpa kept the boots he was issued and changed his identity to a Greek man post-war to evade the bloodthirsty extrajudicial Israeli death squads while being able to remain comfortably antisemitic. Gam Zu L'tova!!!
A leather outsole is also easier to replace than rubber is. I wish there was a museum of historical shoes that had a cut in half variant like you do, it would be so neat to see all the guts of a boot on display.
Man it sucks that this was demonitized. I hope you can successfully appeal. The words here are fundamental pieces of history that may not be the key to understanding major geopolitical driving forces but are important to contextualize the lifes and experiences of those alive at the time. Thanks for making these.
While I love the fact that you're finally taking a look at the jackboot, like some here have already pointed out that is not a WW2 German jackboot. What that is is a postwar bundeswehr jackboot. It's not at all an uncommon mistake people make as they look very similar but if you put them next to each other the differences become quite noticable. The construction is also pretty different. Hopefully now that you know you'll be able to find a correct pair. @Rose Anvil, if you see this I would like to help you find a correct pair of boots because I loved your GI boot video and have been hoping to see this for a while now. I personally am friends with someone who’s a renowned cobbler and is in the process of publishing a book about jackboots. If you would like I could get you in contact with him if you’d like to speak about these boots. Otherwise, I have a lot of his resources that he’s posted over the years as well.
These are not Bundeswehr Jackboots. These aren't East German either. They are indeed Warsaw Pact boots. The Producer of the sole "Matador" is located in Bratislava in former Czechoslovakia, these are Czechoslovakian Army boots.
Those boots might actually be East German, the multicolored straps look to be from around that era. Like the wartime ones, there are a lot of variations in DDR boots as well, but they all share the same general construction
My godfather was responsible for quite a bit of what is now the D-day/National WWII museum here in New Orleans, and as such I know quite a few members of the museum staff particularly in the Restoration Pavilion. I showed a few of them the first WWII video and honestly they had a positive reaction. The museum has several cutaways for materiel, from small arms to vehicles... Honestly they'd probably jump at a display of the boots cut in half.
Interesting. Did they happen to have any authentic versions of this boot on display? It would be interesting to see if there are some details (such as the fake welt) that are absent.
Yeah cutaway even if made on historical manufacts are very useful, in fact they are obiquitous in museums of machines as they enables to see the inner workings to keep on the ww2 Germany theme you can see many (pretty much every museum that has one) junkers jumo 004 turbojet engines with cutaways, and they are way more valuable that any pair of boots
11:25 Adding metal studs is pretty much standard for rubber soled wading boots. They really help on wet, slippery river rock and do just fine on dry surfaces. Definitely better than plain, flat leather soles.
Commenting to keep this video going after demonitisation. Hope to see more videos on these boots, I heard that there was alot of variation since they were contracted out to many different makers.
@@pab26120 some wartime German rifles I've had were serialized on nearly every component larger than a screw. They were definitely meticulous about stamping lol
@@obad7633 I mean I've seen K98's where everything larger then a screw indeed had a serial number. Those were also made for millions of soldiers. Don't forget this is also the country that had trained Artisans working on their tanks. I.E meticulous crafted everything on the tank down to the spare chains hanging on the sides. Think you can find a video about that on The Tank Museum just search for Jingles in it. So yes I would fully expect them to stamp at least one makers mark in the boot.
I agree with your reasoning on taking a deep dive on the history of footwear that was worn by members of the military. History is too often dismissed as just being a curiosity rather than having any practical use - yet look often it is repeated. This is a great series and I love your idea of it being part of a museum exhibit.
I have read (but cannot attribute/reference right now) the origin of "jackboot" being the process of "jacking" the leather -- applying a waterproofing resin mixture to them with heat and burnishing. Usually rosin, linseed oil and lamp black IIRC. Mixture similar to traditional/pre-plastic patent varnishes. I'll try and find the (19th century?) article on the process.
As a retired high school teacher, I only wish that some of my presentations could have been as informative and educational to my students! The historical imagery and narrative in the demonstration and exploration of your expressed concepts, was as good as it gets! You deserve an A+ on this presentation and I look forward to watching more of your videos.
I have Two pairs of these from my Grand Father who lost a boot in combat in WW2 he “Liberated “ a pair and continued to till the end of the war he said they were incredibly durable,warm and water resistant but some what heavy but worth the weight
My Greatgrandfather always called them "Knobelbecher" which is soldier slang and could be translated as "dice cup". We still used this nickname 3 generations later in the Bundeswehr. Greetings from Germany and thanks fot the awesome Video!
What a great historic topic. Utterly fascinating for me. I’m glad you guys have the courage not to be afraid to post it. So many people are afraid of history and the real important thing is to learn and grow , you cannot do this if you put your head in the sand. Very well done!
Not to mention that he does preserve history by doing these in-depth dives into the construction of the boots and that is probably more useful and instructive than simply having a pair of boots on display. It’s also not like it’s particularly difficult to find museums displaying such boots, which means that he is far from cutting up the one example posterity has to look at/into. And while the cut up boots obviously cannot be worn, they still do exist and can be displayed if necessary and are thus not exactly “destroyed” from a historical standpoint, while the “dissection” has of course also been preserved for the future, thus arguably both preserving the original artefact (albeit in an altered state) and providing easily accessible knowledge about it. I think this view is something that most historians and historically interested people would probably appreciate. I suspect the objections stem more from people with a sort of “collector’s perspective” where “mint condition” is prized more than the actual history and context of the artefact.
Is you tube out of there minds? What could have been so bad that they had to go there!? I can’t wait for more of your videos. Because of guys like you and the others who do what you do I have learned so much. Keep going strong✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽
If you think the trend to wear hats backward gained momentum with Ken Griffey Jr., a popular baseball player in the 1990s think again . minute 2,42 first person ever to wear a basecap reverse in style was the SS tank commanders to spot enemy aircraft better.
A little side note. Back then the Landser(so, the common front soldier) referred to these boots as "Knobelbecher", which means as much as dice cup. When you translate dice into German, you'll get the term "Würfel" (roll the dice = Würfeln). An older term for Würfeln is "Knobeln", and because the boot looks a bit like a huge dice cup, the Landser referred to it as Knobelbecher. Greetings from Germany. 🤙🏻 Btw, the "ch" in Knobelbecher is pronounced a bit like the hissing sound of a cat, not like a "k".
I found a way for native English speakers to pronounce the "ch" sound; I just tell them to say the name "Albrecht" but they're not allowed to use a "K" sound - they can't really pronounce it wrong then!
That ch-sound is (sort of) similar to the *j* in *jet* . To make it more challenging, there’s a ch-sound in German that is different like in "Buch/Bach/Nacht/…". JFTR & HTH BTw, weren’t those boots soles nailed (and therefore created that 'specific' marching sound)?
@@agn855 yep, you're right. The soles were indeed nailed, which turned out to be a major problem in the freezing cold temperatures of the winter of 1941. Since iron is such a good conductor, it channeled the cold right into the boots. My grandpa fought in the 10.Pz.Div. (10th armored division) during the attack on Moscow. He told me that the Landsers were so desperate due to the fact that no supplies of winter clothing were being delivered (they had to fight in their summer uniforms in -40 degrees Celsius) that the soldiers left their trenches at night and looked for fallen Russian soldiers lying frozen stiff on the battlefield, to get their winter boots. He said, since the soldiers' bodies were rock solid frozen, the only way to get their boots was to chop off their legs below the knee with hatchets and to take the boots along with the feet. The boots then had to be placed next to a fire and thawed in order to be able to separate them from the feet. This is one of those little side notes of history that doesn't usually find its way into the history books, I guess. Appreciate your reply, bud. 👍🏻
@@agn855 ...as for the German ch-sound; explaining its pronunciation is a bit like having to explain to someone what caraway tastes like. At least for me... 😉
wooden pegs are more often used in germany than you think. Maybe you should have a look at the "Haferl Schuh" to see more on that topic. And from my own expirience you can build a boot only using nails/wood pegs. I live in germany an make an apprenticeship as an orthic shoemaker.
I second that....the wooden peg attachment is what the Sweds and Finns used in their boots because the wet and damp made the pegs swell up and make a waterproof joint
Sorry to burst the bubble but: Those are definitely not original WW2. They are the ceremonial boot of the wachbataillon, the triservice ceremonial troop and band. At the oldest possible, 1957. More likely 90s though. Source: looking at pair that I bought in Germany
To add some information about issuing jackboots (which looked very similar to yours) in West German Bundeswehr: generally you did not get usually new boots, but boots that one (or many) soldiers used before. Laced boots as Ersatz for the jackboots were introduced in large numbers in mid-1970‘s. When I got my first set of uniforms in 1977, I got one pair of (used) jackboots very similar to yours, though with rubber outsoles (IIRC). Due to problems with my feet I changed this pair to one one size larger, they were brand new laced boots, as high as the jackboots, but brown. Sadly I could not keep them when I left Bundeswehr in 1979. This were the best boots I ever had in terms of comfortable walking, did much marching in them, never had any problems at all. (In the 1980‘s it was changed, you could keep your boots when leaving the Army.)
I enjoyed the Vietnam jungle boot video you did. I wore mine in the Mekong Delta during the monsoon season and rarely ever saw the boots themselves as both were completely covered in mud that stuck to your soul.
and Bosche and Bayer and NASA and the Ukraine and the Bush Family and the English Royal Family. its almost like they didnt lose and just integrated into everything.
I really like the idea of donating the cut-in-half boots to a museum in the end! Also as a side note; these videos are very useful to people who create replica military uniforms for reenactments and want to be as accurate as possible! EDIT: Just finished the video and saw that these were repos. Hahaha
Brilliant, just brilliant ! This was both fascinating and enjoyable (including the comments section). This channel is one of the most interesting and unexpectedly rewarding channels I've accidentally stumbled across. A truly worthy of support project . . . 👍Thank you !
I own pair of “parade boots”(Basically a jackboot) from the Bundeswehr after the war. After wearing them quite a lot(eveything was gamling apart) I decided to refurbish them, I’m a cobbler’s apprentice. They were welted 360 degrees. That’s a boot that’s supposed to be only for parades and such. Yet they were welted. It would be insane to make lower quality boots in the early stages of a war when you’re not short on supplies.
These are post war, rubber wasn't used pre '45, also "democratic buckle" buckles are only present on postwar voots to my knowledge, I got two 50s 60s west german boots and both have a buckle
I think you are doing a great job and contribute a deeper look into history. IMHO these are motorcyclists boots from the 50ies: My dad had a pair of these and they had nearly the exact same features. Keep up the good work!
I have been a collector of WW1 and WW2 military items. I couldn’t destroy it but I’m loving the ability to see what’s inside! So awesome I agree with your opinion on the validation of the positive destruction!
@@WhattAreYouSaying Would they pay as much as 700,000+ people and be viewed from all perspectives in a video rather than through a glass case or much worse at your place where no one visits?
A little history nugget I picked up along the way: In the poorly-timed German offensive against the Soviet Union, many German soldiers suffered frostbite in their feet because those metal hobnails and studs intended for traction in the wintery, slushy, and slippery muck of the Russian countryside actually worked as a heat sink, drawing the bitter cold right into the soles of their feet. Boots issued during the war were also constructed with metal tacks, only increasing the heatsink potential (which is one reason I believe the boot used in the video is a later make, probably early days East German/ Iron Curtain timeframe) Often the German soldiers would strip the boots from fallen adversaries, as well as civilians, to swap out from their own. Apparently the Russians knew better than to use metal tacks in their boot soles. When spring finally broke that harsh winter, there were stories of jackboots littering the fields, revealed from the retreating snowmelt. * I can’t quote any sources for this, other than a hazy memory from a movie seen years ago, most likely it was “Cross Of Iron.” I have read a lot of history in my years, so it’s just something that’s been stored away upstairs, waiting for this perfect moment to regurgitate this tidbit of appropriate, yet otherwise useless, knowledge.
It is indeed a myth. Firstly, both German AND Soviet boots had hobnails. Secondly, I believe the myth is born from the Italian expeditionary force on the Stalingrad front. The Italian boots had an absurd amount of hobnails - around 70 (compared to the German 35-40 and Soviet 20-25). That's not counting regular nails or anything else used to fix the sole to the rest of the boot (I know Germans used wooden pegs, not sure about others). Most importantly, it's not that the metal acted as a heatsink - the holes from the nails - especially if the nails fell out or were purposely removed - would absorb moisture which would then proceed to freeze. When you have so much more nails in your boots, there's a higher chance of missing some nails, and, subsequently, you'll likely have more holes in your boots.
The Germans learnt quite a few other lessons in the Russian winter. For example to wear foot-rags like the Russians rather than socks, as these didn’t compress the foot and kept in the warmth better. Also to put newspaper in the boot, and preferably wear boots about two sizes too big to allow for more insulation/rags.
Pretty common misconception that germany attacked soviets in the winter. Barbarossa started in june and it made sense to them at the time that russia which barely could beat finland wouldn't be able to hold off the strongest military in Europe for more than a few months. Shoes they had at the start were good enough for their intended purpose. But yeah hindsight is always 20/20.
@@Jebu911 - Don’t think many people think the Germans were silly enough to invade in winter. I believe the original plan was to go in May but several delays including the invasion of Crete (which required the diversion of 500 Ju52 transports) pushed Barbarossa back a month.
The Russians also used hobnails but put them on so they didnt transmit the cold to your feet. Local cobblers would rework German boots and do this. One German soldiers father had fought in Russia in WW1 and told him to get boots one size larger and wear two pairs of socks. He never had frostbite.
You should keep in mind that for a long period the Country supplied and maintained the individual Soldier's uniforms so it was assumed that the appearance of the service men were a reflection of the Country. High boots were popular so that the lower portions of the trouser legs were protected so no uniform damage would be commonly be seen, and supply didn't need to trade trousers so often.
If I remember correctly, bootmakers and cobblers would use old tires to make rubber soles for boots back then. So the patterned rubber you found in the midsole might have been salvaged from something else. This isn't proof that it's a reproduction or not, I don't know enough about WWII boots to make any judgement on that. Are you thinking of trying to find another pair to cut apart, to try to cut apart some definitely authentic ones?
@@Jaburu You have a valid point. Everything in the military has an equal particular purpose. I'm glad we didn't think boots were so important that we said..." we don't need any more tanks, we need more boots, lots and lots of boots."
“Jack” is a common English idiom meaning “utility” or “general purpose,” as in jackknife, jack line and jackhammer. It is even implied in “Jack of all trades.”
Continue making these great videos. American or German. It’s history. Thank you for showing us a side of history many of us share an interest in. Keep up the good work.
As everyone has already harped on about the fact that this isn't a WW2 boot I won't go into the details, but just thought I'd point out the irony that you have some photos of the right boots in your video at 7:58. The differences are clear just from this set of photos, these are the boots you need to test!
Love the history information and lesson everytime!! Dissecring a pair of boots from any era just helps open the door into the past and you preserve it digitally for years!
I was an instructor in the Bundeswehr until the mid-1980s. The boots (in German slang "Knobelbecher" [*]) were not nearly as good as their reputation. They were only really suitable for marching when a so-called "marching aid" was attached (similar to spurs for riding, only here the lower boot was lashed as tightly to the foot as possible). Otherwise, very bad blisters were guaranteed. Over the years, several conscripted soldiers have had this experience, who were of the opinion that "Grandpa marched with them until shortly before Moscow, so they are better than the boots today".) I had always warned them about the "jackboots" during training, but some of them didn't want to believe me. Then "learning through pain" came into play and the 6 km familiarization march turned into a 20 km combat march. [*] Explanation: "Knobelbecher" is made up of 2 German words in which one of the words is given a special meaning by being put together. "Knobel" means a dice game with this name "Becher" is a mug, or cup without a handle The compound word also makes it clear that the "mug" must be made of leather, because that is the actual meaning of the word, so in English it is more likely to be a "leather mug". Edit: At 8:08 you can see the "marching aids". Here, however, in the parade form, i.e. with a shiny buckle. They were black for the common soldier.
@@LightYagami-rz6su stfu they are leftwing extremists and don’t like when we bring up anything that is not 100% about bashing Germans in WW2 even if it’s talking about their boots. Calling everyone a Nazi is dumb af
My grandfather served in world war two for the royal Canadian air force and was stationed at Yorkshire and then again in France after D-Day he would have loved your videos just because of he always said if you don't use your brain you lose your brain so he would have seen some of RUclips as a treasure trove of knowledge thank you for putting these videos out there
I think those are GDR Volkspolizei jackboots. The Wehrmacht jackboots were much better, always had a leather sole which was pegged on with wooden pegs, and you can still buy them new, made according to the old specifications.
Just discovered your channel when I saw your video about the Japanese boot. It's just wrong that this video was demonetized. I will continue to watch and learn about the history of footwear. Cheers from Guam USA👍
Hey, I love the war boots series, it's genuinely one of a kind of preserving history and I do really respect what you do, but can you do Soviet ww2 boots as well, it would be so interesting to know. thanks
The IDF have a very unique footwear traditons, they used Corcoran- inspired boots with Ro-search soles until 2008. It would be interesting to see what they have in them
I was in the Israeli infantry (Nachal Brigade) from 1986-1988. Right about at the most miserable period of my service, winter in the Golan Heights, our battalion was chosen as guinea pigs for testing a boot with a newer sole which was lighter in weight than the older sole. The new sole VERY quickly fell apart, which shocked me because I just assumed that A) they test everything in the factory and B) that the saving of a few grams of weight is NOT going to matter to an infantryman who thinks in terms of KILOgrams of weight. Our boots were pretty much a copy of the US Army's combat boot which had the reinforced toe. They were a pain in the ass to lace up during a drill and I sure wish that speed-laces had been invented twenty years earlier.... Otherwise, with wool socks, the Israeli boots were fairly comfortable.
Looks like postwar boots to me, not 'Nazi' at all. Real Wehrmacht and SS boots tend to have certain characteristics that these are missing. Wehrmacht boots have a roughout toe and totally different last. These boots looks 'similar' to SA/SS boots with the buckle style, but without provenance or stamps and with leather that looks like that, I don't think these are representative of marching boot - just equestian boots in general.
I mean at 11:34 you literally show the bottom of a real pair of wartime German boots and you can CLEARLY see: Different last, different outsole, and stamps that aren't present on these boots.
New to channel. My first pair of work boots where 8inch heigh mock toe; about 14 years old. I am 58 now and do tool and die work, machining grinding welding , in and out of presses to repair dies. I get a 6 months to a year out of boots. I have worn dancers, throgood and Wolverine boot. I have Feet issue and thank you for your in depth detail to boots. Yes it break my hart to see you cut boots in half but see them benefit. Thanks again.
I'm far from being a militaria expert but even I can see that these are definitely NOT German WW2 military boots. I'm pretty sure they were produced in the German Democratic Republic in the sixties or seventies as lightweight parade boots for the guards of "Nationale Volksarmee" or the "Betriebskampfgruppen". Anyway, they are no combat boots.
at first i thought it was a german cavalry boot , because soldiers marching boots ( wehrmacht marschstiefel ) was shorter, (even officers boots )35 -40 cm before 1939 ,and went down to 30cm (12") after 1939. Anyway i was in the army of the last year of Soviet Union,and spend 2 years wearing this kind of boots,the super comfortable when you got used to them and we ran 5 miles every morning wearing this things . There is a lots of memories and shit but i want to suggest to do a test for those russian boots,its easy to obtain they are cheaper,and there is only two kinds leather for officers and "kirza" some sort of a leather substitute for privates.
My great-grandfather Rudolf served in the german cavalry (Württembergische Reserve) in WW1. I still have his boots which he continued using in his little winyard in Stuttgart even after the second war. They re worn out of course but they re both still in one piece and usable, which is really fascinating. Cant try them on tho as i have much larger feet than he had. And they re leather brown, guess he didnt continue using black wax. Btw, i also have his blue parade uniform. Ill also share a little story about him. My great aunt Klara, a daugther of Rudolf, used to tell us lots of stories from back then. Once she mentioned that she was with her dad when he saw a shack that had a roof tile out of place, so rain could get inside. He already was quite old but grabbed a ladder and climbed on the roof to put the roof tile back in position. This shack was owned by people he didnt even know but he just had to do it. And he wore his trusty old army boots. Klara mentioned all details she could remember in her stories. 🙂 If you have old relatives alive, go visit them. One day they ll go and take great stories with them. 🙏
The people I spoke to, who were actually in the thick of it between ‘38 and ‘45 referred o the boots as “Knobelbecher” which refers to a game with dice.
Definitely not WW2 German but like other's have said Post war, either East or West German perhaps. One suggestion regarding Jacboots for you to consider would be a pair of Finnish Jackboots. Fins used these into the cold war and you can still get some from either "Varusteleka" in Finland or other online sites. I think IMA or Sportsmans Guide has some in stock currently. These are genuine Finnish, some post war manufacture, but apparently made in the exact same way as the WW2 boot the Fins had.
Always love the details in your videos. Could you perhaps try a the Adidas Forum 84s or mids and compare them to dunks or af1s leather quality and other stuff.
I can imagine the hob nails in conjunction with the goose-step march, made that sound that is so familiar now. So much of what the Nazis did was a power display.
I have a pair of East German jackboots. Made of thick blackened pebble grain leather, and rubber soles. They have the forward facing side buckles at the top. The welt is stitched. The soles have a vibram-like pattern. They were glued on. The soles came off one of the boots when I wore them to the city dump and got into some deep gumbo mud. A shoemaker glued the sole back on, but warned against wearing them for real work. Also the top of the vamp -- usually has a keystone-looking flap that is stitched over the upper stovepipe. On these boots the keystone is under a V in the pipe.. FDs or new style, IDK? From the bottom of the heel to the top of the stovepipe is 33 cm. A maker's name.> is molded into the sole under the instep. I find wearing East German ''fusslappen'' -- 2'x2' brown fluffy cotton squares -- inside the boots is more comfortable than socks.
My father and his brother did more than 5 years forced labour for the Germans during WW2, making boots. They sent a load of winter boots to the German troops invading Russia, but he enjoyed telling me they only made the right boot. Unfortunately after the boots arrived and the mistake was realised all the supervisors were shot by the Germans. My father and his brother survived and walked home after the war ended, to the amazement of their parents.
That's some awesome trolling on their part, by only shipping the right boot 🤣🤣🤣🤣😝😝😝😝 I feel sorry for the poor quartermaster who received the shipment, who was probably frantically scrabbling through the shipment trying to find a left boot, probably getting more and more frustrated as he searched 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@xB-yg2iw That's what my father told me. I am sure it is true. I have his German forced labour ID cards. No reason to think it is anything else but right.
A model very, very similar to this was used as "Seestiefel" (translation is roughly: boot for naval use) in the (federal) german navy. Little changes. Newer models change more about it, but overall it's the same style. One of the upsides in naval use of this kind of boot is that you might not lose your foot and leg if you step into a rope that suddenly comes under tension. The boot has the chance to slip off.
The boot tests were carried out in the Oranienburg/Sachsenhausen concentration camp on a differently designed route at the Apellplatz. Daily workload was around 40km. Participation was "voluntary" and was remunerated with prison relief, such as better food, camp coupons for shopping in the canteen, or days off. The commander (himself a prisoner) who led the "Schuhläuferkommando" encouraged his people, among other things: "We are paid well here - in contrast to the German soldiers, who do this every day in addition to fighting for 50 pfennig honorary pay." BTW.: Boot tests were also introduced in the United States towards the end of World War II. Until the late 1960s, they were considered superior to mechanical tests. Please understand everything without judgment....;)
Would love to see your channel get their paws on a pair of Truman Boots, since they have had an interesting few years the few years they have been around. Namely the change of welting method and QC concerns. Took the chance and ordered a pair since I love their leather choices and overall aesthetics, but of course not in a position to cut that thing in half for that price. Especially considering its being delivered to Denmark.
@@jmarth523 Apparently not getting notifications for this chat. You're not gonna hear me argue against it. The other boot I'm highly considering is their Cognac Shrunken Bison. That thing looks unreal.
Hi Rose Anvil! I have really enjoyed watching your films! Your knowledgable observations and recommendations, your cinematic skill in portraying the subject, and even your occasional discounts are just great! This is the first of your 'Historical' series I've seen but I'm going to look for ALL the others! This is a fascinating lens into the cultural importance, technological development, and the effects of mass production in military AND consumer product goods, and I hope you do more of these! I can't imagine how anyone could object to the concept of learning more about history by doing investigative research of items which are hardly one-of-a-kind; it's like getting up on a soapbox with "Oh, the Humanity" if someone were to try and discover why KRations tasted so awful - especially the dried egg powder! Oh, well. It takes all kinds I guess. Keep up the FANTASTIC work!
The Romans used hob nails for traction on grass and dirt, which unfortunately makes it difficult to fight in urban areas with cobblestones or flagstone pavers. The Roman legions notoriously struggled many times with well armed urban rebellions probably because they were trying not to fall while fighting.
They were "damned if you do, damned if you don't" when it came to the hobnails in their boots. A smooth leather sole can slip on pavement just as well as hobnailed soles do.
@@solinvictus39 I suppose it depends on how wet it is, but at least leather soles don't alert the rebels to your position before you can see them. The first time I saw a hoplite style battle I understood hob nails because it reminded me of playing football in cleats and the action between the offensive and defensive lines. Traction advantage is huge, probably top three most important factors along with mass and leverage. I feel bad for the front line soldiers with their friends pushing from behind and the enemy pushing before them with sharp points. It's probably a bit like trying to enter and exit a NYC subway car on a drinking holiday. Inhumane!
(Aggie Band '76) Seniors in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets are cadet officers and wear riding boots, the same as Patton and - for that matter - EVERY senior officer in the U.S. Army prior to WWII. We polished our black low-quarters to a mirror-shine (Lincoln Stain Wax is the best) but used a softer Meltonian boot cream for the boots (sadly, no longer in business). Despite the term, never use spit. Spit can have sugar in it from food, drinks, or chewing gum; it will crack and destroy the shine and you will have to strip it back down to leather (distilled water is best; tap water will do). At 6:48 notice the construction around the heel. Aggie boots have a double-thickness in the barrel to ensure they are straight and smooth. This also forces the boot to 'break' around the ankles without those folds going up into the barrel (5:06 soldier on the far left). The taller the boot the better looking, but it makes it uncomfortable to do... anything... other than march, stand up, or sit with your feet on the ground pointing straight ahead. You can't easily cross your legs, and resting with one leg Indian-style crossed-legged over the other puts shoe-polish on the other pants-leg. With the leather sole, on wet, smooth concrete you can find yourself 'ice-skating'. Custom made boots (different measurements for either foot and leg) cost about $1,500 today and are so tight you have to have a [fresh] fish / freshman (Civil War term for new soldier) pull your boots for you by grasping ONLY the boot-heel without putting pressure on the sides of your heel. You spend your life paranoid someone will step on your boot and gouge the leather. Because of that, formal dances were not as fun as I expected. Our traditional winter uniform is the Class A (going to church suit); that looks great (search for Texas Aggie Corps March-in), but as a former rifle platoon leader I can't imagine trying to be in combat wearing that! P.S. I'm sorry the pansy censors can't handle the truth about History.
When I broke the strings on my Vietnam jungle boots I patched them by running wire through the holes and twisted them. I had it happen a few times as I was in a combat construction unit and I was a welder.
I love the channel but I would have saved this video for an actual Nazi German boot. Good information and research but slightly disappointed it wasn’t the real thing.
I think regarding your comment about rubber inside the boot, I think (assuming it’s real) that rubber would be worth it. Army boots get really abused, modern military boots at best last 6 months in theatre. Fact is, men had to walk then a lot more than they do now. If boots ruin your feet, your army stops. For the sake of a small piece of rubber you could stretch the boots life and keep your army moving. Seems worth it to me!
Some information that might be helpful: I have a Bulgarian military boot from the 1960s and what surprised me is how similar it is -almost identical. It is thinner and the leather never reaches 5mm, but I think that was a stat of yours being fake and having a filler. It does have wooden nails too, but also has metal nails on the heel + stiching+ metal pieces on the front end, as well as on the heel. I came here, cause I have been looking for a propper method to re-oil it and make it soft and wearable again. I am applying coats of Neatsfoot Oil, but it takes a long time to dry and doesn't soften as quickly as I would like. My question is should I apply oil on the inside and the sole too, since they are too made of leather?
Hint, those aren't WW2 German army marching boots. They had two versions if I remember correctly during the war. Heel irons and hob nails,wood peg construction, came in brown and soldiers had to stain/polish them black. Easy reference hit up At the front, he has good information on original version's and their construction, these look like post war boots, also some officers purchased their own version's. Cheers
@@user-pq6mr6op3p ??? You make no sense? A verified pair of world War two issued wehrmacht (jack) marching boots now? Would cost more than $1,000 usd depending on condition which if in good condition can fetch $ 2,500 usd. I grew up and served in michigan army national guard but as a teenager some stores in battle creek michigan actually had P.O.W. pairs of Kraut boots which back then were still in wearable condition and were available for $100 bucks or so. Because Ft.Custer was a destination of the defeated kraut troops who decided to surrender rather than die for Der fuhrer! Their footwear was replaced and some how ended up in a warehouse. Back in Germany when I was there in the early 80s one could run into dozens of these guys. But you don't know shit about that do you??? No not. If your going to dissect a pair of real WW2 issued german jack boots (marching boots) then get an original pair. Different manufacturers like in the US had different techniques for building their types, there are over 15 different manufacturers of American paratrooper jump boots identified from acrual WW2 manufacturers, just like everyone else. Cookie cutter type and style didn't start until the late 40s with USA uniforms,. But hey if you ain't been there nor done it you response is absolutely perfect for the defeated generations you are.
@@starioskal Didn't I tell you to stop running those peterbeaters? but here you are again with a lengthy comment. Saying made up crap about boots...Nobody cares about your knowledge of boots. It's funny cause you seem to think you're the boot master but in real life you can't keep a job or boyfriend. Look everyone I know alot about boots but nothing else.....Jagoff
My father was a decorated officer in the German army and he hated those boots. He traded them with a captured Russian Officer who had bespoke soft boots! He also used a captured T34 tank to lead bis assault gun unit.
I have a pair of 1980's Finnish Defence Force jack boots, they have a welted construction similar to the German para-boots of the same era - I'm in the UK and work in a school and often wear them to work as my 'rainy day' boot (trousers not tucked in obvs...)
Concentration camp inmates were forced to walk in the boots, barefoot, on rough surfaces to break the new boot in, so the soldiers didn't have to. If you visit the camps, some still have the rough brickwork embedded in the ground where this was done. I met one inmate once, one Bjørn Egge, Norwegian sailor, who had to do that. The new boots rubbed their feet raw, they got infections, and as you said, when they couldn't do it any more, they were murdered.
That isn't how breaking in boots works, they have to be broken to the individual. What was actually done, is soldiers would receive factory new boots in natural leather without wear or products applied; they would dye the boots themselves, then apply shoe grease for waterproofing and to protect the boot, then soak the lowers of the boot in water, let them dry slightly with them still being moist; and wear them until they dry. That is how you appropriately break in a boot like that.
@@mooveover5758 I met and talked with Bjørn Egge, an inmate of a camp, who was required to walk round a cobbled track, every day for God-knows how many hours, breaking in the boots. Without socks. So don't tell me what was or was not done. Read the post instead. Amazingly, he wasn't bitter and twisted about the experience but instead told his story to kids in history class.
During world war one the Germans were at a big advantage wearing these Jackboots compared to the Allies who had inferior boots that weren't waterproof as well. This caused the massive problem called trench foot. The skin from being constantly wet would peel off and get infected which led to soldiers having their toes or parts of their feet amputated. Really gross but then again the first world war was absolutely terrible.
I always understood jackboots were so called, in English long before the 1st world war, because they were removed with the aid of a "boot jack". In my time I have seen ornate cast iron ones, wooden ones, folding types for travel. Germany did not invent them and as said in the vid. the Germans had their own name for it.
That was a pretty interesting overview of an old German jackboot. Had Germany been blessed with a a plenty of oil, it would probably have manufactured rubber soles and heels instead of leather. I have used second-hand Soviet and East German jackboots with all leather soles and heels in the past. While leather soles and heels have the "cool" factor (i.e., makes nice clicking noise each time you take a step over a solid ground), I would not recommend them if you are going to be moving around a lot as they provide poor traction. There are three main types of Soviet jackboots: (a) Enlisted boots have leather shoes with rubber soles and heels, but have kirza (somewhat similar to tarpauline) shafts; (b) officer boots are all leather but with rubber soles and heels; (c) officer parade boots have all-leather construction, except for the heels and the soles, while mostly made of leather, is covered with thin rubber to provide better traction. You can recognize the parade boots quite easily as they are the same boots worn by the Kremlin Guards. They have no shoelaces and this is one of the reasons I love them and I still wear them. I do not have to bend my back to get them on and off which is a big plus, I think. By the way, do not apologize for dissecting that German jackboot. Just like what you have said, these German boots can be found online.
Fascinating subject and an important subject especially regarding military boots. I served 35 years in the British army. 5 years in the Welsh `guards followed then I transferred to the Parachute `regiment. In the Welsh guards we were issued 2 types of boots. For ceremonial duties we used what we called Ammo boots. These boots like the German Jackboot had hob nails and plates on the soles. When marching we had to dig our heels in in order not to slip. I suppose German soldiers fighting in urban areas would have slipped running from cover to cover due to the hob nails. I believe British WW2 soldiers also had hob nails. We had a trained cobbler in our unit who replace the soles but we had to replace our hob nails ourselves. We had to shine the boots to a very high gloss using black shoe polish and bee wax burnt into the leather to harden the leather, so the polish spit and shine did not crack. The other type of boots was for field or operational work. These were DMS boots which stood for DIRECTLY molded Soles which were made out of rubber. The rubber acted like shock absorption. These boots had thin leather but I was told it was compressed cardboard. We wore wooden putties around our ankles. These boots were great for hill walking and running as the putties wrapped around your ankles supported your ankles. During the Falklands war 1982 which I served these boots were proven to be totally inadequate. They absorbed water, were cold and many suffered frost bite and immersion foot. During this war we were also issued rubber over boots to wear over our DMS boots, but being made entirely out of rubber made our feet sweat which just compounded our feet problem. I discarded these boots and instead changed my wet socks, aired and powdered my feet daily if conditions allowed. I did not suffer immersion foot like the others who did not bother. The Falklands war highlighted the fact that much of our kit and equipment was inadequate for cold and wet conditions and the British army started development and research into quality equipment included boots. we were then issued boots combat high which was a leather boot which was slightly longer up the calf and we did away with the putties. Many of us suffered tendon injuries as we no longer had the wooden putties supporting our ankles. Then came a problem where many soldiers, me included suffered terrible heel injuries known as heel shock. I was now in the parachute regiment and ran and moved distances on foot. When, I transferred to 2 Para we had to complete a 50 mile walk which we called Tab (Tactical Advance to Battle). I have soft skin including on my feet and the friction burn and my blisters were horrendous. I found wearing two pairs of natural fibre socks and taping the venerable areas of my feet with zinc oxide plaster tape helped.They army development team investigated why so many were reporting with injured heels and rightly concluded it had something to do with our new “boot combat high”. The specification was that the entire sole was to be made out of good quality rubber and nothing else. But some manufacturers had ignored this and had inserted a wooden block in the heel part of the boots inside the rubber and it was this hard object that was causing the heel shock. Whilst serving in Belize we were issued with the American jungle boots which had a steel plate inserted in the soles as protection against traps as during the Vietnam war, although our service in Belize was peaceful. The jungle boot was mostly canvas as it needs to breath and dry out otherwise jungle foxtrot would be a problem. Leather may have rotted more quickly in a humid jungle environment. Over the years since the 1980,s the British army have been issued a boot that is now quality, rugged and suitable for cold and wet conditions. In fact, most of the equipment has been improved. All, following the Falklands war in 1982. Your historic research into military boots is very relevant and interesting. Maybe you can do one on the Boot (DMS), which were totally useless for service during the 1982 Falklands War. For the infantry soldier the boot is just as important as his rifle.
I would think the boot with a rubber outsole and pattern for traction would be the superior boot. Wearing a slick leather sole dress shoe in all the weather conditions in Minnesota is scary. There is also an argument for which boot is dryer, but in a desert environment that might not be preferred.
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Yup, a reproduction, probably Spanish.
You might not be able to find or afford a real one.
bro i've played warthunder since it started (over 9 years now) and i can tell you it's not free, it cost you your soul. doesnt stop me from playing though
*_No wonder they lost those hob nails couldn't sneak up on a blind def mouse!!!_*
*_Sucks they were fakes I've been waiting for this video for long time..._*
Hi, I really like your channel, and was shocked by that promo. War Thunder is a russian game, developing in moscow, owned by russian citizens. Even if they have like a "front" in USA, profits will still go to russia. Are you ok with promoting russian companies, so they can pay taxes to putin, who invaded Ukraine and will continue genocide of Ukrainians on that money?
They are likely mid 1950s East German officer or NCO boots. The east Germans kept a lot of the military traditions and uniforms of WW2 including jack boots. The rubber is likely recycled from old tires. West Germany didn't have a military again until the mid 1950s, then was outfitted with American uniforms in the beginning.
The Bundeswehr wasn't created until the mid 50s, but the Bundesgrenzschutz was active in the meantime and would have served as the west German military before the creation of the Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr used them into the 70s
West German police , considering the back flap ... the inner tops of NVA officer boots tend to be white leather , and unless resoled , a terrible vinyl sole that doesn't live very long ... I've had quite a few over the years , and you can always tell the ones that were issued as they had been brought to a cobbler for stacked leather soles with rubber caps
also the Eat German boots tended to have a rough grain out texture for field boots , less reflective than smooth even with a fresh polish
@@rauchgranate5648 I wore them into my 80's, in exercises as a reservist.
This is probably post war Bundeswehr boot, since german officer boots were made of high quality leather and the soles were stiched, sometimes with an iron toe plate and heel iron. German officers weren't issued boots , but bought themselves from the shoemaker, like they bought their uniforms from professional tailor.
Yeah I was thinking about seeing that sweet Heeres Waffenamt seals which one sees in all Third Reich items (although those have been forged to death now)
lol, i just added sole steel plates to a new pair of white's dressing boot for durability, since they are expensive (but worth every penny)
Ahhh Shaddup
They aren't war time because wartime jackboots didn't have that buckle on the side
No, y´all are wrong. While the post war Bundeswehr Jackboots had a buckle, the "Demokratieschnall" (buckle of democracy) on the side. They were 10cm lower, have stitched rubber outsoles, bulckier toes and steel plates under the soles, at the toes that curve up so u can see them from the front and no supported Schaft.
I´dsuspect that those are cavalry boots. Or eastern European dress/officers boots
The rubber(?) heel says "MATADOR" on it which used to be a czechoslovak tire manufacturer. Judging from the rubber midsole, nylon strip and abundance of metal I'd guess that this is probably a pair of eastern block made boots, maybe for the east german peoples army or just the regular civil market. This style of boots was neither exclusive to germany, ww2 or the military.
Alot of the stuff sold as suppodedly original german ww2 material on ebay is not genuine, but surplus material from either the east german peoples army (NVA) or west german ferderal border patrol (Bundesgrenzschutz). Both formations used more or less evolutions of ww2 uniforms all the way untill the late 1980s.
Original ww2 clothing is very rare as many german soldiers burnt their uniforms to avoid captivity. Whatever surplus material was left got either used up in the late 40s or ended in landfills by the 50s.
i second that, i am from slovakia and i saw the Matador logo on it. but the matador company existed during ww2, it use to be a slovak company and Slovakia was an independend nazi ally in ww2,so it could have been a suplier in ww2
Thanks for the informative comment.
Interesting, today Bundeswehr is still buying boots from Czech producers for some reason, but as Roman said, Matador was Slovak.
I've got a Kar98k that was made in Czechoslovakia early in the war. First thing Germany did was get those world renowned factories to work. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was a legit boot made by Czechoslovakia for Germany.
@@RADIOACTIVEBUNY You are right but judging from the rubber pieces, the nylon strap, the fake welt and the abundance of the typical steel spikes. I think this rather might me a CSSR made civilian boot from the 60s or so.
This boot is best known as "Knobelbecher".
They were used even to the 80th; I have a pair from my time with the Red cross.
I have walked through water and salt water with them without getting my feet wet.
These Knobelbecher also had shorter and wider shafts in order to tug the trousers in.
8:07 as a shoemaker I can assert with 99% certainty that the guy in the middle has custom made boots. Very slim profile, they sit on his feet as tight as stockings would. And the toe shape is much more elegant than mass produced military boot, which are more practical than fashionable
Looks like Willhelm Mohnke. A pretty high officer in the SS. He definately would have the status to order custom boots.
@@elrondmcbong467mohnke 🦧
@@elrondmcbong467He's not wearing an SS uniform. I don't know if it was common to switch between services, but think that it wasn't.
There is no way to preserve these things forever, putting them in a digital form helps keep the history alive and more interactive for a longer period of time. Keep it up!
until the next solar flare
for some reason I thought u meant to NFT it 💀💀
UMMMM YES THERE IS DAA
@@Dan-qs7ki Time to start backing up youtube on 35mm.
Why can’t soliders keep dressing like this. I despise the Nazi but damn their uniforms were awesome! The uniforms alone caused fear in people. Modern uniforms are so blah. I even liked the look of the US uniforms from Vietnam.
I've worn many designs of hobnailed boots and can verify that they indeed improve both traction and durability when you're on open ground (dirt, grass, mud etc). The only surface where you're disadvantaged would be on solid, stone-based materials, like tiles, cobblestones, marble, sandstone etc. Grip on asphalt varies depending on what size of stone filler they used on the road. Wood floors are also fine.
I have a very strong suspicion that if OP was sold the boots in the video under the understanding that they're WW2 German, OP might have been fleeced. The fact the boots are officer-style, have a weird adjustment strap on the calf area, no hobnails and a *rubber* heel is just very suspect. (Germany had abysmal rubber supplies during WW2, so anything that could be made with leather was). You should be able to see some sort of ink stamps from the factory if they are genuine. It would help if we could see a close up of that rubber heel cap.
Most originals also tend to be pretty crusty from age, or in completely unissued condition (still light brown), but generally in smaller sizes that weren't commonly used up by soldiers.
I think what's probably the case is that these are officer boots from the days of the early Bundeswehr or possibly the NVA (East Germany's army) for use in parade/ceremonial use, hence why the leather isn't as thick.
ruclips.net/video/tRrdXX2eFGM/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/qmQZX4wmAIM/видео.html
Here's three examples of pretty high-end reproductions of German jackboots. The first link is probably some of the best made out there, by Jan Berger.
lederarsenal.com/en/WW2/shoes/shoesww2.php?
www.koutny-cz.cz/en/shark-nose-jackboots-marschtiefel/
www.atthefront.com/product-p/gbjbtx.htm
I’m addition to the practicality of the hob nails on the boots, it would have been very similar to Roman Legionaries which the Third Reich tried to imitate in military tradition.
I agree I don’t think their original. I thought they were fake just seeing how he was actually able to wear them and the rubber heel
@@tristondaniels599 Almost everyone was using hobnails into WW2. Only the USA had enough rubber stocks for their boots.
The Roman style hobnails used in caligae are actually more retentive in the soles than the more modern style, due to how they're attached. Don't really have an illustration unfortunately.
So have i, i wore them on the farm growing up and in the Army as a parade boot. You have to take care on hard concrete as i ended up on my arse many times, highly embarrassing when in Uniform best dress.
A couple of people in the comments have said that "MATADOR" is the name of a manufacturer in Bratislava and that they believe these to be Warsaw Pact boots
I inherited a pair from my grandfather. He bought these post war in Greece for hunting. I believe they were continued to be manufactured after the end of WWII. Unfortunately the internal wool lining deteriorated .
You had me in the first half ngl
Translation: grandpa took the boots off the Nazi he shot
@@jtothed8575Corrected translation: grandpa kept the boots he was issued and changed his identity to a Greek man post-war to evade the bloodthirsty extrajudicial Israeli death squads while being able to remain comfortably antisemitic. Gam Zu L'tova!!!
@@jtothed8575 The man was not necessarily a Nazi but foremost a Wehrmacht soldier!
A leather outsole is also easier to replace than rubber is.
I wish there was a museum of historical shoes that had a cut in half variant like you do, it would be so neat to see all the guts of a boot on display.
Man it sucks that this was demonitized. I hope you can successfully appeal. The words here are fundamental pieces of history that may not be the key to understanding major geopolitical driving forces but are important to contextualize the lifes and experiences of those alive at the time.
Thanks for making these.
Why wad it demonetized though?
Whitewashed history won't keep us from repeating the same mistakes in the future...
@@BodiaH Likely because of Nazi references etc.
Good, anyway. People like this don't deserve monetization.
@@chrisoconnor9521 people like this don't deserve monetization? Are you talking about this channel? if so can you please elaborate
@@wangjangler596 no.
While I love the fact that you're finally taking a look at the jackboot, like some here have already pointed out that is not a WW2 German jackboot. What that is is a postwar bundeswehr jackboot. It's not at all an uncommon mistake people make as they look very similar but if you put them next to each other the differences become quite noticable. The construction is also pretty different.
Hopefully now that you know you'll be able to find a correct pair.
@Rose Anvil, if you see this I would like to help you find a correct pair of boots because I loved your GI boot video and have been hoping to see this for a while now.
I personally am friends with someone who’s a renowned cobbler and is in the process of publishing a book about jackboots. If you would like I could get you in contact with him if you’d like to speak about these boots. Otherwise, I have a lot of his resources that he’s posted over the years as well.
You're totally right, make a video about the pair you own instead please.
@@Dread_Not if I could post photos of the 2 pairs I own on here I would.
These are not Bundeswehr Jackboots. These aren't East German either. They are indeed Warsaw Pact boots. The Producer of the sole "Matador" is located in Bratislava in former Czechoslovakia, these are Czechoslovakian Army boots.
@@blitzkriegfritz2779 , interesting...
Thank you for basically ensuring we get a part two.
Those boots might actually be East German, the multicolored straps look to be from around that era. Like the wartime ones, there are a lot of variations in DDR boots as well, but they all share the same general construction
Yes the Volksarmee wore jackboots right up until the fall of the wall
That would make sense considering the scuffed burlap construction and lack of stitching
I concur
After the wall came down you could buy a brand new unissued pair of east German army jack boots for dirt cheap. They're pretty much all gone now.
I'm pretty sure these are no East German boots. They didn't had such thick leather and were meticulously stamped and documented.
My godfather was responsible for quite a bit of what is now the D-day/National WWII museum here in New Orleans, and as such I know quite a few members of the museum staff particularly in the Restoration Pavilion. I showed a few of them the first WWII video and honestly they had a positive reaction. The museum has several cutaways for materiel, from small arms to vehicles... Honestly they'd probably jump at a display of the boots cut in half.
Such a great museum. I got to visit last year. Tell him thanks!
Interesting. Did they happen to have any authentic versions of this boot on display? It would be interesting to see if there are some details (such as the fake welt) that are absent.
Yeah cutaway even if made on historical manufacts are very useful, in fact they are obiquitous in museums of machines as they enables to see the inner workings to keep on the ww2 Germany theme you can see many (pretty much every museum that has one) junkers jumo 004 turbojet engines with cutaways, and they are way more valuable that any pair of boots
I’ve been there, , nice displays
Half price?
11:25 Adding metal studs is pretty much standard for rubber soled wading boots. They really help on wet, slippery river rock and do just fine on dry surfaces. Definitely better than plain, flat leather soles.
Commenting to keep this video going after demonitisation.
Hope to see more videos on these boots, I heard that there was alot of variation since they were contracted out to many different makers.
what word demonitized the video?
I’d like to know too
@@MikeyMorentin UTub doesn't have any list of how it makes it's decision to demonitise.
So it may not have been a word, could've been anything.
@@MikeyMorentin Given RUclips "standards" for censorship, it might have been "German".
What lofi song is that in the beginning of the video?
If your boot examples were original, somewhere on the boot you would find a makers name. The Germans of that time stamped and documented everything.
Would you though a boot made for hundreds of thousands of soldiers
@@obad7633 Yes, they Germans would sometimes stamp screws, on parts issued in the millions.
@@obad7633 Yes in Germany you document everything.
@@pab26120 some wartime German rifles I've had were serialized on nearly every component larger than a screw. They were definitely meticulous about stamping lol
@@obad7633 I mean I've seen K98's where everything larger then a screw indeed had a serial number. Those were also made for millions of soldiers. Don't forget this is also the country that had trained Artisans working on their tanks. I.E meticulous crafted everything on the tank down to the spare chains hanging on the sides. Think you can find a video about that on The Tank Museum just search for Jingles in it. So yes I would fully expect them to stamp at least one makers mark in the boot.
I agree with your reasoning on taking a deep dive on the history of footwear that was worn by members of the military. History is too often dismissed as just being a curiosity rather than having any practical use - yet look often it is repeated. This is a great series and I love your idea of it being part of a museum exhibit.
I have read (but cannot attribute/reference right now) the origin of "jackboot" being the process of "jacking" the leather -- applying a waterproofing resin mixture to them with heat and burnishing. Usually rosin, linseed oil and lamp black IIRC. Mixture similar to traditional/pre-plastic patent varnishes. I'll try and find the (19th century?) article on the process.
It would be interesting to see that process
As a retired high school teacher, I only wish that some of my presentations could have been as informative and educational to my students! The historical imagery and narrative in the demonstration and exploration of your expressed concepts, was as good as it gets! You deserve an A+ on this presentation and I look forward to watching more of your videos.
I never learned about ww11 or 1 in highschool, period
I have Two pairs of these from my Grand Father who lost a boot in combat in WW2 he “Liberated “ a pair and continued to till the end of the war he said they were incredibly durable,warm and water resistant but some what heavy but worth the weight
My Greatgrandfather always called them "Knobelbecher" which is soldier slang and could be translated as "dice cup". We still used this nickname 3 generations later in the Bundeswehr.
Greetings from Germany and thanks fot the awesome Video!
What a great historic topic. Utterly fascinating for me. I’m glad you guys have the courage not to be afraid to post it. So many people are afraid of history and the real important thing is to learn and grow , you cannot do this if you put your head in the sand. Very well done!
I for one love that you cut these in half. What's the point of preserving history if we don't learn from it?
The point of not learning from the past is that we would be bound to make the same mistakes over and over again :D
Not to mention that he does preserve history by doing these in-depth dives into the construction of the boots and that is probably more useful and instructive than simply having a pair of boots on display.
It’s also not like it’s particularly difficult to find museums displaying such boots, which means that he is far from cutting up the one example posterity has to look at/into.
And while the cut up boots obviously cannot be worn, they still do exist and can be displayed if necessary and are thus not exactly “destroyed” from a historical standpoint, while the “dissection” has of course also been preserved for the future, thus arguably both preserving the original artefact (albeit in an altered state) and providing easily accessible knowledge about it.
I think this view is something that most historians and historically interested people would probably appreciate. I suspect the objections stem more from people with a sort of “collector’s perspective” where “mint condition” is prized more than the actual history and context of the artefact.
Is you tube out of there minds?
What could have been so bad that they had to go there!?
I can’t wait for more of your videos. Because of guys like you and the others who do what you do I have learned so much. Keep going strong✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽
If you think the trend to wear hats backward gained momentum with Ken Griffey Jr., a popular baseball player in the 1990s think again . minute 2,42 first person ever to wear a basecap reverse in style was the SS tank commanders to spot enemy aircraft better.
Wehrmacht tank personnel did not wear baseball caps, but rather black barettes without a shield!
A little side note. Back then the Landser(so, the common front soldier) referred to these boots as "Knobelbecher", which means as much as dice cup. When you translate dice into German, you'll get the term "Würfel" (roll the dice = Würfeln). An older term for Würfeln is "Knobeln", and because the boot looks a bit like a huge dice cup, the Landser referred to it as Knobelbecher. Greetings from Germany. 🤙🏻
Btw, the "ch" in Knobelbecher is pronounced a bit like the hissing sound of a cat, not like a "k".
I found a way for native English speakers to pronounce the "ch" sound; I just tell them to say the name "Albrecht" but they're not allowed to use a "K" sound - they can't really pronounce it wrong then!
That ch-sound is (sort of) similar to the *j* in *jet* . To make it more challenging, there’s a ch-sound in German that is different like in "Buch/Bach/Nacht/…". JFTR & HTH
BTw, weren’t those boots soles nailed (and therefore created that 'specific' marching sound)?
@@agn855 yep, you're right. The soles were indeed nailed, which turned out to be a major problem in the freezing cold temperatures of the winter of 1941. Since iron is such a good conductor, it channeled the cold right into the boots. My grandpa fought in the 10.Pz.Div. (10th armored division) during the attack on Moscow. He told me that the Landsers were so desperate due to the fact that no supplies of winter clothing were being delivered (they had to fight in their summer uniforms in -40 degrees Celsius) that the soldiers left their trenches at night and looked for fallen Russian soldiers lying frozen stiff on the battlefield, to get their winter boots. He said, since the soldiers' bodies were rock solid frozen, the only way to get their boots was to chop off their legs below the knee with hatchets and to take the boots along with the feet. The boots then had to be placed next to a fire and thawed in order to be able to separate them from the feet. This is one of those little side notes of history that doesn't usually find its way into the history books, I guess.
Appreciate your reply, bud. 👍🏻
@@agn855 ...as for the German ch-sound; explaining its pronunciation is a bit like having to explain to someone what caraway tastes like. At least for me... 😉
@@agn855 what? Isn't the J in Jets more of a "dj" sound? It's not like Jets are pronounced as Yets...?
wooden pegs are more often used in germany than you think. Maybe you should have a look at the "Haferl Schuh" to see more on that topic. And from my own expirience you can build a boot only using nails/wood pegs. I live in germany an make an apprenticeship as an orthic shoemaker.
I second that....the wooden peg attachment is what the Sweds and Finns used in their boots because the wet and damp made the pegs swell up and make a waterproof joint
@@richardcostello360 thats so cool
Sorry to burst the bubble but:
Those are definitely not original WW2.
They are the ceremonial boot of the wachbataillon, the triservice ceremonial troop and band.
At the oldest possible, 1957.
More likely 90s though.
Source: looking at pair that I bought in Germany
Well he did mention in the video they might be a reproduction
To add some information about issuing jackboots (which looked very similar to yours) in West German Bundeswehr: generally you did not get usually new boots, but boots that one (or many) soldiers used before. Laced boots as Ersatz for the jackboots were introduced in large numbers in mid-1970‘s. When I got my first set of uniforms in 1977, I got one pair of (used) jackboots very similar to yours, though with rubber outsoles (IIRC). Due to problems with my feet I changed this pair to one one size larger, they were brand new laced boots, as high as the jackboots, but brown. Sadly I could not keep them when I left Bundeswehr in 1979. This were the best boots I ever had in terms of comfortable walking, did much marching in them, never had any problems at all. (In the 1980‘s it was changed, you could keep your boots when leaving the Army.)
I enjoyed the Vietnam jungle boot video you did. I wore mine in the Mekong Delta during the monsoon season and rarely ever saw the boots themselves as both were completely covered in mud that stuck to your soul.
Welcome home man ♥️
Y'all, it's just a boot. I bet y'all drive Volkswagen and wear Hugo Boss with no worries.
and Bosche and Bayer and NASA and the Ukraine and the Bush Family and the English Royal Family. its almost like they didnt lose and just integrated into everything.
Looks like I’m not the only History nerd here :)
I live about 4 minutes from BASF here in North Carolina. You wanna talk "bad sh*t during WWII" they're real bad.
And drink Fanta
@@indigoldsfinest and smoke meth
I really like the idea of donating the cut-in-half boots to a museum in the end!
Also as a side note; these videos are very useful to people who create replica military uniforms for reenactments and want to be as accurate as possible!
EDIT: Just finished the video and saw that these were repos. Hahaha
The Germans still have ceremonial units which use that style of boot. You may have one of them from the sixties or seventies...or so on.
It's a "wachtbattion" duty boot..... usually better condition than the stock standard bundeswher boots
Brilliant, just brilliant ! This was both fascinating and enjoyable (including the comments section). This channel is one of the most interesting and unexpectedly rewarding channels I've accidentally stumbled across. A truly worthy of support project . . . 👍Thank you !
I own pair of “parade boots”(Basically a jackboot) from the Bundeswehr after the war. After wearing them quite a lot(eveything was gamling apart) I decided to refurbish them, I’m a cobbler’s apprentice. They were welted 360 degrees. That’s a boot that’s supposed to be only for parades and such. Yet they were welted. It would be insane to make lower quality boots in the early stages of a war when you’re not short on supplies.
These are post war, rubber wasn't used pre '45, also "democratic buckle" buckles are only present on postwar voots to my knowledge, I got two 50s 60s west german boots and both have a buckle
I think you are doing a great job and contribute a deeper look into history.
IMHO these are motorcyclists boots from the 50ies:
My dad had a pair of these and they had nearly the exact same features.
Keep up the good work!
I have been a collector of WW1 and WW2 military items. I couldn’t destroy it but I’m loving the ability to see what’s inside! So awesome I agree with your opinion on the validation of the positive destruction!
@@WhattAreYouSaying Would they pay as much as 700,000+ people and be viewed from all perspectives in a video rather than through a glass case or much worse at your place where no one visits?
A little history nugget I picked up along the way:
In the poorly-timed German offensive against the Soviet Union, many German soldiers suffered frostbite in their feet because those metal hobnails and studs intended for traction in the wintery, slushy, and slippery muck of the Russian countryside actually worked as a heat sink, drawing the bitter cold right into the soles of their feet. Boots issued during the war were also constructed with metal tacks, only increasing the heatsink potential (which is one reason I believe the boot used in the video is a later make, probably early days East German/ Iron Curtain timeframe)
Often the German soldiers would strip the boots from fallen adversaries, as well as civilians, to swap out from their own. Apparently the Russians knew better than to use metal tacks in their boot soles.
When spring finally broke that harsh winter, there were stories of jackboots littering the fields, revealed from the retreating snowmelt.
* I can’t quote any sources for this, other than a hazy memory from a movie seen years ago, most likely it was “Cross Of Iron.” I have read a lot of history in my years, so it’s just something that’s been stored away upstairs, waiting for this perfect moment to regurgitate this tidbit of appropriate, yet otherwise useless, knowledge.
It is indeed a myth.
Firstly, both German AND Soviet boots had hobnails.
Secondly, I believe the myth is born from the Italian expeditionary force on the Stalingrad front. The Italian boots had an absurd amount of hobnails - around 70 (compared to the German 35-40 and Soviet 20-25). That's not counting regular nails or anything else used to fix the sole to the rest of the boot (I know Germans used wooden pegs, not sure about others). Most importantly, it's not that the metal acted as a heatsink - the holes from the nails - especially if the nails fell out or were purposely removed - would absorb moisture which would then proceed to freeze. When you have so much more nails in your boots, there's a higher chance of missing some nails, and, subsequently, you'll likely have more holes in your boots.
The Germans learnt quite a few other lessons in the Russian winter. For example to wear foot-rags like the Russians rather than socks, as these didn’t compress the foot and kept in the warmth better. Also to put newspaper in the boot, and preferably wear boots about two sizes too big to allow for more insulation/rags.
Pretty common misconception that germany attacked soviets in the winter. Barbarossa started in june and it made sense to them at the time that russia which barely could beat finland wouldn't be able to hold off the strongest military in Europe for more than a few months. Shoes they had at the start were good enough for their intended purpose. But yeah hindsight is always 20/20.
@@Jebu911 - Don’t think many people think the Germans were silly enough to invade in winter. I believe the original plan was to go in May but several delays including the invasion of Crete (which required the diversion of 500 Ju52 transports) pushed Barbarossa back a month.
The Russians also used hobnails but put them on so they didnt transmit the cold to your feet. Local cobblers would rework German boots and do this. One German soldiers father had fought in Russia in WW1 and told him to get boots one size larger and wear two pairs of socks. He never had frostbite.
You should keep in mind that for a long period the Country supplied and maintained the individual Soldier's uniforms so it was assumed that the appearance of the service men were a reflection of the Country. High boots were popular so that the lower portions of the trouser legs were protected so no uniform damage would be commonly be seen, and supply didn't need to trade trousers so often.
Commenting for the screwed up utube policy. Awesome bit of work there mate, well done!
Definitley a post-war Bundeswehr boot.
WW2-era Jackboots had a flatter nose, were slightly shorter than that and didn't have the strap on the side.
If I remember correctly, bootmakers and cobblers would use old tires to make rubber soles for boots back then. So the patterned rubber you found in the midsole might have been salvaged from something else.
This isn't proof that it's a reproduction or not, I don't know enough about WWII boots to make any judgement on that. Are you thinking of trying to find another pair to cut apart, to try to cut apart some definitely authentic ones?
*_Yes but that didn't match any tire pattern of that era and they still do in third world countries just youtube it.._*
I would say that the boots are more important than tanks, boots were used by ALL.
My thoughts, too. Every tank deployment had infantry working with them, on top of all the infantry deployed elsewhere.
underwear even more important, since you had to change much more frequently
@@Jaburu You have a valid point. Everything in the military has an equal particular purpose. I'm glad we didn't think boots were so important that we said..." we don't need any more tanks, we need more boots, lots and lots of boots."
“Jack” is a common English idiom meaning “utility” or “general purpose,” as in jackknife, jack line and jackhammer. It is even implied in “Jack of all trades.”
Continue making these great videos. American or German. It’s history. Thank you for showing us a side of history many of us share an interest in. Keep up the good work.
As everyone has already harped on about the fact that this isn't a WW2 boot I won't go into the details, but just thought I'd point out the irony that you have some photos of the right boots in your video at 7:58. The differences are clear just from this set of photos, these are the boots you need to test!
To be fair tho, a real set is near $1500
Love the history information and lesson everytime!! Dissecring a pair of boots from any era just helps open the door into the past and you preserve it digitally for years!
The museum display sounds really cool. Great idea to preserve the history even further.
I was an instructor in the Bundeswehr until the mid-1980s. The boots (in German slang "Knobelbecher" [*]) were not nearly as good as their reputation. They were only really suitable for marching when a so-called "marching aid" was attached (similar to spurs for riding, only here the lower boot was lashed as tightly to the foot as possible). Otherwise, very bad blisters were guaranteed.
Over the years, several conscripted soldiers have had this experience, who were of the opinion that "Grandpa marched with them until shortly before Moscow, so they are better than the boots today".) I had always warned them about the "jackboots" during training, but some of them didn't want to believe me. Then "learning through pain" came into play and the 6 km familiarization march turned into a 20 km combat march.
[*]
Explanation:
"Knobelbecher" is made up of 2 German words in which one of the words is given a special meaning by being put together.
"Knobel" means a dice game with this name
"Becher" is a mug, or cup without a handle
The compound word also makes it clear that the "mug" must be made of leather, because that is the actual meaning of the word, so in English it is more likely to be a "leather mug".
Edit:
At 8:08 you can see the "marching aids". Here, however, in the parade form, i.e. with a shiny buckle. They were black for the common soldier.
Not sure how this was demonitized. Great take/historical perspective on the quality of the boots. 🙏
Its because YT is full of Yazis along with majority of America Tec companies. SO they dont like it when we "attack" their past selves.
@@LightYagami-rz6su stfu they are leftwing extremists and don’t like when we bring up anything that is not 100% about bashing Germans in WW2 even if it’s talking about their boots. Calling everyone a Nazi is dumb af
@LightYagami-rz6su It's weird that most of those "Yazis" are jewish tho.
My grandfather served in world war two for the royal Canadian air force and was stationed at Yorkshire and then again in France after D-Day he would have loved your videos just because of he always said if you don't use your brain you lose your brain so he would have seen some of RUclips as a treasure trove of knowledge thank you for putting these videos out there
Your grandfather was a smart man! 🧠
love this. more historic boot vids would be great
💯💯
I think those are GDR Volkspolizei jackboots. The Wehrmacht jackboots were much better, always had a leather sole which was pegged on with wooden pegs, and you can still buy them new, made according to the old specifications.
Just discovered your channel when I saw your video about the Japanese boot. It's just wrong that this video was demonetized. I will continue to watch and learn about the history of footwear. Cheers from Guam USA👍
Just came across your channel today. Watched all the WWII videos. Great stuff. I learned a lot.
Hey, I love the war boots series, it's genuinely one of a kind of preserving history and I do really respect what you do, but can you do Soviet ww2 boots as well, it would be so interesting to know. thanks
The IDF have a very unique footwear traditons, they used Corcoran- inspired boots with Ro-search soles until 2008. It would be interesting to see what they have in them
I was in the Israeli infantry (Nachal Brigade) from 1986-1988. Right about at the most miserable period of my service, winter in the Golan Heights, our battalion was chosen as guinea pigs for testing a boot with a newer sole which was lighter in weight than the older sole. The new sole VERY quickly fell apart, which shocked me because I just assumed that A) they test everything in the factory and B) that the saving of a few grams of weight is NOT going to matter to an infantryman who thinks in terms of KILOgrams of weight. Our boots were pretty much a copy of the US Army's combat boot which had the reinforced toe. They were a pain in the ass to lace up during a drill and I sure wish that speed-laces had been invented twenty years earlier.... Otherwise, with wool socks, the Israeli boots were fairly comfortable.
Looks like postwar boots to me, not 'Nazi' at all.
Real Wehrmacht and SS boots tend to have certain characteristics that these are missing.
Wehrmacht boots have a roughout toe and totally different last.
These boots looks 'similar' to SA/SS boots with the buckle style, but without provenance or stamps and with leather that looks like that, I don't think these are representative of marching boot - just equestian boots in general.
I mean at 11:34 you literally show the bottom of a real pair of wartime German boots and you can CLEARLY see:
Different last, different outsole, and stamps that aren't present on these boots.
The pair of genuine SS boots I have seen is heavier and even boxy, they're reenforced and not just riding boots.
Ahh, finally got to the end - glad you recognized it.
Just ask reenactors what boots to get :p
New to channel. My first pair of work boots where 8inch heigh mock toe; about 14 years old. I am 58 now and do tool and die work, machining grinding welding , in and out of presses to repair dies. I get a 6 months to a year out of boots. I have worn dancers, throgood and Wolverine boot. I have Feet issue and thank you for your in depth detail to boots. Yes it break my hart to see you cut boots in half but see them benefit. Thanks again.
You bring up a good point about the laces. I always carried an extra pair on patrol just in case.
Great video. Taking apart the boot helps preserve history.
Ignore the haters.
I'm far from being a militaria expert but even I can see that these are definitely NOT German WW2 military boots. I'm pretty sure they were produced in the German Democratic Republic in the sixties or seventies as lightweight parade boots for the guards of "Nationale Volksarmee" or the "Betriebskampfgruppen". Anyway, they are no combat boots.
at first i thought it was a german cavalry boot , because soldiers marching boots ( wehrmacht marschstiefel ) was shorter, (even officers boots )35 -40 cm before 1939 ,and went down to 30cm (12") after 1939.
Anyway i was in the army of the last year of Soviet Union,and spend 2 years wearing this kind of boots,the super comfortable when you got used to them and we ran 5 miles every morning wearing this things . There is a lots of memories and shit but i want to suggest to do a test for those russian boots,its easy to obtain they are cheaper,and there is only two kinds leather for officers and "kirza" some sort of a leather substitute for privates.
My great-grandfather Rudolf served in the german cavalry (Württembergische Reserve) in WW1. I still have his boots which he continued using in his little winyard in Stuttgart even after the second war. They re worn out of course but they re both still in one piece and usable, which is really fascinating. Cant try them on tho as i have much larger feet than he had. And they re leather brown, guess he didnt continue using black wax. Btw, i also have his blue parade uniform.
Ill also share a little story about him. My great aunt Klara, a daugther of Rudolf, used to tell us lots of stories from back then. Once she mentioned that she was with her dad when he saw a shack that had a roof tile out of place, so rain could get inside. He already was quite old but grabbed a ladder and climbed on the roof to put the roof tile back in position. This shack was owned by people he didnt even know but he just had to do it. And he wore his trusty old army boots. Klara mentioned all details she could remember in her stories. 🙂
If you have old relatives alive, go visit them. One day they ll go and take great stories with them. 🙏
The people I spoke to, who were actually in the thick of it between ‘38 and ‘45 referred o the boots as “Knobelbecher” which refers to a game with dice.
Definitely not WW2 German but like other's have said Post war, either East or West German perhaps. One suggestion regarding Jacboots for you to consider would be a pair of Finnish Jackboots. Fins used these into the cold war and you can still get some from either "Varusteleka" in Finland or other online sites. I think IMA or Sportsmans Guide has some in stock currently. These are genuine Finnish, some post war manufacture, but apparently made in the exact same way as the WW2 boot the Fins had.
These are a 100% not west German west German boots where bulkier and hat rubber soles
def agree on the finnish jackboots, I own a pair and they are like Finnish space magic they are great boots but mine need a resole.
Always love the details in your videos. Could you perhaps try a the Adidas Forum 84s or mids and compare them to dunks or af1s leather quality and other stuff.
I can imagine the hob nails in conjunction with the goose-step march, made that sound that is so familiar now. So much of what the Nazis did was a power display.
The explanation about wooden pegs was really interesting. And it makes the song "Peg and Awl" more relavant!
I have a pair of East German jackboots. Made of thick blackened pebble grain leather, and rubber soles.
They have the forward facing side buckles at the top. The welt is stitched. The soles have a vibram-like pattern. They were glued on. The soles came off one of the boots when I wore them to the city dump and got into some deep gumbo mud. A shoemaker glued the sole back on, but warned against wearing them for real work. Also the top of the vamp -- usually has a keystone-looking flap that is stitched over the upper stovepipe. On these boots the keystone is under a V in the pipe.. FDs or new style, IDK?
From the bottom of the heel to the top of the stovepipe is 33 cm. A maker's name.>
is molded into the sole under the instep. I find wearing East German ''fusslappen'' -- 2'x2' brown fluffy cotton squares -- inside the boots is more comfortable than socks.
My father and his brother did more than 5 years forced labour for the Germans during WW2, making boots. They sent a load of winter boots to the German troops invading Russia, but he enjoyed telling me they only made the right boot. Unfortunately after the boots arrived and the mistake was realised all the supervisors were shot by the Germans. My father and his brother survived and walked home after the war ended, to the amazement of their parents.
That's some awesome trolling on their part, by only shipping the right boot 🤣🤣🤣🤣😝😝😝😝 I feel sorry for the poor quartermaster who received the shipment, who was probably frantically scrabbling through the shipment trying to find a left boot, probably getting more and more frustrated as he searched 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
What an unusual story. Tragic but with a little bit of funny too. I thank you for sharing it. 👍
r/thatHappened
@@xB-yg2iw That's what my father told me. I am sure it is true. I have his German forced labour ID cards. No reason to think it is anything else but right.
I think it doesn't make sense to make disgruntled people make boots if you want high quality boots. Especially, for your soldiers.
A model very, very similar to this was used as "Seestiefel" (translation is roughly: boot for naval use) in the (federal) german navy. Little changes. Newer models change more about it, but overall it's the same style.
One of the upsides in naval use of this kind of boot is that you might not lose your foot and leg if you step into a rope that suddenly comes under tension. The boot has the chance to slip off.
I was not even interested in these boots but am watching it because YT demonitized it!
Ty for sharing and teaching history. Great job. New sub.
The boot tests were carried out in the Oranienburg/Sachsenhausen concentration camp on a differently designed route at the Apellplatz. Daily workload was around 40km. Participation was "voluntary" and was remunerated with prison relief, such as better food, camp coupons for shopping in the canteen, or days off. The commander (himself a prisoner) who led the "Schuhläuferkommando" encouraged his people, among other things: "We are paid well here - in contrast to the German soldiers, who do this every day in addition to fighting for 50 pfennig honorary pay."
BTW.: Boot tests were also introduced in the United States towards the end of World War II. Until the late 1960s, they were considered superior to mechanical tests.
Please understand everything without judgment....;)
Would love to see your channel get their paws on a pair of Truman Boots, since they have had an interesting few years the few years they have been around. Namely the change of welting method and QC concerns.
Took the chance and ordered a pair since I love their leather choices and overall aesthetics, but of course not in a position to cut that thing in half for that price. Especially considering its being delivered to Denmark.
Their rambler leathers are wild!
Actually ordered their noble ink and martini ramblers. Excited to see them in person next month... Maybe
@@FreddyJRO i am seriously considering getting a pair in coach rambler. The texture is incredible!
@@jmarth523 Apparently not getting notifications for this chat.
You're not gonna hear me argue against it. The other boot I'm highly considering is their Cognac Shrunken Bison. That thing looks unreal.
@@FreddyJRO those shrunken bison look great!
Hi Rose Anvil! I have really enjoyed watching your films!
Your knowledgable observations and recommendations, your cinematic skill in portraying the subject, and even your occasional discounts are just great!
This is the first of your 'Historical' series I've seen but I'm going to look for ALL the others! This is a fascinating lens into the cultural importance, technological development, and the effects of mass production in military AND consumer product goods, and I hope you do more of these!
I can't imagine how anyone could object to the concept of learning more about history by doing investigative research of items which are hardly one-of-a-kind; it's like getting up on a soapbox with "Oh, the Humanity" if someone were to try and discover why KRations tasted so awful - especially the dried egg powder! Oh, well. It takes all kinds I guess.
Keep up the FANTASTIC work!
He's calling the entire Wehrmacht Nazis and you're okay with that?
The Romans used hob nails for traction on grass and dirt, which unfortunately makes it difficult to fight in urban areas with cobblestones or flagstone pavers. The Roman legions notoriously struggled many times with well armed urban rebellions probably because they were trying not to fall while fighting.
They were "damned if you do, damned if you don't" when it came to the hobnails in their boots. A smooth leather sole can slip on pavement just as well as hobnailed soles do.
@@solinvictus39 I suppose it depends on how wet it is, but at least leather soles don't alert the rebels to your position before you can see them. The first time I saw a hoplite style battle I understood hob nails because it reminded me of playing football in cleats and the action between the offensive and defensive lines. Traction advantage is huge, probably top three most important factors along with mass and leverage. I feel bad for the front line soldiers with their friends pushing from behind and the enemy pushing before them with sharp points. It's probably a bit like trying to enter and exit a NYC subway car on a drinking holiday. Inhumane!
(Aggie Band '76) Seniors in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets are cadet officers and wear riding boots, the same as Patton and - for that matter - EVERY senior officer in the U.S. Army prior to WWII. We polished our black low-quarters to a mirror-shine (Lincoln Stain Wax is the best) but used a softer Meltonian boot cream for the boots (sadly, no longer in business). Despite the term, never use spit. Spit can have sugar in it from food, drinks, or chewing gum; it will crack and destroy the shine and you will have to strip it back down to leather (distilled water is best; tap water will do). At 6:48 notice the construction around the heel. Aggie boots have a double-thickness in the barrel to ensure they are straight and smooth. This also forces the boot to 'break' around the ankles without those folds going up into the barrel (5:06 soldier on the far left).
The taller the boot the better looking, but it makes it uncomfortable to do... anything... other than march, stand up, or sit with your feet on the ground pointing straight ahead. You can't easily cross your legs, and resting with one leg Indian-style crossed-legged over the other puts shoe-polish on the other pants-leg. With the leather sole, on wet, smooth concrete you can find yourself 'ice-skating'. Custom made boots (different measurements for either foot and leg) cost about $1,500 today and are so tight you have to have a [fresh] fish / freshman (Civil War term for new soldier) pull your boots for you by grasping ONLY the boot-heel without putting pressure on the sides of your heel. You spend your life paranoid someone will step on your boot and gouge the leather. Because of that, formal dances were not as fun as I expected. Our traditional winter uniform is the Class A (going to church suit); that looks great (search for Texas Aggie Corps March-in), but as a former rifle platoon leader I can't imagine trying to be in combat wearing that!
P.S. I'm sorry the pansy censors can't handle the truth about History.
These boots lasted that long. What is the secret to keep leather from cracks?
Just rewatching it as a finger to the algorithm
When I broke the strings on my Vietnam jungle boots I patched them by running wire through the holes and twisted them. I had it happen a few times as I was in a combat construction unit and I was a welder.
I love the channel but I would have saved this video for an actual Nazi German boot. Good information and research but slightly disappointed it wasn’t the real thing.
I think regarding your comment about rubber inside the boot, I think (assuming it’s real) that rubber would be worth it. Army boots get really abused, modern military boots at best last 6 months in theatre. Fact is, men had to walk then a lot more than they do now. If boots ruin your feet, your army stops. For the sake of a small piece of rubber you could stretch the boots life and keep your army moving. Seems worth it to me!
Some information that might be helpful: I have a Bulgarian military boot from the 1960s and what surprised me is how similar it is -almost identical. It is thinner and the leather never reaches 5mm, but I think that was a stat of yours being fake and having a filler. It does have wooden nails too, but also has metal nails on the heel + stiching+ metal pieces on the front end, as well as on the heel. I came here, cause I have been looking for a propper method to re-oil it and make it soft and wearable again. I am applying coats of Neatsfoot Oil, but it takes a long time to dry and doesn't soften as quickly as I would like. My question is should I apply oil on the inside and the sole too, since they are too made of leather?
Hot Take: Boots are absolutely more important than Tanks.
Hint, those aren't WW2 German army marching boots. They had two versions if I remember correctly during the war. Heel irons and hob nails,wood peg construction, came in brown and soldiers had to stain/polish them black. Easy reference hit up At the front, he has good information on original version's and their construction, these look like post war boots, also some officers purchased their own version's.
Cheers
Ahhhh Shaddup
@@user-pq6mr6op3p ???
You make no sense?
A verified pair of world War two issued wehrmacht (jack) marching boots now? Would cost more than $1,000 usd depending on condition which if in good condition can fetch $ 2,500 usd. I grew up and served in michigan army national guard but as a teenager some stores in battle creek michigan actually had P.O.W. pairs of Kraut boots which back then were still in wearable condition and were available for $100 bucks or so. Because Ft.Custer was a destination of the defeated kraut troops who decided to surrender rather than die for Der fuhrer! Their footwear was replaced and some how ended up in a warehouse. Back in Germany when I was there in the early 80s one could run into dozens of these guys. But you don't know shit about that do you??? No not.
If your going to dissect a pair of real WW2 issued german jack boots (marching boots) then get an original pair. Different manufacturers like in the US had different techniques for building their types, there are over 15 different manufacturers of American paratrooper jump boots identified from acrual WW2 manufacturers, just like everyone else. Cookie cutter type and style didn't start until the late 40s with USA uniforms,.
But hey if you ain't been there nor done it you response is absolutely perfect for the defeated generations you are.
@@starioskal Didn't I tell you to stop running those peterbeaters? but here you are again with a lengthy comment. Saying made up crap about boots...Nobody cares about your knowledge of boots. It's funny cause you seem to think you're the boot master but in real life you can't keep a job or boyfriend. Look everyone I know alot about boots but nothing else.....Jagoff
@@user-pq6mr6op3p oh I see you are not a real person hahahaha 😆 😂 🤣 😉
@@starioskal real enough too come on your face.
My father was a decorated officer in the German army and he hated those boots. He traded them with a captured Russian Officer who had bespoke soft boots! He also used a captured T34 tank to lead bis assault gun unit.
For some reason I always thought "Jack" boots were like knee high goth boots. These are just cowboy boots with snake gaiters permanently attached.
I have a pair of 1980's Finnish Defence Force jack boots, they have a welted construction similar to the German para-boots of the same era - I'm in the UK and work in a school and often wear them to work as my 'rainy day' boot (trousers not tucked in obvs...)
Concentration camp inmates were forced to walk in the boots, barefoot, on rough surfaces to break the new boot in, so the soldiers didn't have to. If you visit the camps, some still have the rough brickwork embedded in the ground where this was done.
I met one inmate once, one Bjørn Egge, Norwegian sailor, who had to do that. The new boots rubbed their feet raw, they got infections, and as you said, when they couldn't do it any more, they were murdered.
Wow!
doubtful
That isn't how breaking in boots works, they have to be broken to the individual.
What was actually done, is soldiers would receive factory new boots in natural leather without wear or products applied; they would dye the boots themselves, then apply shoe grease for waterproofing and to protect the boot, then soak the lowers of the boot in water, let them dry slightly with them still being moist; and wear them until they dry. That is how you appropriately break in a boot like that.
@@mooveover5758 I met and talked with Bjørn Egge, an inmate of a camp, who was required to walk round a cobbled track, every day for God-knows how many hours, breaking in the boots. Without socks. So don't tell me what was or was not done. Read the post instead. Amazingly, he wasn't bitter and twisted about the experience but instead told his story to kids in history class.
@@alleygh0st A pity you can't call him a liar to his face.
Google some history.
During world war one the Germans were at a big advantage wearing these Jackboots compared to the Allies who had inferior boots that weren't waterproof as well. This caused the massive problem called trench foot. The skin from being constantly wet would peel off and get infected which led to soldiers having their toes or parts of their feet amputated. Really gross but then again the first world war was absolutely terrible.
Indeed, so much so that the germans switched to boot and wool leg wraps halfway the war. How do you dry your high leather boots?
I always understood jackboots were so called, in English long before the 1st world war, because they were removed with the aid of a "boot jack". In my time I have seen ornate cast iron ones, wooden ones, folding types for travel. Germany did not invent them and as said in the vid. the Germans had their own name for it.
Did enjoy and found it extremely informative..keep up the good work.
That was a pretty interesting overview of an old German jackboot. Had Germany been blessed with a a plenty of oil, it would probably have manufactured rubber soles and heels instead of leather. I have used second-hand Soviet and East German jackboots with all leather soles and heels in the past. While leather soles and heels have the "cool" factor (i.e., makes nice clicking noise each time you take a step over a solid ground), I would not recommend them if you are going to be moving around a lot as they provide poor traction.
There are three main types of Soviet jackboots: (a) Enlisted boots have leather shoes with rubber soles and heels, but have kirza (somewhat similar to tarpauline) shafts; (b) officer boots are all leather but with rubber soles and heels; (c) officer parade boots have all-leather construction, except for the heels and the soles, while mostly made of leather, is covered with thin rubber to provide better traction. You can recognize the parade boots quite easily as they are the same boots worn by the Kremlin Guards.
They have no shoelaces and this is one of the reasons I love them and I still wear them. I do not have to bend my back to get them on and off which is a big plus, I think.
By the way, do not apologize for dissecting that German jackboot. Just like what you have said, these German boots can be found online.
Fascinating subject and an important subject especially regarding military boots. I served 35 years in the British army. 5 years in the Welsh `guards followed then I transferred to the Parachute `regiment. In the Welsh guards we were issued 2 types of boots. For ceremonial duties we used what we called Ammo boots. These boots like the German Jackboot had hob nails and plates on the soles. When marching we had to dig our heels in in order not to slip. I suppose German soldiers fighting in urban areas would have slipped running from cover to cover due to the hob nails. I believe British WW2 soldiers also had hob nails. We had a trained cobbler in our unit who replace the soles but we had to replace our hob nails ourselves. We had to shine the boots to a very high gloss using black shoe polish and bee wax burnt into the leather to harden the leather, so the polish spit and shine did not crack. The other type of boots was for field or operational work. These were DMS boots which stood for DIRECTLY molded Soles which were made out of rubber. The rubber acted like shock absorption. These boots had thin leather but I was told it was compressed cardboard. We wore wooden putties around our ankles. These boots were great for hill walking and running as the putties wrapped around your ankles supported your ankles. During the Falklands war 1982 which I served these boots were proven to be totally inadequate. They absorbed water, were cold and many suffered frost bite and immersion foot. During this war we were also issued rubber over boots to wear over our DMS boots, but being made entirely out of rubber made our feet sweat which just compounded our feet problem. I discarded these boots and instead changed my wet socks, aired and powdered my feet daily if conditions allowed. I did not suffer immersion foot like the others who did not bother. The Falklands war highlighted the fact that much of our kit and equipment was inadequate for cold and wet conditions and the British army started development and research into quality equipment included boots. we were then issued boots combat high which was a leather boot which was slightly longer up the calf and we did away with the putties. Many of us suffered tendon injuries as we no longer had the wooden putties supporting our ankles. Then came a problem where many soldiers, me included suffered terrible heel injuries known as heel shock. I was now in the parachute regiment and ran and moved distances on foot. When, I transferred to 2 Para we had to complete a 50 mile walk which we called Tab (Tactical Advance to Battle). I have soft skin including on my feet and the friction burn and my blisters were horrendous. I found wearing two pairs of natural fibre socks and taping the venerable areas of my feet with zinc oxide plaster tape helped.They army development team investigated why so many were reporting with injured heels and rightly concluded it had something to do with our new “boot combat high”. The specification was that the entire sole was to be made out of good quality rubber and nothing else. But some manufacturers had ignored this and had inserted a wooden block in the heel part of the boots inside the rubber and it was this hard object that was causing the heel shock. Whilst serving in Belize we were issued with the American jungle boots which had a steel plate inserted in the soles as protection against traps as during the Vietnam war, although our service in Belize was peaceful. The jungle boot was mostly canvas as it needs to breath and dry out otherwise jungle foxtrot would be a problem. Leather may have rotted more quickly in a humid jungle environment. Over the years since the 1980,s the British army have been issued a boot that is now quality, rugged and suitable for cold and wet conditions. In fact, most of the equipment has been improved. All, following the Falklands war in 1982. Your historic research into military boots is very relevant and interesting. Maybe you can do one on the Boot (DMS), which were totally useless for service during the 1982 Falklands War. For the infantry soldier the boot is just as important as his rifle.
It's a shame RUclips is censoring such great content.
Thank you, I think you did well. I appreciate your straight forward, open presentation.
I would think the boot with a rubber outsole and pattern for traction would be the superior boot. Wearing a slick leather sole dress shoe in all the weather conditions in Minnesota is scary. There is also an argument for which boot is dryer, but in a desert environment that might not be preferred.