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THE MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND WOMEN'S HEALTH
German washable menstrual pads and belt, with case (about 1935-40)
The majority of German women used washable pads made at home - if they
used anything at all (read about using nothing)
- until Camelia (see an early ad)
appeared, the first widely successful toss-away pad in Germany, in 1926
(national advertising of Kotex, America's
first widely successful disposable, started in 1921.) (The information comes
from Zur Geschichte der Unterwäsche. 1700-1960;
details in small type, below)
In 1940 German women probably saw these pads and belt as not really
old fashioned, especially since their country was fighting a war and throwing
away used pads was wasteful (as it is today, really). Commercial tampons
probably didn't appear till after the war, perhaps brought by Americans,
and the German native brand (and maybe the first commercial one in Europe),
o.b. - which doesn't
have anything to do with obstetrics, as many Americans have told me, but
stands for the German ohne
Binde, "without
a napkin" (proof) - appeared in the
early 1950s (see an early ad).
See an American belt from roughly this date.
The pictures and technical information come from Junker, Almut and
Stille, Eva.: Zur Geschichte der Unterwäsche.
1700-1960. Eine Ausstellung des Historischen Museums Frankfurt 28. April
bis 28. August 1988; FfM, Germany (Historisches Museum) 1988, the
catalog of an exhibit in the city historical museum of Frankfurt am Main,
Germany, in 1988.
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The belt is pink (rosa), made
of rubber and cotton fabric. The cotton sack
holds the pads (details below) and belt.
Enlargements lie below.
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Bottom pictures (enlargements of parts
of the top picture):
Left: The arrow points to a glass
button on the cotton belt-attachment; directly above it is a metal
clamp or fastener (Klammer), which I think acts to support the button.
Right: Button holes
in the ends of the washable pads, which are made of machine-knitted white
cotton and white cotton fabric.
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© 2001 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute work
on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the
author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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