Zwischen Ausbeutung, Förderung und Reglementierung: Textile Kriegsheimarbeit in Deutschland 1914 bis 1918

This essay intends to provide an introduction into an interesting aspect of the German war economy of the First World War not previously examined in detail: home-based outwork for the production of military supplies. In particular, this type of home-based outwork enjoyed great popularity amongst women with no previous experience of this form of work, such as soldiers’ wives and war widows. They were supported by various charitable welfare societies and women’s organizations which campaigned for public welfare during the war. Their efforts included the establishment of sewing rooms in which military home-based outwork was provided as emergency work. Orders were supplied by the military procurement bodies of the German Reich. Although many potential workers were thus withheld from the armaments industry, the development was not seen as a problem by the military administration. However, it did react critically to the many cases in which particularly female home workers were duped by firms when picking up their work. Especially in the area around Berlin, the military authorities intervened vigorously to enforce standard wages for the home workers sewing military uniforms. Nevertheless, the year 1916 marks a turning point: This benevolent stance on home-based outwork changed under the pressure of new employment priorities. New contract regulations made military home-based outwork difficult for unskilled male and female workers to access. These were in theory then available to work in the armaments industry and in agriculture, areas both struggling to meet labour demands. Moreover, the changes led to an organizational separation between sandbag sewing and other home-based outwork involved in producing textiles for the military. In the case of sandbag sewing, a separate war committee was responsible for the planned distribution of sandbag orders throughout the whole Reich.