Dutch manufacturer of German uniforms

[NickG]

We know about E.Reitz, the Antwerp Belgium clothing campany, affiliated with Reitz Germany. With the "E" its Belgium, without the "E" its German.

We also know about Peek & Cloppenburg Rotterdam, the Dutch affiliate of Peek & Cloppenburg Beha the Berlin based branch (German parent company).
Those are easy to distinguish, the stamps will read "P & C Rotterdam" or "P & C Beha Berlin".
And Mol.Breda Holland for headgear...

Here is another foreign clothing factory tied to German production, one with an interesting history.

It is the factory "Hollandia-Kattenburg" from Amsterdam. Founded in 1917 it had in its peak 1000+ employees!
This factory was owned by founder Jacques Kattenburg and his wife Sara. (The name Kattenburg is a Jewish name btw)
This image shows the founder/owner giving the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina a tour of the facility in the 1930's (source:joodsamsterdam.nl).
It was one of the most modern clothing factories in Holland at the time. They specialized in rain gear (gummi mantels) but also made also made other civilian garments.

[NickG]

Before the war broke out this factory was so successful that they even opened a facility in 1927 in the UK called Kattenburg Ltd. This factory was located in Manchester
and made British army clothing during the war! (so for the other side!!!)

Back to the Dutch parent:
When the Germans occupied Holland they immediately contracted with this factory for their needs. They initially turned a blind eye on the Jewish ownership "issue" but the factory had to change its executives, but still employed 367 jewish workish out of about 800 worker...

On November 30th 1942 catastrophe struck and the Germans decided to raid the place and removed all jewish employees (almost half of the employees) who were sent to concentration camps with their families. The Kattenburgs themselves were not deported but were treated as prominent prisoners by the Germans (for prisoner exchange negotiations no doubt)
and survived the war. The factory also survived the war and continued making (mostly) rain gear after the war but also uniforms, (harbor official uniforms etc) at least through the 1970's

[NickG]

From a Dutch web site:
Here an example of rain gear (made after the war and patterned after British Army dispatch riders motoring coats)
and I would not be surprised if the Kattenburg Manchester UK factory made these for the British army during the war.

[NickG]

and this is why I posted this here...
They specialized in raincoats of light weight rubberized canvas so no doubt German officer gummi mantels (rain coats) and German dispatch rider coats were probably also made there. Any examples to show?

but also (best known for) tropical clothing!
Here a LW side cap! (image borrowed from the LW section).Early 1941 made based on the stamp, so prior to the raid with removal of all Jewish workers...

[NickG]

and Keith (Brinmaric site) has this set of 1943 (post raid) dated Kriegsmarine shorts with a Kattenburg stamp, to include a RBNr stamp.
Who would have thought that a Jewish company, (Jewish name maintained) would have worked (by force and for survival) ) for the Germans
under that same name and even assigned its own German assigned RBNr!

Both items marked "NV Hollandia-Fabrieken Kattenburg & Co"

Any other "Hollandia-Kattenburg Amtserdam" marked WW2 German clothing items to share?

[Johnny R]

They are a well known maker of tropical clothing especially the LW side caps. I have never seen any Army items made by them but there were several other Dutch companies making clothing for the Germans.

[NickG]

They are a well known maker of tropical clothing especially the LW side caps. I have never seen any Army items made by them but there were several other Dutch companies making clothing for the Germans.

True, known best for its tropical clothing, essentially simple garments...based on surviving examples.
But I still would not be surprised if war time German rain gear in rubber ("Gummi") surface with their maker info, as this is what they specialized in.
Perhaps just less survived...simply warn out...btw the commercial name for their rain gear line was "Falcon".(probably post war used only.

Here another birds eye view of the factory in the early days (1920's probably), with waterway access for barge / ship transportation (war time to Germany no doubt).
and some of the jewish workers in 1938 posing in front of the factory. Most did not survive the war because of the 1942 factory raid, a sad chapter in the
factory's long history. I hope this essay helps with understanding the artifact and it's maker 's history better...not just another garment with a faded away stamp.

[NickG]

Some comments on the stamps:
I believe when the Germans took full control of the Hollandia-Kattenburg factory, purging Jewish ownership and control,
they aligned the company with a German, Berlin based company, as the Luftwaffe cap stamp shows in addition to the Dutch Amsterdam maker stamp,
also this German info:

"Marienfelder Gummiwaren Fabriek Marienfeld Berlin" (which is a suburb of Berlin) and "Gummiwaren fabriek" means rubber goods factory, like rain gear....
again Hollandia's bread and butter product...to see that stamp information in a tropical item is interesting.
It strengthens my theory that Wehrmacht rain gear (Gummi mantels) was also produced there...in Amsterdam, as well as Marienfeld/Berlin.
Speculation on my part but possible. Shown below one of my 3 rubberized rain coat examples. (officer gear)

With the later produced KM shorts only the Dutch company name is indicated, (Berlin affiliate reference entirely omitted) in addition to the RBNr stamp,
which was intended to hide the name... for plant protection purposes against air raids as we all know.

Anymore "Hollandia Kattenburg" marked items to show?
So we understand better what they were involved with producing during the war in occupied Holland.

[Schulterklappen]

Thread

Thank you for posting this thread! It is also interesting to see the history and human side to such items.

[Johnny R]

Nick, it would be helpful (and responsible) for you to post the web links where you are lifting all the images and photos from. Many of the images and information that you post is copyrighted and other people's research. It is also helpful to follow the links for more information beyond what you decide to post.

http://www.joodsamsterdam.nl/gebbedr...kattenburg.htm

http://www.hollandscheschouwburg.nl/...dia-kattenburg

http://www.hpdetijd.nl/2012-11-24/de...ia-kattenburg/

http://www.kombuispraat.com/viewtopi...=104&start=624

[NickG]

Thanks. Some of those sources actually lifted the images from other sources, like some photos coming from period Dutch news print sources...
but thanks. I am just doing the translating but it's good to list these. Good links for Dutch readers...
One source claiming the outside factory image being taken in a clandestine way (by the resistance) during the raid on the facility, but I am not entirely convinced
about that...so I did not mention it originally. Who knows?
Yes it does illustrate the human side of war and it's tragedies...the story behind these surviving artifacts.

[Johnny R]

Your analysis and thoughts are fascinating as always. Crediting the sources is always a nice idea.

[NickG]

Yeah I have no doubt that they made gummi rain gear as well for the occupying armed forces (officers and dispatch riders).
It's just too sophisticated of an operation to be just involved with tropical side caps...and simple shorts...those just survived more, so that record exists.
The fact that a Berlin Gummiwaren (rubber goods) plant is linked to them (because of the war time German involvement/take over, obtaining technology,
and the LW side cap stamp proves this association), makes the case that they were still also involved in those products during the war
and continued to do so after the war for the civilian Dutch market, which is documented.
They were successful with production of rubberized raincoats that were much lighter (and more comfortable) than those that other companies manufactured
which persuaded them to open a facility in England using their techniques, where such gear was very much in need for the civilian market and British alternatives
far heavier...later supplying such products to the British military. British dispatch riders rubberized overcoats which were made post war in Holland as well as illustrated
already in this thread, a pattern obtained from their Manchester affiliate.
So both subsidiaries working for opposite armies...
Just like Ford Motor company, Bata brand shoe wear (Canada +Czech occupied German control), Dunlop rubber etc...

[Gustav 43]

Here one of mine LW tropical tunics with paper tag

[NickG]

Great! Again it shows clearly a positive link to that German rubber goods company in Berlin as the tag reads. Perhaps the association allowed for a transfer of
some of their equipment to the German (sister) facility in Mariendorf/Berlin for rubber goods manufacturing in the Reich...
and Kattenburg Hiollandia than focused on regular uniforms with the emphasis on tropical goods.
The location with waterway access might have made sense for tropical gear production (for use in other theatres). Just a theory of course.
So perhaps there was a change in direction of their output after all...(or its just the tropical materials that survived the most, in unissued condition).
Who knows?