This blog was written by Gus Bryngelson.
An important part of the German Army’s clothing was the convalescent clothing that was issued to soldiers who spent time in hospitals recovering from wounds or illness. The convalescent gowns and trousers were made from a gray/blue and white stripped herringbone cotton or linen cloth, chosen for its durability. In our part of the world it is commonly referred to as pillow ticking. The garment shown in the photo is the standard Lazarettkleid, with a single button at the top, a tie at the collar and a simple belt that could be tied at the waist. There is a single pocket on the right hip for the soldier’s personal items. The trousers have a 4 button fly, a tie at the back to adjust size, buttons at the waist for suspenders (braces) and a single pocket on the right hip. The cap is a model 1917 Einheitsfeldmütze (standardized field cap) it has a band and piping in the same drab green color of wool as the collar of the Mantel (standard issue overcoat) that was issued to all branches of service without the branch color piping. This served two purposes, first it made supply simpler and second, it eliminated the need for a separate camouflage band to cover the bright colored bands that were used by the different branches of service.
This photo shows the markings on the gown, it has no Bekleidugs Amt mark, but has a K.G. Suggesting it was issued to a prisoner of war. These garments were also issued to POWs when their uniforms were lost, taken or worn out.
The next photo shows a group of soldiers in August of 1917 wearing the same gowns. In this photo, all of the soldiers have kept their field caps, and a few still have their boots while the rest wear a simple slipper made of cloth. Depending on how long the soldier would stay at the hospital, their uniforms would taken from them so the uniforms could be cleaned and issued to a soldier who was returning to the front.
The scan of pages from the Soldbuck of a soldier who served in the Reserve Infantry Regiment Nr. 74, shows that when he entered the Reserve-Feld-Lazarett 45 on the 27th of September 1915, he did not have to turn in his uniform, but three days later when he entered Reservelazeratt Essen, he handed in his Mantel, Waffenrock, Tuchhosen and Feldmütze. Later when he entered Reserve Baraken Lazeratt Potsdam on the 13th March 1917, he handed in his Waffenrock, Tuchhosen and Feldmütze. Presumably, he did not have his Mantle with him when he arrived at the hospital.
Germany was surrounded by her enemies and the oceans were controlled by the Allies, making the importation of goods nearly impossible. By 1918, Austria had relaxed the standards on how much foreign material was allowed in processed wool. This helped increase the amount of wool that was available by reducing the work needed to remove all impurities, and thereby reducing the amount of wool that was wasted in the cleaning process. The decline in the quality of wool fabric in the later years of the war is noticeable in the uniforms of most of the belligerent nations, but even more so for Germany and Austria.