I did not serve in the military, so I am not familiar with prisoner of war (POW) camps (except what I have seen in films) and I am clueless on the topic of crossdressing POWs.
Does the Geneva Convention require that every POW facility be stocked with the latest in female clothing, wigs, makeup, etc., to permit the prisoners to dress en femme?
I ask that question (with tongue in cheek) because I have been collecting trans-related images for years and my collection includes many images of POWs in drag putting on stage shows.
These "girls" are not wearing homemade outfits put together from scraps of material that they scrounged up in camp; rather they are dressed as fashionable women of the day would dress in outfits that came off the rack of women's clothier.
Did the POW camp commander ring up his favorite dress shop and order some frocks for the prisoners whenever they wanted to put on a show?
What's the real story?
Please enlighten me if you have any information on this subject.
Meanwhile, enjoy the sample of images (above and below) of POWs en femme. (As usual, click on an image to magnify it.)
Up top is a photo of five German soldiers at an unknown location during an unknown war, but my guess is World War II.
Below we find a group of German soldiers incarcerated at Camp Carson, Colorado, in 1945.
Far below, is another group of POWs of unknown nationality at an unknown location during an unknown was, but my guess is British soldiers during World War I.
There are a lot of pictures of "Soliders in Skirts." Personally I like that middle photo best. The short skirts, ya know.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem that most, if not all, of those outfits were made in camp by the POW's themselves, usually from scraps of uniforms and other pieces of cloth. Many servicemen had been tailors or outfitters before the war.
ReplyDeleteThey used similar techniques and materials to make up the civilian clothes needed for escape attempts.
Chrissie --- I saw The Great Escape, where the POWs made clothes (all male) to assist them in their escape, but I also saw Grand Illusion in which crates of women's clothing were available for the POWs to wear for their entertainment.
ReplyDeleteLaurie --- The middle photo is my favorite, too!
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