Pipes in WWII

[Sinnlichkeit]

Hello. I'm new at pipe smoking, but I've been studying the WWII history for many years. There is something very difficult to research, at least for me, and it's related to the pipes. What tobacco did the Germans smoke back then? If there were as many as there are nowdays, then which one did they prefer? As far as I've seen, the German officers smoked pipes more than everyone else, and I'm curious about what tobacco did they have access to and what kind of pipes they used.
Thanks for reading.

 

[Capt Morgan]

A little nerd moment for you. Nazi Germany was mostly anti-smoking.

 

[BROBS]

Hello. I'm new at pipe smoking, but I've been studying the WWII history for many years. There is something very difficult to research, at least for me, and it's related to the pipes. What tobacco did the Germans smoke back then? If there were as many as there are nowdays, then which one did they prefer? As far as I've seen, the German officers smoked pipes more than everyone else, and I'm curious about what tobacco did they have access to and what kind of pipes they used.
Thanks for reading.

the pipes were mostly squat bulldogs etc with horn stems..
the tobacco was usually shag like cigarette rolling tobacco, just smoked in a pipe.

and yes Hitler was anti-smoking but that doesn't mean that most people in Germany didn't smoke.

 

[Ahi Ka]

the pipes were mostly squat bulldogs etc with horn stems..

I beg to differ...

 

[Capt Morgan]

I beg to differ...

Because that movie was so historically correct....

 

[Mr.Pink]

That's a great question. I have often wondered the same. . In the US, we have limited access to that information

 

[pappymac]

That is an interesting question. I would guess they smoked a lot of Turkish or Oriental blends since they would have had more access to it after the war started. They may have also smoked some latakia heavy blends since it would have been available to them.

I've seen a number of historical photos showing enlisted men in the German army smoking pipes also so I don't think it was just officers.

Someone else will correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe there were as many aromatic blends in existence back in the 1930s & 40s. My impression is that the explosion of aromatic flavored tobacco didn't happen until after the 1970s.

 

[trouttimes]

Just ask Jim what he was reviewing back then. ?

 

[sablebrush52]

Someone else will correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe there were as many aromatic blends in existence back in the 1930s & 40s. My impression is that the explosion of aromatic flavored tobacco didn't happen until after the 1970s.

Actually, aros were quite popular at that time as well as before. A perusal of various trade periodicals from that period shows that aros were well represented in the various offerings. There might not have been as many varieties of aros, but then again, there weren't that many varieties of tobacco blends in general.

 

[sumusfumus]

That is an interesting question. I would guess they smoked a lot of Turkish or Oriental blends since they would have had more access to it after the war started. They may have also smoked some latakia heavy blends since it would have been available to them.

I've seen a number of historical photos showing enlisted men in the German army smoking pipes also so I don't think it was just officers.

Someone else will correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe there were as many aromatic blends in existence back in the 1930s & 40s. My impression is that the explosion of aromatic flavored tobacco didn't happen until after the 1970s.

Aromatic mixtures were well established way before the '70s. I was born in 1950 and started smoking a pipe when I was a young teen, back in '66. The vast OTC selections were mostly aromatics....Mixture No. 79, Amphora, Walnut, Revelation, Velvet, Prince Albert, etc. I'll bet many of these old blends were already known, popular, then smoked during WW-2, and were still popular when the soldiers returned home. My dad was in the Coast Guard and he smoked Mixture No. 79 when he was stationed in Alaska, so these old aros were popular and sold way before WW-2.

It would be an interesting project to search through vintage magazines for old pipe-tobacco ads, especially German magazines printed in the 1930s...and later. I would imagine that the friends and relatives of soldiers must have sent them some cigarettes, pipe-tobaccos, along with the necessities, essential items, and goodies from home.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Hansa Krüll -Ein Pfeifentabak Klassiker (Burley-Virgina-Javan leaf)

 

[bullet08]

Lager flavor aromatics. Heavy in noble hops, so I assume and make ass out of u and me. Yes. I'm bored.

 

[condorlover1]

I think Hermann Goring Mixture was quite popular until late 1942 whilst the more anti social probably smoked Himmler Slices!

 

[condorlover1]

I also believe there was an aromatic called 'Hitler Blend' that was a mixture of heady bullsh*t and cheap recycled ideas that burnt the smokers brain. I believe it was reintroduced as 'Clan' in 1950 but failed to gain any traction in the U.S market in the Deep South.

On a serious note I think the Germans had some twist and certainly plug tobacco and before the war a lot of U.K blends were exported to Germany. It should be remembered that Hitler was very anti-smoking and all tobacco advertising was banned in Germany by the mid 1930s.

 

[SoddenJack]

I beg to differ...

View attachment 51214

Tarantino explains the scene

 

[pappymac]

Actually, aros were quite popular at that time as well as before. A perusal of various trade periodicals from that period shows that aros were well represented in the various offerings. There might not have been as many varieties of aros, but then again, there weren't that many varieties of tobacco blends in general.

Thanks for the clarification on aros. I was pretty sure they had some back then but just not as many now.

@sumusfumus
Thanks for the info. I bought my first pouch of Mixture 79 while on a Coast Guard icebreaker off the coast of Alaska.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Hey @condorlover1, pretty sure this plug was a staple back then too...

 

[anotherbob]

the pipes were mostly squat bulldogs etc with horn stems..
the tobacco was usually shag like cigarette rolling tobacco, just smoked in a pipe.

and yes Hitler was anti-smoking but that doesn't mean that most people in Germany didn't smoke.

I don't know how it was for enlisted men but WW2 Germany had very strict rations for citizens. I forgot how much a person could legally buy of cigars or pipes but I do remember reading the ration card covered 30 cigs a month. One of the things that's interesting about that is how it shows what happens when an addiction is criminalized because people had to buy over priced black market tobacco. And people resorted to the same b.s. to get tobacco that people resort to for acquiring crack these days. There is a whole thing about this in the Consumer Unions report on licit and illicit drugs. Which is a really interesting book I never thought I'd mention here. Some of the info is of course out of date especially when they talk about dollar amounts though it's pretty thorough and their basic points really still hold up to the latest science in many ways. Seriously there was a time and place with cigarette hoes.

 

[anotherbob]

I also believe there was an aromatic called 'Hitler Blend' that was a mixture of heady bullsh*t and cheap recycled ideas that burnt the smokers brain. I believe it was reintroduced as 'Clan' in 1950 but failed to gain any traction in the U.S market in the Deep South.

On a serious note I think the Germans had some twist and certainly plug tobacco and before the war a lot of U.K blends were exported to Germany. It should be remembered that Hitler was very anti-smoking and all tobacco advertising was banned in Germany by the mid 1930s.

Well if they would have spelled it as Klan they might have hit their target audience. It doesn't help to remind your consumer that they don't know things including how to spell.

 

[burleybreath]

Battle of the Bulge, I think. Wonder if he was pondering his choice of tobacco, and whether his second-hand smoke would affect anyone in the area. (My knowledge of combat is somewhat sparse.)