ADEFA Dress

Black dress by ADEFA with polka dot pattern, mid-length sleeves, a square neckline, and a satin collar. The dress is posed on a mannequin.

Black dress with polka dot pattern, mid-length sleeves, a square neckline, and a satin collar on a mannequin.

Label reading “ADEFA” in gold print, attached to black rayon polka-dot dress.

Label reading “ADEFA” in gold print, attached to black polka-dot fabric.

This black crepe dress was manufactured between 1937 and 1939. Sewn inside the dress is the label of “ADEFA,” which stands for Arbeitsgemeinschaft deutsch-arischer Fabrikanten der Bekleidungsindustrie. ADEFA was a group of private German companies that made clothing. They put the ADEFA label in their products to show that they were made by “Aryans” only.

ADEFA was formed in May 1933. Its goal was to push all Jewish-owned companies out of the German clothing industry. German customers were encouraged to show their support for Nazi ideals by buying clothes with the ADEFA label.

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Acquired from Claus Jahnke by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. 2009.002.001

The ADEFA Organization

Transcript

[Text: Claus Jahnke is a collector of historical fashions from Germany and Austria. He discusses ADEFA and its rise as an organization to overtake Jewish-run fashion businesses. He talks about where he has collected ADEFA garments and how they have travelled from Europe.]

Claus Jahnke: ADEFA was an organization which started in May of 1933, just after Hitler came to power, and it stands for the English translation, it's the Workers Association of German Aryan Manufacturers and it was to oust the Jewish community out of the garment and fashion industry. They had the specific label, which says on the label exactly what I just said, and then the later label, there were two labels, the one that's in this dress and then the later label is just the anagram superimposed on a background of a stylized eagle. So, most people, if they've seen that, it doesn't mean anything. It's surprising, actually, where these have turned up. This came from Germany, but I found two ADEFA garments in Vancouver. I found one in Toronto, England, France, Sweden. So, you never know where these things turn up but, of course, things travel a lot. The one garment I found here in Vancouver belonged to a Dutch friend who bought it at the Amsterdam Flea Market decades ago and she had no idea it has the later label. She had no idea what it was, was quite shocked actually when I told her.

Claus Jahnke is a collector of historical fashion from Germany and Austria. He explains how the ADEFA organization operated. He talks about where he has found these kinds of garments. (1 minute 39 seconds)

The ADEFA Label

Transcript

[Text: Collector Claus Jahnke elaborates on ADEFA as an organization. He speaks to how it operated and how it aimed to overtake the Jewish fashion industry in Germany.]

Claus Janke: They weren't actually manufacturers. They were an organization that you could become a member of. So if you were, let's say, a coat manufacturer, you might have had your own label, and then if you became a member of ADEFA, you'd also have the ADEFA label. So often, they'll have two labels, one from the maker and then one from ADEFA. So they didn't actually manufacture garments. They were just an association that you could belong to, supporting the system.

Claus Jahnke explains more about the ADEFA clothing label. (44 seconds)

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ADEFA Dress

ADEFA Dress

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