Why Hitler had a moustache brush and where mustard gas

Mustache brush appeared in the late 19th century in the United States and for a couple of decades, the fashion has spread all over the world. Today, small antennae, like a toothbrush, firmly associated with two well-known personalities of the 20th century, Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler. Great comic first appeared on the screen with such a mustache in 1914 in the movie Poppy Herself. According to Chaplin they looked funny and they could be seen on a black and white screen. But what are they attracted the attention of the Fuhrer?

No, Adolf Hitler was an admirer of Charlie Chaplin, and after the famous film "the Great dictator" in 1940, a spoof of his person, and even began to hate. However mustache brush Hitler began to carry about the same time as Chaplin. The reason was the First world war, on the fronts of which Adolf Hitler was known to have been fought.

The war began in 1914, a 25 year old Adolf embraced with enthusiasm. Patriotic young man immediately volunteered. Got to the front, Hitler becomes a field courier of the 16th infantry regiment of the Bavarian army, and is always at the forefront, delivering reports and orders from the bunkers of command in the trenches.

In 1916, the courier Hitler almost died in the trench where he was with the other soldiers, came a grenade that killed all but a future dictator. Badly wounded in the head fighter almost a year out of action for a long time and were treated in hospitals, but returned to the front, already in the rank of corporal.

In the surviving photographs, Hitler did not know his face is decorated with a luxurious "Kaiser" mustache, styled the German monarch Wilhelm. His fellow soldiers later recalled that Adolf was very proud of his luxurious mustache hussar and carefully took care of them, despite the hardships of life at the front.

The famous German writer Alexander Moritz Frey(1881-1957), who was the brother of Hitler, described his appearance as:

The same Frey and revealed the secret of change of the image of Hitler, which happened not according to his whim, and the orders of his superiors. The fact that the fronts of the First world were widely used chemical warfare agents, and most often they were used, the opposing sides at the end of the war.

Because of this, the soldiers and officers had masks that were the only salvation from mustard gas, chlorine, phosgene, and almost harmless on the background of tear gas. Mustache were seriously hindered by rapid stretching of the PPE, but by the time the gas attack was on second.

Therefore, one is not perfect for barbel Imperial army day command issued the order to shave off his mustache, the shape and size of which can discourage the use of gas masks. Fry does not describe the range of feelings experienced by a corporal Hitler, together with your courageous decoration, but says that without a mustache the future Fuhrer almost died because of toxic substances.

In the night from 13 to 14 October 1918, his unit to retreat from their trenches near Ypres and the Belgian caught in a cloud of mustard gas, released by the British military. Gas attack in the dark, but still under artillery fire, caught a German soldier by surprise and they had to pull the saving of the mask. As a result, almost all of them, including Hitler, received serious burns to eyes and respiratory tract.

Saved by a small detachment of one of the soldiers of the room with a box "Hold hands". So the most affected, among which was that of Adolf, was able to emerge from the battlefield, holding those who are at least saw something. Blinded and coughing up blood corporal Hitler was sent for treatment to a military hospital in Pachel, in the North-East Germany, where he found the news about the end of the war.

In 1918 Adolf Hitler awarded the Iron cross I class, what later becomes the reason for his glorification. The propagandists of the Third Reich created the image of a fearless hero and patriot, which is absolutely not true.

Alexander Frey, the objectivity of which there is no reason to doubt, claimed that Hitler was a coward, but brave to call it difficult. According to the writer there was no inner peace, but it was full of self-confidence and narcissism.

As for the moustache, Hitler was no more to return to the spreading of "Kaiser". Imperial era, along with the imitation of William, in the past, and in Vogue neat and easy-care greenery. Especially in the 20‑ies and 30‑ies mustache brush have become very fashionable, so how was associated with a military bearing.

For the military, not willing to part with a mustache, but not having the ability to devote time to caring for them, mustache brush was the perfect solution. They could comb small comb, just a couple of movements and easy to trim with shave without using combs, scissors, and other devices.

These mustache were a military and civilians, for example, owners of such moustache was commander Kotovsky and Marshal Zhukov, in Tanzania politician Julius Nyerere, in Japan, Prime Minister Konoe of Fumimaro. After such antennae began to be associated with Hitler, their popularity dropped significantly, and in the postwar years and all came to naught.