Original German WWII Heer Army Infantry Leutnant Officer M35 Waffenrock Dress Tunic by Gebr. Venker of Münster

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition Heer Leutnant Officer's M35 Waffenrock Dress Tunic. The base material of the uniform is made of a fine feldgrau colored wool. The wool shows signs of light use, with no mothing we can find. It features eight silvered pebbled buttons on the front closure, which are all in very good condition, made with aluminum caps and magnetic bodies and eyelets. There are also  the usual two hook and loop clasps at the collar. The breast features an early style hand embroidered silver bullion thread eagle, sewn to a dark bottle green wool backer. The eagle is without damage and is very neatly hand stitched to the chest in a fashion typical of wartime German tailor work.

The collar is wrapped in a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" wool, and the base material of the two bullion officer's dress litzen on each side of the collar opening is Weiß (white), which was the Waffenfarbe (corps color) during WWII for infantry and motorized infantry. The collar, front closure, and other areas of the tunic bear piping of the same color. The two litzen themselves are woven from a fine silver flatware thread. The collar and its insignia are without any noticeable damage or mothing. The lower French style cuffs of the sleeves have the correct green wool base, and are adorned with the correct white piping and litzen matching the collar. The “sew-in” style Leutnante Schulterklappen (junior officer shoulder straps) of this Waffenrock are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping and have the correct white bases that protrude around the edges. There are no rank "pips" installed, for the junior officer rank of Leutnant, equivalent to a U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant. We can also see two thread loops on the left chest for attachment of an award, now removed.

The interior is lined with a very nice olive colored cotton rayon blend, with a pocket on the left interior chest, as is standard. The sleeves are lined with fine white rayon with black stripes. There is an internal belt to help give it a better profile, which is not adjustable. There is still a fully intact tailor label under the interior pocket, which reads:

Gebr. Venker
Münster i/W.

This is a known maker of WWII uniforms, and they survived the war, continuing to produce clothing for decades. We checked in side the pocket, and there was not any name tag.

Overall condition of the Waffenrock is very good, showing only light wear from service, with no wear through on the top of the collar. The buttons all match, and there do not look to have been any replaced. Definitely a top class example! This gorgeous Infantry Leutnant Officer's Waffenrock comes ready to out fit with some awards and display!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 26”
Shoulder to shoulder: 13"
Chest width: 17”
Waist: 16"
Hip: 19"
Front length: 30"

The M35 Waffenrock dress tunic was introduced for wear by all ranks on June 29TH 1935 as the walking out, parade and ceremonial dress with the piped, stone grey long pants. The design of the M35 dress tunic was based on the Imperial German army’s service tunic but was a different color and generally of much higher quality. Originally all personnel were issued two M35 dress tunics but manufacture was discontinued in late 1939 or early 1940 and was to be reinstated at the successful conclusion of the war. Regulations of March 21ST 1940 stated that the M35 dress tunics that were no longer suitable for dress wear were to be modified and reissued to personnel of the replacement and reserve units for every day wear. Officers and certain senior NCO ranks were responsible for purchasing their own uniforms and as a result were allotted a clothing allowance through the army’s Kleiderkasse, (Clothing Account), system. The Officers and certain senior NCO’s could choose to purchase their uniforms from the armed forces clothing depots or to privately purchase garments of higher quality. Although enlisted personnel were issued their uniforms from government supplies they were also permitted to purchase privately tailored uniforms although the price may have been restrictive.