The Disappearance of the "White Lady": Persil and the Nazi Campaign for Clean Clothes

Already at the start of the twentieth century, Henkel, the makers of Persil laundry detergent, had recognized the potential power of a branded product that consumers would associate with cleanliness, purity, and domestic bliss. The introduction of the 'White Lady' -- Persil's iconic female promotional image--became a staple of Germany's ad culture, gracing poster columns and hoardings and appearing in full color spreads in magazines. When the National Socialists came to power, the new government lauded the company for its images of German femininity and domesticity that matched their own beliefs in a natural, healthy look for women as defenders of racial purity. Problems arose, however, after 1936 when the German state put into motion a plan to ready Germany for war, which required a shifting of resources away from the consumer market, including the fats and chemicals needed for Henkel's beloved line of products.

My presentation will discuss the disappearance of the 'White Lady' and the negotiation that went on subsequently between the state, which sought assistance in re-educating consumers to accept and conserve the available ersatz cleaning products , the Henkel firm, which hoped to assist the government in order to win favour with the regime and retain its position in the marketplace for the 'coming victory', and consumers, who complained about the quality of substitutes and fantasized about the return of Persil. Though the tensions created by the shortfall of soaps and detergents may seem trivial in the course of Total War, state and corporate leaders understood the economic implications of textiles that needed to last until peacetime; the importance of creating a sense of normalcy in war through familiar brand names and imagery; and the ideological commitment that they and most consumers had made to a racial hygiene that prioritized purity through war and washing.