23. Jeans symbolized Western capitalism, which made them really popular
Even though jeans-pioneer Levi Strauss came from Southern Germany, the SED saw jeans as a revolting symbol of US capitalism. For them, nietenhosen (‘studded trousers’) represented rebellion, non-conformity and freedom, which the SED didn’t want in the GDR. Thus schools sent pupils wearing jeans home and dance halls refused entry to nietenhosen wearers. But this, of course, just made jeans more popular with young people! Western jeans such as Levis sold for a fortune on the black market, smuggled in from West Berlin. Eventually, in 1974 the GDR began producing its own uncomfortable and impractical jeans to meet demand.