Before Puma and Adidas became global sportswear rivals, Rudolf Dassler and his younger brother Adolf operated the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik in Herzogenaurach, Germany. During the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, both brothers joined the Nazi Party, with Rudolf described as the more ardent Nazi. The surviving account does not establish specific wartime crimes or detail Rudolf’s exact political activities, but the brothers’ Nazi affiliations permanently place the origins of two of fashion’s most powerful athletic brands inside Germany’s dictatorship-era business landscape. After World War II, the relationship between the brothers deteriorated into a bitter feud. In 1948 they dissolved their partnership and established competing companies: Rudolf initially named his enterprise “Ruda,” from Rudolf Dassler, before changing it to Puma, while Adolf developed what became Adidas. The personal rupture divided their hometown, their workforce, and eventually the global sportswear market, creating one of fashion history’s most consequential family and corporate schisms. Rudolf remained in charge of Puma while it was still a relatively small provincial company; only under his son Armin Dassler did the brand become internationally prominent. The episode’s lasting legacy is a sportswear empire born from political compromise, wartime-era association, and a family conflict that transformed a single German shoe business into the enduring Puma–Adidas rivalry.
Preparing the daily feature…
AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1930s–1940s
The Dassler Brothers’ Nazi-Era Alliance and the 1948 Sportswear Schism
Rudolf Dassler, Adolf Dassler, Puma, and Adidas / 1930s–1940s
Before Puma and Adidas became global sportswear rivals, Rudolf Dassler and his younger brother Adolf operated the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik in Herzogenaurach, Germany. During the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, both brothers joined the Nazi Party, with Rudolf described as the more ardent Nazi. The surviving account does not establish specific wartime crimes or detail Rudolf’s exact political activities, but the brothers’ Nazi affiliations permanently place the origins of two of fashion’s most powerful athletic brands inside Germany’s dictatorship-era business landscape. After World War II, the relationship between the brothers deteriorated into a bitter feud. In 1948 they dissolved their partnership and established competing companies: Rudolf initially named his enterprise “Ruda,” from Rudolf Dassler, before changing it to Puma, while Adolf developed what became Adidas. The personal rupture divided their hometown, their workforce, and eventually the global sportswear market, creating one of fashion history’s most consequential family and corporate schisms. Rudolf remained in charge of Puma while it was still a relatively small provincial company; only under his son Armin Dassler did the brand become internationally prominent. The episode’s lasting legacy is a sportswear empire born from political compromise, wartime-era association, and a family conflict that transformed a single German shoe business into the enduring Puma–Adidas rivalry.
The daily editorial is currently unavailable. There’s still an entire archive to explore.