"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...

Where did the German soldier (officer?) stereotypes of the monocle and
the dueling scar come from? Was there one guy in WW I or WW II who had
them?

The stereotype was created by Erich von Stroheim (if I spell it
correctly) in the officer roles he played in silent films about WWI.

You neglected to mention the shaved head

As for the reality behind the stereotype, dueling was a ritual
activity in the Prussian version of university fraternities in the
19th century. As I recall the ritual, you had to keep your sword hand
at your temple. You were protected elsewhere than the face. You stood
next to your opponent and slashed away. The purpose was to get the
scar, which was highly prized as a symbol of manhood.

Since Prussia constituted nearly half of 1900 Germany, and a clear
majority of the officer corps, it probably was true that many German
officers in WWI had dueling scars.

The monocle was widely used in Europe, less so in America, in the 19th
century and into the 20th.


Teddy Roosevelt was one of the more prominent monocle wearers
IRC

Keith