Fake(substituted) and Broken (unavailable) were words to describe "ersatz and kaput" as I knew them as a schoolgirl.  Our family, in a derisive manner, talked about Hitler's attempt to cobble together a fighting force which we all feared would come to pass.  

By the time Americans were in World War II the shoe was on the other foot.  (If one was allowed to buy a new pair.) Despite a start with poor military backup the country was determined to gain strength.  

Every bit of frying fat was saved and recycled.  As were old metal objects.  Most of all, to obtain needed rubber and silk--absent due to shipping constraints--new inventions came in the form of manmade materials, especially for tires and parachute material.  

By the time the war was over and the boys came home, there were yards of white nylon fashioned into new bridal gowns.  With only cotton for women's hose it was great to have nylon hose again.  The duration came up with nothing better than non-toxic dye, coffee colored, to be painted on young women's legs.