BACKGROUND: The first "modern" steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, ("Gaede" helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, in the spring of 1916. These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence {Force}), (Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935. In an effort to reduced construction time and labor costs minor modifications were introduced in March 1940 resulting in the M40 helmet. Further construction modifications were undertaken in August 1942 resulting in the M42 helmet. Beside the basic army style helmets the Germans also produced a wide variety of civic style helmets with no fewer then nine assorted variants of the model M34. These civic style helmets were utilized by assorted civilian and para-military organizations including the police. Shortly after Adolf Hitler’s ascension to power on January 30^TH 1933 the independent Prussian state police introduced new helmet insignia in an attempt at creating uniformity in dress. The new helmet insignia consisted of a small, canted, white, swastika positioned on the right side and the Prussia state shield in black and white positioned diagonally on the left side. This insignia was utilized until April 23^RD 1934 when new insignia for all of German police agencies was introduced that consisted of a small, canted, white, swastika positioned on the right side and the German national tri-color shield in black, white and red positioned diagonally on the left side. This second pattern insignia was only utilized until July 11^TH 1934 when a third pattern insignia was introduced that consisted of a larger, canted, white, swastika positioned on the right side and a slightly modified German national tri-color shield in black, white and red positioned diagonally on the left side. This third pattern was utilized until a fourth and final pattern was introduced on July 28^TH 1936. With Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler’s appointment to Chef der Deutschen Polizei im Reichsministerium des Innern, (Chief of the German Police in the National Ministry of the Interior), on June 17^TH 1936, he effectively had full control of all the police agencies within Germany. As a result of this appointment and the restructuring of all the separate German state police into a single national police force new regulations were instituted to bring about uniformity in dress for all police through-out the country. The new dress regulations included an attempt to standardize the helmets of the police and on July 28^TH 1936 regulations once again altered the insignia on the police helmets with the new wreathed police eagle emblem to be applied to the left side of the helmet and the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), shield applied to the right side. The July 1936 police helmet insignia was utilized for the duration of the war. Of Note: Although the police did utilize the helmet decals until the end of the war most helmets produced for the police after November 1943 were issued without decals.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Early, light weight, stamped aluminum alloy construction, civic M34 "drooped bill" style helmet retains about 80% of its original black satin finish paint with a fair amount of surface spotting bleed through. The helmet has the fourth and final pattern police decal insignia, (Circa July 1936-May 1945), consisting of silver bordered, black based, silver, wreathed, police eagle decal positioned on the left side and a NSDAP party shield decal with a narrow black outer border, a red base field with a central white circle with a canted black swastika positioned on the left side. The wreathed, police eagle decal is retained about 95% with one small scuff while the NSDAP Party shield decal is retained about 75% with a few fair sized scuffs and scrapes. The helmet has two separate groups of seven, "salt & pepper" ventilation holes positioned on each side of the crown. The crown of the helmet has a natural aluminum "comb", running from the forward peak of the crown down the reverse neck guard apron. The "comb" is secured to the helmet by screws and bolts with one set visible at the interior neck guard apron. All four of the flat headed liner retaining rivets are intact. The interior of the helmet has a M31 civic style, tan leather liner with ventilation perforations to the front forehead section and all eight fingers and the original tie string intact. The liner shows moderate to heavy chafe wear to the edges, moderate surface cracking through-out and a post-war glue repair. The liner is quite dry and fragile. The liner is well marked with a faint, black size inkstamp that appears to be, "56". All four of the natural cork spacers between the liner and the helmet shell are intact. The liner has three of the original five, "T" shaped, leather tabs for attaching the protective leather neck guard remaining. The leather neck guard is absent. The interior crown has the addition of tan leather crown lining panel with internal padding. The interior right side apron is well marked with the faint stamped script which appears to be, "Vorschriftsmäßig n. VII MdJ vom 3. 5. 1934", (As ordered by the Minister of the Interior on 3. 5. 1934). The helmet comes complete with a shortened, blackened leather chinstrap with a single, sliding, steel, length adjustment buckle. The chinstrap has torn in two and one half appears to be a replacement. The chinstrap shows moderate chafe wear and some light to moderate surface cracking.

GRADE ***                             PRICE $476.00