A Very Good Original 1934 Early Pattern, Designed Without Insignia, WW2 Third Reich, German, Combat Fire Protection Police Service Helmet, With Comb and Detachable Leather Neck Shield. Feuerwehr/Feuerschutzpolizei

The Fire Protection Police ServiceFeuerwehr/Feuerschutzpolizei, earliest pattern of combat helmet, overall in superb condition, dent free, with its original liner intact, and neck defence, complete and original, that was attached by ingenious floating leather supports, that made it easily detachable by hand without tools. The nickel top crown comb is perfect, and damage free too. If one was seeking a very fine example of the earliest pattern combat grade helmet, used by the Third Reich, complete, untouched and original, you could not do better. In 1936 they added a swastika decal to the surface paint, { for a hand painted version see photo 9 in the gallery} but in 1934, the earliest type, {this one} was made without any swastika decal, either printed or hand painted.

Political control of the Feuerwehr (fire departments) and Feuerschutzpolizei (Fire Protection Police) in Germany was centralized under the National Ministry of the Interior and the SS during the Nazi regime.
The structural hierarchy of this control included:
National Control (The Third Reich): Professional career fire departments were militarized and absorbed into the Ordnungspolizei (Order Police). The overall commander was Kurt Daluege, who answered directly to Heinrich Himmler as the Chief of the German Police.

Although Prussia had incorporated its fire-fighting organisations into the Police system in 1933, it was not made universal throughout Germany until 1938 when the authorities increasingly believed that a future conflict might involve air-raids on a national scale. As a precaution, some 90 German cities were ordered to transfer their fire fighting personnel into the newly created Feuerschutzpolizei (Fire Protection Police), commanded directly by a highest police authority, Heinrich Himmler.

Where necessary, auxiliaries (Freiwillige Feuerwehren) were recruited to supplement the numbers of the Feuerschutzpolizei, while other smaller towns and rural areas maintained both volunteer auxiliaries and the Feuerwehr.

The M34 helmet was initially adopted for service in 1934, but it was only from 28 July 1936 that the police style insignia began to be worn. The detachable leather neckflap gave obvious protection to the wearer but was later deleted, as was the comb, possibly as a cost saving, with metal plugs fitted to fill the holes.

The other protection service were members of the Luftschutzwarndienst (Luftschutz) were typically volunteers assembled into area units within cities and towns that held the highest risk of being bombed. Many population centres were divided into area “blocks” with unit leaders assigned to each individual section of a city. Volunteer teams were expected to rotate shifts and sleep in large concrete bunkers that held all the provisions and amenities of a regular fortification. These also included the immense “flak towers” built around German cities upon which anti-aircraft batteries were stationed.

On 2 April 1943 Hermann Göring mandated compulsory service in the Luftschutz for all German civilians. For the first time this order included women. Members of the Luftschutz were expected to supply their own helmets as part of the contribution to the German war effort. A variety of helmets were available for 5 Reich Marks each, but many volunteers chose to scavenge captured helmets of Czech, Polish, Dutch, French, and Russian origin.

The more usual types of Third Reich helmets, the M1935, M1940 and M1942 were examples of what regular combat helmets were manufactured, and during the National Socialist era, customers for these regular helmets were all the armed forces including the Waffen-SS, generally showing very high craftsmanship.
This 1934 pattern was a separate type of Third Reich era combat helmet, issued a year before the M35, but it is fairly clear, the M35, the first ‘regular’ Third Reich period, original, armed forces combat helmet, may well have been inspired by the steel skull form of this helmet. The M35 Stahlhelm was designed by Dr. Friedrich Schwerd of the Technical Institute of Hanover. First introduced in 1935, his design refined the iconic World War I Stahlhelm. It featured a lighter steel alloy, a rolled-in edge, and improved ventilation rivets. Dr Schwerd may well have designed both this, and the regular M35 at the same time of course, but it may have taken a year longer to perfect and issue the M35.

This fine German pre war and WW2 Fire Protection Police Combat Helmet is complete with its original chin strap clip bearing US patent for the chin strap clip buckle (Patent : TUCK TITE USA PAT 1590400 Made in Germany) and with its with its original neck cape shield later removed

It’s strap buckle was a patent exported from America into Germany in 1926 into German industry

Code: 26200