Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice rare all aluminum construction M34 "Square Dip" Third Reich Helmet, outfitted for German WWII Fire police (Feuerwehr) issue. Almost all of these that we have seen have a steel shell, however this shell is aluminum. It features genuine early pattern double decals of a Swas on the right, and a tilted national colors decal on the left. There is no comb on the top of the shell, though there a holes in the shell for it, plugged with copper inserts. However, it does have the rare rear leather neck protector, which is something we have only had a few times before!

We did not see any stamps in the aluminum itself, however there is a round maker / retailer logo present on the inside of the shell near the forehead area, which reads:

HEINRICH MANDELARTZ
(Walking Man)
HMA
AACHEN

All four liner split pins are present, along with their cork spacers, and there is still a very nice leather liner in the helmet, which shows light wear and some possible rodent damage in a few areas. There is no top tie present, and one of the fingers is stamped with size 56. All five of the leather "tabs" for the rear neck shield are present, and are properly inserted through the neck shield, which is still in nice supple condition. The fiber cross top suspension is still good, and there is even an intact top pad, which was personalized by the USGI who brought it home! It reads:

SOMEWHERE IN
GERMANY
DEC 1944
____________
SgT. G. W. MADISON
SOUVENIRE FROM
CAPTURED NA**
SUPPLY TRUCK

Definitely some great research potential here!

The exterior of the helmet is still in very good condition, but definitely shows wear from age and use. There are some areas where the paint has flaked off, and the original decals show flaking and wear as well. Really just a great example of a USGI bring back helmet.

Overall a great opportunity to get a very good example of an All-Aluminum WWII Civic Police Fire helmet with a great skirt and some fantastic research potential. Ready to display!

More on the Fire Protection Police:

On June 17TH 1936, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was appointed to the newly created position of Chef der Deutschen Polizei im Reichsministerium des Innern (Chief of the German Police in the National Ministry of the Interior), effectively giving him full control of all police agencies within Germany including the Feuerschutzpolizei, (Fire Protection Police). 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 on June 25TH 1936 to bring about uniformity in dress for all police through-out the country. The Police were divided into eight assorted branches of service with each branch being assigned a specific identifying, Truppenfarbe, (branch of service color), with the Feuerschutzpolizei being allocated carmine truppenfarbe. The Feuerschutzpolizei were further distinguished from the other police branches of service with blue uniforms and headgear instead of the typical police green uniforms.

Types of Helmets Used:
Prior to 1929 many fire-fighting units used leather helmets in various styles with most appearing similar to the leather spiked helmet (Pickelhaube) of World War I. These helmets bore a stamped metal crest on the front depicting the province or township to which the fire-fighting unit belonged.

In 1929 a light-weight plastic fiber (Vulkanfiber) helmet was prototyped for general use by all fire-fighting units. The first models were issued in 1932 and proved unworthy of further consideration. As a result a second prototype was explored using light-weight steel alloy known as "Edelstahl." During this time leather fire-fighting helmets were slowly replaced with a combination of surplus World War I model steel helmets and privately manufactured versions in the “Austrian” pattern shell. These early helmets were generally painted black although some were left in their original field-gray World War I color.

In 1934 the light-weight steel alloy prototype helmet was approved for general use by all fire-fighting units. This helmet is designated the “M1934” by modern collectors because of the year of its introduction. Several different versions of the M1934 helmet exist with many variations resulting from subtle differences in the air vents or visors. The M1934 helmet was painted semi-gloss black inside and out with two insignia placed one on each side.

Fire Protection Police helmets were manufactured with and without an aluminum metal comb. In some cases the metal comb was also painted black. As a result of a large surplus, M1934 helmets without combs were issued in 1940 for general wear by all fire-fighting personnel. The helmets used typical civilian style liner systems and chinstraps. The liners were made so that they could accommodate a removable black leather neck shield.