Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German pre-WWII Soldatenbund Soldier’s League veterans association Schirmmütze visor cap, measuring approximately size 55. It is an early pattern example constructed from very dark navy blue material with a lighter blue cap band and a traditional high forward crown, and it shows no evidence of ever having been fitted with a chinstrap.

The Soldatenbund was a veterans association founded in 1936 and was relatively short lived, being merged into the Kyffhäuserbund in 1938 as part of the broader consolidation of veterans organizations under NSDAP control. Caps and insignia from the organization therefore belong to a narrow prewar period.

The cap has no colored piping and is fitted with an aluminum Soldatenbund eagle insignia on the front. The emblem combines a national eagle with crossed swords and an Iron Cross. Below this, on the cap band, is an Imperial German style Mecklenburg reserve cockade with an Iron Cross at the center, an association that may reflect prior Imperial era service connected with Mecklenburg, though the wearer’s individual history is undocumented.

The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather look upper surface with light wear, checking, and crazing from age, while the underside is finished in checkered brown. Most of the stitching securing the visor to the cap has deteriorated, so the visor is now only partially attached and should be handled carefully.

The interior is lined in green service cloth showing moderate staining from use. A faded silver maker marking is present, with the first line appearing to read:

Rich. Hauptmann

while the remaining text is too faint to read confidently. The brown oilcloth sweatband remains free of major tearing, but it has become detached across almost the entire front of the cap. We can see what looks to be a name written on the front as well, but we cannot read it.

Overall condition is very good for its age, with the exterior colors still well retained. There is scattered moth damage, mostly affecting the nap of the dark navy material, along with some additional damage to the lighter blue cap band. The loose visor stitching and partially detached oilcloth sweatband are the principal structural condition issues.

With its Soldatenbund eagle, Mecklenburg reserve style cockade, dark navy and blue construction, high crown profile, and short lived prewar organizational association, this is a particularly interesting veterans association visor cap. The moth damage, deteriorated visor stitching, detached sweatband, interior staining, and partially legible maker marking are all fully disclosed. It would display especially well in a Soldatenbund, German veterans association, pre-WWII visor cap, Imperial service related headgear, or advanced German political and veterans organization collection.

The German Schirmmütze Visor Cap:
The visor cap (Schirmmütze) was an important part of the headgear worn by German uniformed military, civil, paramilitary and political organizations during the Third Reich. This was the standard cloth headgear worn as a part of the service uniform. Visor caps were worn outdoors as well as indoors, and were often required to be worn by all personnel on duty. Visor caps were made in versions specific to each organization and were often further differentiated through the use of insignia, colored piping, or style of chin cord, to indicate rank, role or branch. The insignia used on these caps ranged from simple stamped metal emblems, to elaborate hand embroidery. Visor caps were issued to enlisted soldiers and NCOs in the military and in some other organizations. Officers had to purchase their own hats, and lower ranks could choose to purchase caps that were of a higher quality than the rather basic, issue examples. The private purchase caps were generally made in very high quality, with fine materials. A wide variety of fabrics were used, from Trikot and doeskin, to heavy wool, or even lightweight white fabric for summer wear. In the military, issue of these caps was generally suspended shortly after the outbreak of the war, but they continued to be worn by some troops until the end of the war.