Original Items: Only One Grouping Available. This is a fascinating grouping of German pre-WWII and WWII-era equipment, centered around Luftschutz civil-defense material and supplemented by field and personal equipment.

The pieces were acquired together, but there is presently no documentation establishing that the entire grouping belonged to one individual or originated from a single wartime unit. We are therefore offering it as an assembled period equipment grouping rather than claiming that every component was originally issued or used together. The VM 40 mask and its instruction sheet are directly related by model and make an especially attractive pairing.

Included Items
● 1940 Lederwerk Sedina, Finkenwalde Kopffernhörer 33 leather carrying pouch.
● 1938 E. Pohl & Co., Hamburg Luftschutz medical pouch.
● Fitted brown leather scientific/optical instrument case; original contents absent.
● 1942 ESB 42 1-liter M31-type Labeflasche by Ed. Sommerfeld, Berlin, with felt cover, black leather harness, and possibly SS rune-marked leather tab.
● Daimon Model 2233-pattern three-filter signal flashlight.
● German WWII VM 40 Volksgasmaske with Auer-marked eyepiece and RL1 38/4 aluminum filter, WaA 320 marked.
● German WWII illustrated VM 40 “Die deutsche Volksgasmaske” Gebrauchsanweisung, with printer's code including IV.43.

The first piece is a 1940-dated leather carrying pouch for the German Kopffernhörer 33 communications headset. The brown leather exterior is impressed:

Lederwerk Sedina
 Finkenwalde
 1940

There is also a Waffenamt acceptance marking which appears to read WaA 411. Lederwerk Sedina of Finkenwalde was a wartime manufacturer of leather equipment, and this pouch is consistent with the type used for the Kopffernhörer 33, the single-ear receiver employed in conjunction with German field telephone equipment.

The pouch retains its stitched leather construction, suspension fittings, straps, and metal hardware. An old yellow-painted numerical marking is also present on the top. The leather shows substantial toning, abrasions, and general wear. The headset itself is no longer present.

Also included is a 1938-dated German Luftschutz medical pouch manufactured by E. Pohl & Co. of Hamburg. The reverse is clearly impressed:

E. Pohl & Co.
 Hamburg 39
 1938

The pouch is constructed from brown leather and retains its broad rear belt loops, leather retaining fittings, and lined interior. A portion of the original paper contents label remains inside, although much of the printing has deteriorated with age.

Of particular note are two mounting holes and the distinct outline of a removed applied eagle insignia on the exterior. The insignia itself is unfortunately no longer present, but its former position is readily visible.

The grouping additionally contains a large fitted brown leather instrument case with shoulder strap. The exterior features stitched edges, a decorative impressed border, and a metal closure. Inside is an elaborate cloth-covered fitted arrangement with numerous circular, rectangular, and specially shaped recesses for an instrument and its accessories.

The original contents are no longer present, and the precise equipment originally housed within has not been established. The arrangement suggests a portable scientific, medical, or optical instrument set. A fragmentary black-and-gold maker's or retailer's label survives inside the lid, though not enough remains to make a firm manufacturer attribution. The fitted interior shows considerable deterioration, including torn retaining sections, staining, and areas of material loss, while the exterior leather exhibits wear from use. Due to the age and condition of the leather components, we recommend careful handling of the straps to help prevent further damage.

One of the more interesting pieces in the grouping is a German WWII 1-liter M31-type Labeflasche manufactured in 1942 by Ed. Sommerfeld of Berlin. The neck is clearly stamped: ESB 42. This larger bottle differs from the ordinary approximately 0.8-liter enlisted man's M31 Feldflasche. The 1-liter Labeflasche was associated especially with Sanitäter, Gebirgsjäger, and other specialist personnel who required additional water capacity. This example retains its large oval bottle, full wool-felt cover, black leather suspension harness, and metal fittings. Of particular interest is possibly a pair of SS runes impressed into one of the black leather tabs.

Another appealing piece is the Daimon three-filter signal flashlight, of the familiar Model 2233 pattern. It has an olive-green painted sheet-metal body with DAIMON prominently embossed on the front. Three vertically operated controls manipulate the colored filters, with red, dark blue, and green elements still visible.

The hinged body opens to expose the reflector and bulb assembly along with the compartment for the flat battery. No battery is included. Original rear carrying hardware and leather fittings remain present, and the reverse bears an old hand-applied E.S. marking. The exterior paint shows wear and scattered oxidation. Most noticeably, the large clear front lens is cracked in several places, though it remains largely intact within its metal retaining ring.

The centerpiece of the grouping is an original German WWII VM 40 Volksgasmaske, or People's Gas Mask. The VM 40 was developed for civilian air-raid protection and replaced the earlier hood-style VM 37 with a more conventional facepiece retained by a system of rubberized head straps.

This example retains its green rubber facepiece, head harness, metal eyepiece surrounds, and large aluminum filter. Numerous manufacturing and inspection markings remain visible. One eyepiece insert is marked:

Auer 43 Innenseite

with Innenseite meaning "inside." The 43 is consistent with 1943 manufacture of that replaceable component.
The aluminum filter is particularly well marked, including:

RL1 38/4
 5 125

along with additional black numbers including 078 and 1332, as well as a German eagle acceptance marking over: WaA 320. Additional red and black inspection markings remain visible on the rubber facepiece itself.

The mask shows age but remains an impressive display piece. The eyepieces have become cloudy and discolored, with one showing a pronounced reddish-brown appearance. The head straps and filter remain present.

Accompanying the mask is an appropriate illustrated VM 40 Gebrauchsanweisung, or instruction sheet, headed:

VM 40
 Die deutsche Volksgasmaske

Prominent wording beneath reads:

schützt gegen sämtliche chemischen Kampfstoffe
 (schützt nicht gegen Leuchtgas und Kohlenoxyd)

Approximately translated: “Protects against all chemical warfare agents (does not protect against illuminating gas and carbon monoxide).”

The double-sided instruction sheet illustrates the components of the VM 40 and explains installation of the filter, adjustment of the head harness, putting on and removing the mask, performing a seal test, cleaning, inspection, care, and storage. The lower printer's code includes IV.43, consistent with an April 1943 printing.

The sheet retains both illustrated sides and remains remarkably complete for disposable wartime paperwork. However, it is torn in multiple areas along the original fold lines, which have become quite fragile with age. We strongly recommend extremely careful handling to prevent further separation or loss.

The VM 40 mask and filter are offered strictly as historical collectibles. No protective capability is implied, the filter has not been tested, and neither component should ever be relied upon for respiratory protection.

Altogether, this is an exceptionally varied and historically interesting German WWII-era grouping, bringing together civil-defense, field, and personal equipment in one collection. The individual pieces show the expected age and wear of artifacts that have survived more than eight decades.