Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Medical Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), made by the legendary EREL company. This is a brand name of Robert Lubstein, which is actually just the pronunciation of the his initials RL. The cap still has the crown stiffener, so the original shape is well maintained, show just a bit of a "saddle form" shape. It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "whipcord" weave wool construction with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. It also has matching karmesinrot (Crimson) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band. This is the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) for the Generalstabskorps (General staff corps) and Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed forces). These were usually high ranking officers in the Stabsoffiziere (Staff Officer) range, Major, Oberstleutnant, and Oberst. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a well detailed stamped aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open stamped aluminum wreath surrounding an aluminum tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia are still great, still bright with little wear or damage, and the red felt insert is still in great shape. The chin strap is attached with the standard silvered pebbled buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting some wear along the edge, and is light brown on the underside. It also has a lovely pattern of crazing and checking on the black enamel finished top, confirming the age, and it is still firmly attached to the body of the cap.

The inside of the cap is lined with lovely cream colored rayon faux silk, which shows overall staining from long use during the war. The top celluloid sweat shield diamond is mostly missing, with only the top portion still present, though the stitching is still present. The bronze paint on the logo is oxidized and partly worn away, but we can still see the EREL trademark logo:

OFFIZIER
KLEIDERKLASSE
BERLIN
EREL
SonderKlasse

The natural leather sweatband also shows much use, and is stained overall, with a repaired tear on the left hand side by the chinstrap button. The stitching around the edge looks to be mostly intact, and we did not notice any major detachment from the body of the cap. We did not see any markings on the sweatband, which definitely looks to be original. We glanced underneath, but were not able to find any unit or name information. There is no size marking we can see, but it measures to be about a 57cm / 7 1/8 US.

The cap looks to have seen long service during the war, and the interior shows a good amount of staining, and there is worn in oil and dirt on the bottom edge of the cap. There is also some fading to the fabric, and scattered mothing as well. This is particularly evident on the piping, which due to the open weave is more attractive to moths.

A lovely service used example of a classic hat worn by German General Staff Corps Officers in WWII made by the legendary EREL company. Very impressive and ready to display!

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.