Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great looking German WWII HJ National Youth Organization M43 Winter Feldmütze (Field Cap), privately purchased for a young member of the HJ, probably by his parents. These were the standard headgear for DJ and HJ members during the winter months, and they are quite a bit more insulated than the summer issued caps. These are really quite hard to find in this lovely condition, as they often continued to be worn after the war, and had the insignia removed. We measured the cap, and it seems to be only about a 52-53cm size, so we would assume it was outgrown, and then put into storage.

The cap is constructed of dark navy blue worsted wool gabardine cloth, with fold-down panels with rounded scallops to the front and forward sides, covering the entire neck on the sides and rear when in use. When not in use, the panels are raised with their ends resting upon the visor, being joined together by a small buckle on the front. The visor is reinforced with cardboard, and covered in matching gabardine cloth. It also has lovely faux leather edge trim, only really seen on these privately purchased caps. The visor is unbent, and in great shape.

Sewn in place in the front of the cap is a BeVo embroidered rhomboid diamond shaped HJ emblem, which consists of a black mobile swas inside a white square diamond which is surrounded by alternating white and red quadrants and is all surrounded by a small white border. This patch is original to the cap and is machine sewn only to the outer fabric. The patch is in very clean crisp condition with no major damage, showing light wear. The exterior overall shows light wear and minor pilling, with no major mothing we can see.

The interior of the cap is lined with navy blue rayon, which has very minor sweat staining around the contact areas but is in very good condition overall. We checked the interior, and there are no markings we can see, and it has all the hallmarks of a privately purchased cap, made by a local hatter. We have checked the cap and everything about it is period correct.

Overall, this is a great looking HJ M43 winter field cap, ready to research and display!

HJ believed German youth to be the future of his 3rd Reich. The HJ National Youth Organization was formed officially in 1935, and with the exception of NSDAP ideology indoctrination was very similar to the Boy Scouts. Beginning at about the age of ten years, both boys (jugend) and girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel) were enlisted in the Party-run organization.

The M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap) is a variety of "Ski Cap" and was based on the Bergmütze (Mountain Hat) used by Austrian and German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Troops) during WWI. Germany had adopted it in 1915, and after the war it spread throughout the military.

The skirt that surrounds the cap is made in the same wool as the cap, and can be folded down over the ears, though this was rarely done outside of the Mountain troops, which had a double-thickness skirt. The skirt has a small dip in the front quarter with a divide secured by one aluminum button which is covered by an embroidered cockade. The small section in the front quarter was built shorter to show the insignia, and cover the wearer's chin or mouth, without disturbing breathing by covering the nose. There were also later M43 caps, such as those used by the DAK, that omitted the skirt entirely, as it had little use in the desert heat.