Original Item: Only One Available. This is an exceptionally well preserved German WWII M34 “Square Dip” steel civic police helmet configured for Ordnungspolizei, or Order Police, use. The exterior retains more than 95% of its original matte black finish together with both original decals, each also retained at over 95%. It is complete with its civic style nine finger liner, leather crown pad, surviving chinstrap section, and neck shield attachment tabs, with the liner marked size 55.

The lightweight M34 pattern was widely used by German civic and police organizations during the Third Reich period. This example has the classic square dip profile and black finish associated with civic police helmets, together with the double decal arrangement of the Police eagle and NSDAP shield. The exterior condition is excellent. More than 95% of the original matte black paint remains, showing only scattered small scuffs and scratches. We do not see any significant dents, major oxidation, perforations, or other structural damage. Both decals are exceptionally well preserved. The Civic Police eagle and NSDAP shield each remain over 95% intact and show only minor exterior wear.

The shell was manufactured without holes or other provision for attachment of a top comb. Combless M34 helmets are well documented in civic police use and are entirely consistent with this Ordnungspolizei configuration. The interior retains its black finish equally well, showing only light staining and accumulated dirt from age and use. No maker markings were observed inside the shell.

All four hollow liner attachment rivets remain present. Three still retain their original cork spacers. At the fourth attachment point, the liner band pulled past the rivet, allowing the cork spacer to become lost. The installed liner is the characteristic civic style nine finger leather pattern. The forehead area has the expected ventilation perforations, and the original top tie remains present. A leather crown pad is also still installed beneath the liner.

The liner leather remains supple overall but shows age related surface dry rot together with splitting around portions of the rim. Despite the wear, all nine fingers remain identifiable and the liner is substantially complete. The liner is mounted to a fiber band with foam rubber padding beneath the forehead area. The remaining portions were originally cushioned with felt, but nearly all of that material has been destroyed by moth damage.

The rear liner finger is stamped:

55

indicating a size 55cm liner.

The buckle side of the chinstrap remains attached. The opposite section is largely missing, with only a few inches of leather surviving.

The liner assembly also retains attachment tabs intended for a removable leather neck shield. Two of the side tabs are made from Vulkanfibre, while the remaining three are leather. The rearmost leather tab is damaged, with the head torn away.

Overall, this is a particularly strong M34 civic police helmet due to the exceptional retention of its original black finish and both decals. The more than 95% surviving paint, equally strong Police and NSDAP shields, complete nine finger size 55 liner, crown pad, surviving chinstrap hardware, and neck shield attachment tabs make it an impressive and highly complete example. The missing cork spacer, moth damaged liner padding, leather deterioration, incomplete chinstrap, and damaged rear neck shield tab are all fully disclosed.

The Ordnungspolizei, abbreviated Orpo, meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in NSDAP Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organization was absorbed into the NSDAP monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favor of the central N government ("Reich-ification", Verreichlichung, of the police). The Orpo was controlled, nominally by the Interior Ministry but its executive functions rested with the leadership of the SS until the end of World War II. Owing to their green uniforms, Orpo were also referred to as Grüne Polizei (green police). The force was first established as a centralized organization uniting the municipal, city, and rural uniformed police that had been organized on a state-by-state basis.

The Ordnungspolizei encompassed virtually all of NSDAP Germany's law-enforcement and emergency response organizations, including fire brigades, coast guard, and civil defense. In the prewar period, Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, and Kurt Daluege, chief of the Order Police, cooperated in transforming the police force of the Weimar Republic into militarized formations ready to serve the regime's aims of conquest and racial annihilation. Police troops were first formed into battalion-sized formations for the invasion of Poland, where they were deployed for security and policing purposes, also taking part in executions and mass deportations. During World War II, the force had the task of policing the civilian population of the occupied and colonized countries beginning in spring 1940.