Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a wonderful service used example of a named German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Artillery Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), made by very desirable J.B. Holzinger of Berchtesgaden. Located in the famous mountain retreat area in the Bavarian alps, many members of the NSDAP top brass had houses in this area, including Der Führer Adolf H, Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, and others. Many high ranking officials purchased headwear from this maker, who also supplied many caps to Gebirgsjäger mountain troopers.

The cap has a lovely "Crushed" or "saddle-form" shape that is highly desirable, accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It features a somewhat worn feldgrau (field gray) square weave wool construction with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap also has matching Hochrot (Deep Red) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers, however they would use gold insignia and chinstraps. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

In the name tag slot on the top, it is named to:

Oblt. G. Mülsch
3. / Div. Pol. Reg. 2

This would indicate that Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) G. Mülsch was a member of the 3rd Company, Divisional Police Regiment 2. Definitely some great research potential here!

It is decorated with a well detailed aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silvered cast zinc oak leaf and acorn wreath surrounding an metal tri-color cockade on the band. The eagle is still in great shape, however the oak leaf wreath has lost the plating, and now shows overall oxidation and patination. The cockade is in very good condition ,and the colors on the central fabric insert are still very well retained. The chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap, which show a bit of oxdiation. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting some wear along the edge, and is checkered brown on the underside. It also has a lovely pattern of light crazing and checking on the black enamel finished top, with some cracking and scratches in areas.

The inside of the cap is lined with cream sheer fabric, most likely rayon, which shows staining from use, and now shows and overall light gray color. The top celluloid sweat shield diamond is fully intact with complete stitching, and is really in great shape. Though faint, the inside of the crown still bears the complete J. B. Holzinger logo under the size marking, which be read in the light:

58
J. B. Holzinger
Uniformen
Berchtesgaden
Frischluft
D.R.G.M. 1419757

The word "frischluft" translates to "fresh air", and refers to the patent below it the vented sweatband and front of the visor cap. The leather sweatband is in very good condition, still soft, showing some staining from use. There is no tearing we can see, but it is a bit stiff due to age.

Overall condition is very good, with the exterior looking great and still retaining the colors very well. It looks like the exterior of the cap was originally "doeskin", but wear removed the soft "nap" fabric over the years. The piping looks to be cotton or rayon, so it is much more resilient to fading and wear. There is not any real mothing that we can see on the cap, and it really has a great look.

A great example of a classic hat worn by German Army Officers in WWII, made by the highly desirable J.B. Holzinger of Berchtesgaden. This is an example that definitely saw a good amount of wear during the war. 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.