Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Waffen-SS Model 1935 double decal steel helmet, complete with a 1939 dated 54cm aluminum band liner. Manufactured by Eisenhüttenwerk Thale in shell size 62, it retains both the Waffen-SS runic shield and NSDAP party shield, together with the name “Schweitzer” painted in white beneath the rear skirt. Extensive service wear gives the helmet a particularly strong field used appearance.

The stamped sheet steel shell is the early M35 pattern, characterized by separately fitted ventilation bushings and a rolled lower edge. The interior left apron is stamped:

ET62

The ET code identifies Eisenhüttenwerk Thale as the shell manufacturer, while 62 indicates the shell size. The rear neck guard is heat lot stamped:

4020

Painted in white beneath the rear skirt is the name:

Schweitzer

This appears to be a period applied wearer or ownership name. However, no documentary identification or service history accompanies the helmet, so we are unable to attribute it to a specific individual.

The helmet retains both of its original style shields. The left side carries the NSDAP party shield, while the right side bears the Waffen-SS double rune shield. The decals show substantial service wear, flaking, and loss to their upper surfaces. The runes remain clearly recognizable within the silver field. The party shield is approximately 40% retained, with much of the central black emblem worn away. Neither shield appears to have been deliberately defaced.

The shell presently displays a heavily worn gray finish, with approximately 60% remaining. The exterior shows broad areas of service wear, scratches, oxidation, and exposed steel, particularly across the crown and around the rolled lower edge. The interior retains a greater amount of finish. The textured appearance may indicate a wartime repaint or reissue treatment, although the supplied observations regarding the paint history conflict, and we were unable to confirm conclusively whether the visible finish is entirely factory applied or includes a period refinish.

All three liner retaining split pins remain present, with differing amounts of paint retained on their heads. The liner is a replacement installed during the helmet’s period of use or subsequent service history and is mounted on a reinforced aluminum band with square aluminum chinstrap loops.

The left side of the liner band is marked:

62 n.A. / 54

This identifies a 54cm liner fitted to a size 62 helmet shell. The opposite side is maker and date marked:

Metall-Lederverarbeitung W.Z.
1939
Bln.-Ch'burg 5

This marking identifies Werner Zahn of Berlin-Charlottenburg and confirms that the liner band was manufactured in 1939.

The leather liner is darkened and heavily worn from age and use. Seven of the original eight leather fingers remain present, with areas of cracking, wear, and deterioration visible throughout. The leather should be handled carefully. No chinstrap is currently installed.

The Waffen-SS developed from earlier SS armed formations, including the SS-Verfügungstruppe, and became the military branch of the SS during WWII. Its personnel used steel helmets of the same general patterns issued to the German armed forces, but with branch specific insignia. On double decal Waffen-SS helmets, the runic shield was worn on the right side and the party shield on the left.

Double decal M35 Waffen-SS helmets are especially desirable because wartime regulations ended the routine use of the second helmet shield, and many examples had one decal removed, painted over, or lost through service. This helmet’s retained pair of worn shields, early ET62 shell, visible heat lot number, named rear skirt, and dated liner give it substantial collector interest despite its extensive wear and replaced liner.

With its double decal configuration, well marked ET62 shell, 1939 dated 54cm liner, painted “Schweitzer” name, and honest service wear, this is a compelling example of an early Waffen-SS steel helmet. The worn decals, oxidation, finish loss, incomplete liner, absent chinstrap, replaced liner, and uncertain paint history are fully disclosed, while the named interior adds an appealing personal element for further research. It would display particularly well in a Waffen-SS equipment, German WWII helmet, named militaria, double decal headgear, or Eisenhüttenwerk Thale collection.

More on the German Stahlhelm Steel Helmet
The first "modern" steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, ("Gaede" helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, (Iron and Foundry Works), in the spring of 1916.

These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand.

The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet's shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet's safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army's Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25, 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935. The Germans still referred to the M1940 as the M1935, while the M1940 designation was given by collectors.

In 1942, Due to wartime demands, the M-42 design was put into production because it was significantly quicker to manufacture. The rolled edge of the M-35 shell was eliminated, creating an unfinished edge along the rim. This edge flared out slightly, along the base of the skirt. The elimination of the rolled edge expedited the manufacturing process and reduced the amount of metal used in each helmet, without sacrificing protection.