Item:
ONSV22NAS65

Original German WWII Organisation TODT Summer Weight Officer's M43 Feldmütze Field Cap - Size 59

Item Description

Original Item; Only One Available. We are pleased to offer a RARE size 59 WWII Organisation Todt (Org. Todt or OT) Summer Weight M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap) for the first time. It is constructed of olive green cotton cloth, and has faux fold-down panels on the side, with a single pebbled aluminum button in the front. The visor is reinforced with cardboard, and covered in matching cloth on both sides. The design is similar to the simplified version used by the Afrikakorps, but has a higher overall profile.

The cap features a BeVo-style machine embroidered Organization Todt trapezoid Reichsadler (National Eagle) affixed to the front of the cap, complete with the Tri-color cockade. Stitching and the trapezoid, as well as the rest of the cap is as near to perfect as can be desired, save for some water staining and bending to the cardboard brim stiffener. The forehead sweatband shows little to no use, and is embossed with a QUALITÄTS MARKE (Qualilty Brand). The crown has silver-aluminum bullion embroidered officer's piping around the circumference.

The interior is in perfect condition, and the inside of the crown is stamped with:

Org. Todt
Wiesbaden

59

Overall, this is a great looking M43 Org. Todt summer weight Officer's field cap! It has seen only light use, and would make a great part of any collection.

The Organisation Todt (OT) was a civil and military engineering organization in NSDAP Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior NSDAP. The OT was not given an official name until AH did so soon after coming to power during 1933. During 1938 Todt initiated the Organisation Todt proper as a consortium of the administrative offices, which Todt had personally established in the course of the Autobahn project, private companies as subcontractors and the primary source of technical engineering expertise, and the Labour Service as the source of manpower. He was appointed by AH as plenipotentiary for labour for the second four-year plan, decreasing Göring's role. Investment in civil engineering work was reduced greatly. The organization was responsible for a huge range of engineering projects both in NSDAP Germany and in occupied territories from France to the Soviet Union during World War II. It became notorious for using forced labor.

From 1943 until 1945 during the late phase of the Third Reich, OT administered all constructions of prison camps to supply forced labor to industry. Fritz Todt's primary office was that of the General Inspector of German Roadways (Generalinspektor für das deutsche Straßenwesen) and his primary responsibility, the construction of the Autobahn network. He was able to draw on "conscripted" (i.e. compulsory) labour, from within Germany, through the Reich Labour Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst, RAD).

Fritz Todt died in an airplane crash on 8 February 1942, soon after a meeting with AH in East Prussia. Todt had become convinced that the war on the eastern front could not be won and thought himself independent enough to say as much to AH. As a result, there has been some speculation that Todt's death was a covert assassination, but this has never been substantiated.

More on the M43 Field Cap:
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.

  • This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
  • Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Cash For Collectibles