Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a WWII German Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD - National Labor Service) Officer's "Robin Hood" cap. Unlike others we have seen, this example is not made from pressed felt, but instead in the more traditional manner, with an internal support band around the bottom. The body of the cap is covered with a very nice "whipcord weave" wool fabric in the RAD "earth brown" color, with stitched seams. It has the correct sunken in top, and there is silver bullion piping along the top of the ear flaps, as well as across the brim of the cap. This indicates the cap is for an company or field grade officer, as EM / NCOs had black piping, and General Grade officers had gold.

The front of the cap has a chocolate brown cap band that goes under the side flaps, which has a lovely flatwire hand embroidered RAD shovelhead logo, executed with silver bullion threads. It features a canted black Swas (hook cross) in the middle, with 2 sheaves of wheat extending from the bottom at 45 degree angles. The border of the shovel is correctly highlighted with red. The brim is in good shape, though we can definitely feel a crack in the cardboard stiffener.

The interior of the cap is liked with some very nice cream colored rayon, which does show some fraying and overall staining, indicating moderate use during the war. It has brown leather sweatband made from three pieces of leather, which is still in relatively good condition, though there is a tear on the rear left. There are no maker or size markings, and it seems to be about a 56cm (US 7).

A rare example of a RAD Officer's cap in very nice condition, ready to display!

The basis of the RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst, (National Labor Service), dates back, at least, to 1929 with the formation of the AAD (Anhalt Arbeitsdienst) and the FAD-B (Freiwillingen Arbeitsdienst-Bayern). Shortly after AH’s appointment as Chancellor in Jan 1933, the NSDAP consolidated all labor organizations into the NSAD (Nationalsozialist Arbeitsdienst), a national labor service, under the control of Reichsarbeitsführer Konstatin Hierl. It served as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarize the workforce and indoctrinate it with NSDAP ideology. It was the official state labor service, divided into separate sections for men and women.

On June 26 1935 the NSAD was officially re-designated RAD, and from then onward, men aged between 18 and 25 may have served six months before their military service. During World War II compulsory service also included young women and the RAD developed to an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht armed forces.

In April 1934 Hierl had developed a uniform, including the distinctive "Robin Hood" style service cap. The design of the cap was based on a cross between a traditional style peasant cap and the traditional hunters cap. Originally the caps were issued with rank distinction piping with black piping for the EM/NCO ranks of Arbeitsmann to Truppführer, silver piping for company and field grade Officer’s ranks of Obertruppführer to Oberstarbeitsführer and gold piping for General Officer’s ranks of Generalarbeitsführer to Reichsarbeitsführer. In 1940 the use of the black piping for the EM/NCO ranks was discontinued but the silver and gold Officer’s piping remained in use until the end of the war.