Original Item: Only One available. This is a very good condition WWII Era Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (German Red Cross) EM/NCO M38 overseas cap (Schiffchen). The overseas cap, nicknamed in German military slang as Schiffchen, or literally "little ship" as it resembled an up-turned row-boat, was standard issue for EM / NCOs in the DRK, especially in the field.

The overseas cap is fabricated from a fine dark gray wool on the exterior, designed with fold down panels with gently sloping, downward scallops to the front and forward sides. Sewn to the front is an embroidered tricolor cockade framed by a gray soutache, the standard color used by the Red Cross. The left side of the cap bears German Red Cross (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) insignia in red and black embroidery on a white embroidered oval field, sewn in place with white thread. A single black finished eyelet in place on either side, with two rising peaks forming a valley between the two panels. The interior is lined in gray cotton and there is a small tag at the rear stamped with size 54 in purple.

Overall condition is very good, showing no major wear or damage, just some overall age toning and staining on the exterior. A safety pin has been installed on the central fold of the cap to make it sit a bit higher on the head, and it looks to be a very old pin.

A very nice German WWII Red Cross EM/NCO overseas cap, ready to add to your collection!

History of the German Red Cross (DRK)
The DRK, "Deutsches Rotes Kreuz" (German Red Cross), a voluntary civil assistance organization originally instituted in 1864, was officially acknowledged by the Geneva Convention in 1929. In December 1937 it gained status as a legally recognized organization by the NSDAP. As with other essential services in Third Reich Germany, it came under control of the NSDAP in late 1938 under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior's Social Welfare Organization.

History of the "Red Cross" Symbol
It was important to clearly identify Medical personnel in the field. One of the early documents, such as the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Wounded in Armies in the Field signed August 22, 1864, by a number of Governments, already instructed that Flag and Arm Badges worn by Medical personnel would bear a Red Cross on a White Field. Both symbols when used on Hospitals, Ambulances, Evacuation and Aid Centers, were to be proof of their neutral status! These signs provided for neutrality of military and civilian protected personnel (it gave them non-belligerent status) exclusively engaged in removal, transportation, and treatment of wounded and sick, or the administration of sanitary formations and establishments, and entitled them to respect and protection from their enemies. The 1929 Geneva Convention which superseded the former agreement, was signed on July 27, 1929 by forty-seven countries (including the Axis countries, Germany, Italy, and Japan) and comprised numerous articles, among which Articles 9 and 21, recognizing that bearers of special identification cards and civilian protected personnel identified by armbands, and vehicles, and installations wearing Geneva Convention markings and markers, were all exclusively engaged in medical care activities, and consequently protected and respected by the Geneva Convention.