What Is This?

[Matthew S.]

http://cgi.ebay.com/EAST-GERMAN-MDI-...item48391fe081

Never seen this type of hat MdI marked. Did these exist and if so who used them?

[iannima]

I would agree an Army officer hat marked MdI is an oddity ... I can only suggest Zivilverteidigung, but I would be more inclined towards a mistake at the factory.

[torstenbel]

I would agree an Army officer hat marked MdI is an oddity ... I can only suggest Zivilverteidigung, but I would be more inclined towards a mistake at the factory.

I agree. Probably civil defence.

[Knuckles930]

Any chance it might be Stasi related?

[tony james]

i would say again the east germans marked hats like this one for a reason like the "DDR"marked hats .


tony

[Rev462]

Assuming the hat is authentic (one must always wonder when it comes to Lastfrontline), I can think of two possible explanations.

The simplest, and probably more likely, explanation is that it is a factory mistake.

Another possibility is that it could be a transitional piece from when the Luftschutz was being transferred from the auspices of the MdI to the NVA. Prior to the mid to late 70's, Luftschutz personnel wore khaki-colored uniforms & hats with maroon piping. I have never seen a Luftschutz uniform, but I presume they were styled like a typical Police uniform with maroon-piped insignia.

I do, however, have a Luftschutz visor hat in my collection and it is khaki - colored, maroon-piped and "MdI" marked. (There is also one pictured in the Zoller headgear book.)

The transferring of the Luftschutz from the MdI to the Zivilverteidigung organization was complete in 1978 when the cuff title was adopted. However, I'm sure preparations were begun well before that, and 1974 (the date code on the hat in question) would be right in that time frame.

The above Luftschutz/Zivilverteidigung scenario for the hat is pure speculation, but there is a precedent for such a mish-mash of NVA & MdI uniforms & markings: the transition of the Deutsche Grenzpolizei under the auspices of the MdI into the Grenztruppen der DDR under the auspices of the MfNV. In the 1960-62 time period, you will find DGP uniforms & headgear with "NVA" markings and Grenztruppen uniforms & headgear with "MdI" markings.

[Grenztruppen]

Hat

Great post! Yea, I saw this hat and it has me scratching as well. I tend to agree with Tony that the DDR marked hats for a reason. If this hat was a mistake, it would have probably been discarded. I am sure most of you guys have more knowledge than me, but I think the hat is ok. The only thing is, you almost have to be collecting MdI material to want it enough to spend the money. Again, thank you for posting the question Mathew!

[Matthew S.]

Well, as mentioned, I think if this was a factory screw-up it probably would have just been chopped up. And I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it was the product of someone with a sick imagination (see my recent humor post..). If I had $75 I would ask for close ups of the tag and take it from there.

[Grenztruppen]

Hat

Well, if you look at his auction terms, I think you could buy it and he would return your money if you did not like it. I always have to handle a hat before I know it is ok for me. The only reason I am not biting is due to the fact I just bought some stuff and i am tapped at the moment.

[Rev462]

If anyone other than Lastfrontline were selling it, I'd buy it. (He won't ever see another penny from me, but that's for another discussion.)

It seems to me that swapping out the liner of this hat (switching a Police lining for a NVA lining) would be a lot of trouble to go through for a mere $75, but then again anything is possible. Sometimes people create fakes just for the "art" of it rather than pure profit.

Only with a first-hand examination coukld you be sure of authenticity, and then even that might not settle it!

[Kartofelpreußer]

For a factory mistake to be discarded, it has to be noticed. Given some of the shoddy workmanship I've encountered on some DDR items, it wouldn't surprise me at all for an otherwise sound hat with the wrong label to slip out of the factory and into stocks-- of all the various things the doubtless overstretched hat factory QC folks would be looking for, I'd think the wrong ministry code would not be at the top of the list.

My vote is for misprint.

[Viktor]

For a factory mistake to be discarded, it has to be noticed. Given some of the shoddy workmanship I've encountered on some DDR items, it wouldn't surprise me at all for an otherwise sound hat with the wrong label to slip out of the factory and into stocks-- of all the various things the doubtless overstretched hat factory QC folks would be looking for, I'd think the wrong ministry code would not be at the top of the list.

My vote is for misprint.

Genosse,
Your lack of confidence in Advanced DDR production quality will be Noted.. .

The fact I have recorded such traitorous failures in the past is not the point (worn twice from "Box fresh" as our Hard core Gangster Genossen would say) ...



I have a Winter FDA jacket ( the one I use) with a small brown print fault behind its shoulder strap on the left side, which is strangely pleasing.

[Fauli_NVA]

I got some information of a friendly collector.

This kind of visorhats have been worn by members of the DDR Betriebsschutz and members of the German issue bank of the DDR until 1979. After that they all got the normal green VP visorhats.

Fauli

[uscob]

I would agree an Army officer hat marked MdI is an oddity ... I can only suggest Zivilverteidigung, but I would be more inclined towards a mistake at the factory.

ZV was under NVA command ! mabe somebody heard about some older strange stuff and put a MdI Cap lining in a NVA Cap. People do the funniest things to make something more interesting to get some more money.
Nico

[uscob]

I got some information of a friendly collector.

This kind of visorhats have been worn by members of the DDR Betriebsschutz and members of the German issue bank of the DDR until 1979. After that they all got the normal green VP visorhats.

Fauli

I have a 1976 Booklet about the Betriebschutz somewhere in my boxes and ALL Caps are clearly green in the pics.