Thought I would take this opportunity to inform everyone who reads this forum that there is a new German competitor to Janke making reproduction M43 caps (field gray and black for panzer, EM and officer) - as well as M34s, M38s and Visor caps. I went to Germany for three weeks in March in order to seal a book deal (Afrikakorps topic), and while there also visited the firm of Eric Fritszch KG Muetzenfabrik in Bebra, a town that lies about 10 KM from the former East German border. The owner of the firm (Olaf Gaube) has his roots in military surplus, and a good eye for selecting useful used uniforms (irrelavent which nation) for apllication in various products. He also has some personal suppliers of pretty convincing (but new looking) field gray wool in various weights - though he assured me that he builds telltales into his headgear which distinguish them beyond doubt from originals (such as polyester linings on the visor caps). I sat for several hours and watched his staff, using original Pfaff machines, assemble the aluminum mesh officer cord exactly as they did in the war days, then attach it to the top panels, and then assemble the caps (officer field gray M43s and Officer Panzer M43s on this particular day). It was astounding to watch; the amount of skilled labor involved is considerable. All the caps were without insignia, of course. He had cases of Panzer M38s ready to ship out to various customers around the globe in one room. His staff was a mere 7 people - 5 of them women (including two young ethnic Germans from Russia), one Iranian who has lived in Germany for some 20 years, and a former wartime cap maker, who makes visor caps out ofd his home (with one woman worker rotating through a training period with him, throughout the year).
Herr Gaube also managed to locate the grandson of Robert Lubstein in Berlin (I assume I don't need to explain Lubstein), and receoived permission from him (though technically, no permission was really required) to re-apply for the old EREL trademark - which he did in February of 2002: and the German patent/trademark office approved the application. Thus, the EREL trademark is now owned by Eric Fritszch KG Muetzenfabrik, and can no longer be used legally by Janke or any other repro maker without permission (over the last 60 years, some repros have been made with the mark, but no one ever bothered to re-establish the trademark legally).
I am passing on this information to you all as these Fritszch made caps are almost certain to become a common fixture on the militaria /reenactor market, and without doubt some dealers will try to pass them off as originals. If the company holds to its intent to build telltales into the caps, it should not be difficult to identify them from originals - though on the exterior they look pretty convincing. One major client of Fritszch is naturally, Rex Reddick, in Texas.
Keep your eyes open!
Gary Wilkins
Author
Herr Gaube also managed to locate the grandson of Robert Lubstein in Berlin (I assume I don't need to explain Lubstein), and receoived permission from him (though technically, no permission was really required) to re-apply for the old EREL trademark - which he did in February of 2002: and the German patent/trademark office approved the application. Thus, the EREL trademark is now owned by Eric Fritszch KG Muetzenfabrik, and can no longer be used legally by Janke or any other repro maker without permission (over the last 60 years, some repros have been made with the mark, but no one ever bothered to re-establish the trademark legally).
I am passing on this information to you all as these Fritszch made caps are almost certain to become a common fixture on the militaria /reenactor market, and without doubt some dealers will try to pass them off as originals. If the company holds to its intent to build telltales into the caps, it should not be difficult to identify them from originals - though on the exterior they look pretty convincing. One major client of Fritszch is naturally, Rex Reddick, in Texas.
Keep your eyes open!
Gary Wilkins
Author
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