dak cap

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Well, well, well, another one of the "Poland found" type caps emerges and this time we have a later model plus a faint makers name ???

The plot thickens or have we missed the boat on these http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm,

Chris

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2/ Poland found type ???

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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3/ Poland found type ???

Chris

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Comparison 1

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Comparison 2

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Comparison 3

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Another comparison

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Another comparison 2

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Yet another comparison

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Yet another comparison 2

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Yet another comparison 3

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Yet another comparison 4

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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More of the panzer soutached example in "Yet another comparison"

Chris

http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg18.htm

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Today I have had a major break through in the history of where the caps found in Poland came from.

Many who collect tropical and DAK will know the name "Greiling & Co" but this does not fully explain who made these tropical M40 billed caps. Some of these have turned up with veterans brought back from WW2 and others were found in Poland after the wall came down.

The company is "Felina"

or as Militaria collectors know it "Greiling & Co, FELINA, Frankfurt a. Main"

1885
Eugen J. Herbst lays the foundations of the company’s history by founding a corsetry factory in Bad Rappenau with approx. 10 staff members, which was rather extraordinary for this period, as corsets had hitherto mostly been imported from France.

1890
After 5 years customer demand for the company’s novel and stylish products is so great that it needs to expand and relocates to Mannheim, where it is still based today.

1917
The products of the Mannheim-based company are a huge success. This success goes down in history - FELINA is chosen as the company name.

1928
The company now employs 660 staff members.

1936
Consul General Richard Greiling takes over the company and doubles its profits within a few years time – despite the ravages of war and the currency reform.

1959
Products are now exported to over 50 countries.

1960
FELINA undergoes expansion. The company celebrates its 75th anniversary and offers its customers over 250 designs.

1981
A Swiss group of investors takes over FELINA and founds FELINA INTERNATIONAL AG in Wettingen near Zurich. FELINA GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary. The company has its own production facilities in Hungary and Poland.

FELINA today
In more than 127 years Felina has blossomed from a small corset factory to a global player in the lingerie sector. In virtually all European countries Felina now has distribution companies of its own. In its design centre in Mannheim lingerie collections are created for women in over 50 countries world-wide. FELINA shows its international and global focus with activities in North America, Scandinavia, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. In the age of globalisation the company guarantees the highest production standards by manufacturing in its own production facilities in Hungary and emphasising social responsibility for all of its staff members. World-wide approx. 6,500 retailers and 1,000 employees – including 150 employees in Mannheim – belong to the international FELINA family.

Chris

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My friend in Germany who works as a corporate auditor helped me crack what is reported in post number 179. He has confirmed that they made tropical caps in WW2. He has also confirmed that the caps which were found in Poland are a "Felina" product found in stores and disposed of as deleted stock in the late 1980's. This stock was moved on by company connections in Poland at the time.

What we have not yet established fully is when the caps from the 1980's were made ??? . What it looks like is that these came from bins of unfinished caps which were in various stages of work in progress. Some were basically fully assembled, others were parts and there were bolts of cloth.

The two key bits of information are ;


1936
Consul General Richard Greiling takes over the company and doubles its profits within a few years time – despite the ravages of war and the currency reform.

1981
A Swiss group of investors takes over FELINA and founds FELINA INTERNATIONAL AG in Wettingen near Zurich. FELINA GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary. The company has its own production facilities in Hungary and Poland.

Thus a mystery is now solved and the true identity of a war time manufacturer of German tropical M40 caps is revealed. I will report some more information when a parcel of documents arrives from Germany which are now being posted to me. We just have to double check what can and can not be released,

Chris