SS Croation Volunteer Helmet

[Gregory Koepp]

ok, what do you think about this? i asked for better photos and will post when i get them but just asking if you think it looks ok so far??

thanks greg

[Gregory Koepp]

inside.

greg

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Greg, sorry it is bad. The insignia appears to be painted and not decals.

I own an original Croatian M40 DD. I have shown it on the forum in the past

Cheers, Ade.

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

Question...

Adrian-
First, let me preface my question by stating that helmets are not my specialty. I have seen many posts in regards to painted shields on various helmets, some of which (if memory serves me correct) were obtained from vets who have had them put away for the past 60 years, and every time that one has been presented-it is stated that it is bad. My question is: Is it safe to say that ANY painted shields from this period are to be automatically disqualified as period, and that they were never applied in this manner? Thanks in advance.

Hi Greg, sorry it is bad. The insignia appears to be painted and not decals.

I own an original Croatian M40 DD. I have shown it on the forum in the past

Cheers, Ade.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Steven, I would not have any painted "decaled" helmet in my collection.

Vet acquired helmets with these on them will either be embellishments done by an Allied serviceman, such as "SS" runes or swastikas, these are mostly crudely done and do have a charm of their own (These I would be happy to own) but many are simply bad fakes with the old "Vet bring back" story added to them to make them sell to the unwary.

Cheers, Ade.

[John T]

Some authentic Croatian helmets actually have "stencilled" shields..I have seen this in period photos...I know that painted shields are okay too..but they are also highly reproduced.

[John T]

The shield on the helmet posted is not SS but ES..which you probably know...you can tell by the shape of the runes..these were the ethnic Germans in WW2 Croatia.

[Kristijan]

I have personally seen few croatian helmets with painted shield,and I know 100% for those helmets that they were real.You must understand that those were war years and in small country like Croatia people didn't often get a chanse to get new factory produced military material so they "produced"it at home.

[Ian Hulley]

With respect Kristijan,Croatia was one of the most important collaborators the Germans had (look for example at the lengths the SS went to to accomodate 'Handschar's muslim troops) and the Einsatz Staffel DID get factory produced material.There is photographic evidence of 'issue' combat uniforms and there was even a service badge produced.

Going back to the helmet,the liners condition is,to me,inconsistant with the wear the shell shows.That's all I can constructively add.

Ian.

[Kristijan]

Yes,ES did produce official material,but lot's of soldiers also made their own insignia.I had a pleasure to talk to many ex-soldiers(ES,Croatin army,SS,...)and lots of them told me that they painted their helmets,made insignia,etc.Most of them did that just to have something different then others,while some did that 'cause they didn't want to wait to get new stuff.

[Bob Coleman]

Certainly painted on insignia is more difficult to authenticate than decals. However, it did exist. Decals were not always produced for the small foreign legions fighting for the Reich. In 1959, I purchased a M40 Luftwaffe helmet with a white shield with diagonal red stripe painted on the right side. I paid the astonishing price of $3.00 for it in a second hand shop/ I owned it for about 15 years at which time it went in to the collection of one of the world's most noted Luftwaffe collectors. I never did identify what group the shield represented.

Bob

[EKman]

Just a side note, I don't know enough about this subject to contribute anything useful, but I went into a pawn shop some years ago and the guy had quite a lot of German stuff. While I was looking around, I saw that among some various helmets, he had a SD SS helmet. I immediately noticed something wrong with it and asked to see it. The gent pulled it down proud as can be and proceeded to tell me that this is a very rare SS helmet worn by Nazi Guards in the war and that the original owner had no idea what a treasure he had in this helmet, so the pawn shop owner was able to get it for the trade of a pistol and a couple hundred dollars (Not a bad swap for a authentic helmet). However, this helmet was the common Spanish one that we see so often on Ebay, and the SS Runes were painted on with Liquid Paper White Out. When I explained this, the poor guy nearly burst into tears! Serves him right for trying cheat someone out of a valuable lid, he got shafted instead

[Paolo]

I don't have a final view on stenciled emblems on helmets but should be 101% sure about provenance before getting one. Original examples certainly exist and are documented in period photos. On the other hand, knowing that certain variants were certainly produced as decals I would definitively go for a decal rather than for a stencil. Croatia is a clear example: national decals were certainly produced in at least two different patterns, the SS one with the classic "horns" and the standard one as the one here depicted in this thread.

As to Klaushund's helmet, it seems he came across a very rare Bielorussian volunteer helmet. I have already seen the white shield with a (thin) diagonal red stripe before on WH and SS helmets. Quite a few of those helmets in the WH configuration popped up 10 years or so in the States.

[Bob Coleman]

Paolo-

Thank you for solving the mystery for me of the Luftwaffe helmet I owned so many years ago. It is curious in the years before the internet and the wide appeal of collecting, how an Eastern volunteers helmet made its way in to the duffle bag of a returning US veteran. As I mentioned, i aquired this helmet in 1959 for the sum of $3.00. The resale shop also had a M40 with the Sauerland decal on it. They were aquired at the same time from the same veteran. I came back two weeks later with another $3.00 to buy that helmet and it was long gone. Maybe some day my old treasure will show up on an internet forum.
Bob

[Paolo]

Bob,
Don't forget that the guys who swapped to the German side had no other chance than to fight till the end with the Germans. Surrender to Russians for an Eastern volunteer meant death most of the times. I guess those of them who were lucky enough to retreat with the Germans tried to surrender to the US/UK troops. Moreover the eastern units were widely employed on the western front. All of this should justify why a considerable amout of these helmet fell in the hands of US troops looking for souvenirs.