Union founded in Germany in 1918 by Franz Seldte for veterans of World War 1 (after 1924 also for non-veterans). It attracted adherents of a militant nationalism and tended towards the anti-democratic parties of the right. In its fight against the Weimar Republic it sided (from 1929) on and off with the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) Harzburger Front. In 1934 it was renamed Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Frontkämpferbund and dissolved in 1935. In 1951 it was re-created in the German Federal Republic (BRD).
Stahlhelm (plural, Stahlhelme) is German for "steel helmet". The Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional leather Pickelhaube (spiked helmet) with the Stahlhelm during the First World War in 1916. The term Stahlhelm refers both to a generic steel helmet, and more specifically to the distinctive (and symbolic) German design.
History
At the beginning of World War I, none of the combatants were issued with any form of protection for the head other than cloth and leather caps. The French were the first to see a real need for more effective protection — in late 1915 they began to issue Adrian Helmets to their troops. The British followed with the Brodie helmet, which was also worn by U.S. forces, and the Germans with the Stahlhelm. After the Second World War, West Germany abandoned the distinctive Stahlhelm, which had become a symbol of German military aggression, using a variant of the more harmless-looking United States Army "GI pot" helmet instead. In the 1990s, a Kevlar helmet was adopted. East Germany used a helmet modelled on a late Second World War German design with a more conical shape. German fire brigades today still use Stahlhelm-shaped helmets in a fluorescent color.
The different Stahlhelm designs are named for their year of introduction.
First World War variants
M1916 and M1917
The M1916 was the first production model of the Stahlhelm design and was developed by Hauptmann Friedrich Schwerd, a professor of the Hanover Technical Institute. The helmet was first issued to the 1st Assault Battalion for evaluation, in December 1915.
The M1916 design had two large, horn-like ventilator lugs on the front of the helmet. These lugs were meant to support an optional shield, the Stirnpanzer, that would attach to the front of the helmet.
The M1916 design provided excellent protection, but it was not without its flaws.
Factory-issue helmets were generally field gray (Feldgrau) in color. Troops often repainted their helmets in camouflage colors, although factory-applied camouflage paint was documented. German Army Order II, No 91 366, signed by General Erich Ludendorff on 7 July 1918, outlined official standards for helmet camouflage. The order stipulated that helmets should be painted in several colors, separated by a finger-wide black line.
After the effectiveness of the M1916 design was validated during the 1916 campaigns, incremental improvements were subsequently made. A new two-piece chin strap was introduced, and was attached directly to the helmet liner rather than the shell. Certain examples of the M1918 had cutouts in the rim along the sides of the helmet. It has incorrectly been said that these cutouts were to accommodate using headphones while wearing the helmet.
The M1918 Stahlhelm can be distinguished from the M1916, as the M1918 shell lacks the chinstrap rivet on the lower side of the helmet skirt found on earlier models.
Central Power variants
Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire used or had commissioned, variations of the Stahlhelm design. The Austrians' M1917 helmet was similar to the German M1916, but had a cloth webbing chinstrap and had the chinstrap rivet located higher up on the steel shell. The Austro-Hungarian helmets were manufactured by Krupp Berndorfer Metalwarenfabrik, and were brown in color.
Germany produced 5,400 visorless versions of the M1918 helmet for Turkey. It is often said that this visorless version was created to allow Turkish soldiers to touch their foreheads to the ground during prayer, without removing their helmets.
Inter-war and Second World War variants
M1935/1940
The Stahlhelm was completely redesigned in the 1930s. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet's safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. With these improvements, the new M1935 helmet became lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the First World War-era designs. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935.
Fallschirmjäger version
A variant of the M1935 helmet with a shell lacking the projecting visor and deep, flared rim was issued to Fallschirmjäger (German paratrooper) units. Early Fallschirmjäger helmets were manufactured from existing M1935 helmets by removing the undesirable projections, which were omitted when the new design entered full production.
Decal insignia
After Stahlhelm shells were painted, the colours of which varied by organization, small identification or insignia decals usually were affixed to one or both sides of the helmet. Almost every military, naval, and political organization had its own distinctive insignia, which was applied as decals to the sides of helmets. The right side of early M35 helmets bore the tricolored shield of red, black, and white stripes, the traditional national colors of Imperial Germany (cf. These Wehrmacht branches typically displayed distinctive emblems in the form of decals on their helmets. Other military, political, and civil or defense organizations used similar decal insignia to distinguish their helmets. Such visible identification devices were gradually abandoned as the war progressed, however, so that by war's end most Wehrmacht helmet insignia had been eliminated to reduce the wearer's visibility in combat.
M1942
The M1942 design was a result of wartime demands. The elimination of the rolled edge expedited the manufacturing process and reduced the amount of metal used in each helmet. Shell paint colors towards the end of the war typically ran to matte gray-green, and the decals were gradually eliminated to speed up production and reduce the helmet's combat visibility. Greater manufacturing flaws were also observed in M42 helmets made late in the war.
M1945
There have been reports of a variant manufactured in the last months of the war. These helmets are reported to be extremely rare.
Stahlhelm use in other countries
Germany exported versions of the M1935 helmet to various countries. Spain also received shipments of the helmet. The exported M1935 helmets were similar to the German issue, except for a different liner. Hungary used a variation of the M1942 helmet, that had a metal belt loop on the back of the shell. Some countries manufactured their own helmets using the M1935 design, and this basic design was in use in various nations as late as the 1970s.
After the end of World War I Poland also seized large quantities of M1918 helmets. 31 helmet was unsuitable for tank troops and motorized units. As a stop-gap measure before a new helmet was developed, the General Staff decided to issue the M1918 helmets to the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade, which used them during the Polish Defensive War.
During the inter-war years, the Republic of Ireland equipped their Army with a British-made copy of the M1918 helmet manufactured by Vickers, and a German-type tunic. At the outbreak of World War Two, Ireland remained neutral, but in 1940 accepted the British offer to replace the German-like uniforms with British-style battle dress and Brodie pattern helmets.
Countries that used Stahlhelm-type helmets included: Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Guatemala, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Norway, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and Venezuela. Switzerland used a helmet that was roughly similar to the M1916, but had a shallower, more rounded crown and skirt.
Popular culture
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Stahlhelm became available on the surplus market in the United States and was soon picked up by outlaw bikers, and has since, through various books and films, also become associated with biker gangs such as the Hells Angels.
Starting in the mid 1970s, original Stahlhelms also began to be used in World War II reenactments.
A Dutch company created a parody on the German helmet to be worn at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, in Orange, the national colour of the Netherlands. The KNVB, the Dutch football association, said they find it in rather bad taste and discouraged the helmet to be worn at the event. Nevertheless, the helmet was a common sight among Dutch supporters in Germany.
The helmet is called "Helmpje", which is Dutch for little helmet, and has a number of versions with different texts written on the helmet itself.
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