Not old or military, but...

poniatowski

poniatowski

Well-known member
While in Berlin a few weeks ago, my wife and I walked through a flea market (Floh Markt) and I found this Berlin Politzei shako. It wasn't expensive, a bit dirty and after a few minutes work, it looked like this.

100_5537.jpg


100_5538.jpg


It has a fiber shell, no name in it anywhere, size 57. I'm sure you've all seen this kind of helmet before. All in all a nice souvenir of the city, in my opinion.

Does anybody know how to figure the date on these helmets?


:D Ron
 
Nice find, and you were lucky enough to go to Berlin and buy it :cheers:

This may be a WWII one that was reissued for postwar use, are there any traces of green paint around the ventilator rims? Sure looks like a Third Reich era makers logo inside. I am not an expert of these but I have seen several examples of WWII reissued ones, sometimes simply by painting over the green wool covers with black paint and installing a new wappen in place of the WWII one.

Larry
 
Berlin Police helmets were all black in WW2 and if a TR police eagle fits on this helmet it would be WW2. The chinstrap might be a later replacement.
:D :D
Jerrry
 
Hi All,

I think this one was always black without any green felt. The maker mark reads "Friedrich Becker & Co.K.G. Berlin SW68" in what is best described as dunkel gelb, with 'Original "VUPA" ' in red. There is also a red dot above the marking, which looks like it was applied with a finger tip. The liner is marked '57' on one of the rear tabs.

I've never taken the front plate off, because the nuts holding it on are very tight and I don't see any evidence that there were other plates on it. The chinstrap posts are brass, rather than the silver I'd expected (some of which had those little squared loops on them)...

Yes, I agree about the chin strap and it had me scratching my head a bit, but from what I can see is that two straps have been modified and combined into one; both have the same hardware and stitching, but the embossing is deeper on the left half than right. I don't know if this was in service this way or not and it's another "you need a photo" type thing. It is easier to unsnap the strap to lower it, but it still needs to be adjusted to fit under the chin (no, I didn't... ). I really can't say why anybody would do this, except to say if they used the strap (which I've never seen photos of), then it is easier to get off with the snap. The leather on the strap and liner is supple with only light wear, and everything fits the helmet well... so I don't really know, but I like it!

Also, there is just a little black paint on the bear at the center of the plate, but I'm not going to replace the paint that may be missing... since I'm not sure if it's paint or crud in there.

But, yeah, fun to get something like this in Berlin... I just wish I could've found a Garde Reiter in Dresden, outside of their wonderful museums!

:D Ron
 
Hi Ron,

I've seen this mfg logo inside of 3rd Reich period shako's. It's a really neat logo indeed. Your shako is probably from that same time period, w/modification or replacement of the chinstrap over the years as you've observed. What a cool find at a flea market in that great old capitol city! Congrat's!

It reminds me of the neat things I stumbled onto at the markets in and around Prague when I lived there. It was always amazing what used to turn up in the good old days over there.

All the Best,

Alan
 
Thanks for the insight Alan! Also, Robert, I'll get that photo for you. I haven't done a close up yet.

:D Ron
 
There's a Berliner Politzei Shako on Hermann Historica identical to this one (same chin strap, lugs, etc), listed as a Model 1952, for that particular piece. I was just glad to see another 'snap' center chin strap!

:D Ron
 
Hey Ron, nice find... These will pick-up in value soon since the 1945-1989 divided Berlin era is also a fascinating period that witnessed the Cold War heads on. And it's much smarter than buying cheap miniatures of the Brandenburg Gate :)
I have a private purchase 1936 pattern Schutzpolizei (Protection Police) NCO Shako with a black vulcanfibre body covered with police green wool to the exterior. There used to be plain black versions for the Gemeindepolizei (Local Municipal Police) during the nazi era.
Many were recycled after ww2 and there's a few examples on Beck Militaria as well.
 
The green tone is sharper I think... Here's some pictures of mine. It is dated 1941 & seems to be made in Berlin (see interior crown's decal) by "Robert Lubstein Berlin No. 55" and "Eingetr. Warenzeichen Erel" (Registered Trade Mark Erel):

SchutzpolizeiNCOShako-M1936-1941a.jpg

SchutzpolizeiNCOShako-M1936-1941b.jpg

SchutzpolizeiNCOShako-M1936-1941c.jpg


(Hence my need for a decent ww1 version to pair with!)
 
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