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This rare
photograph shows German laborers assembling M1935 helmets destined for
use by the German Rural Police. Of particular interest is the
assembly process which is delicately hand worked rather than
automated. The women at left are in the process of inserting
helmet liners into the finished shells while the foreman of the shop
inspects an empty shell. The liner insertion work is being done
on a cloth covered wood mat that prevents scuffing of the helmet's
painted surface. Note that the decals have already been applied
to each helmet prior to the liner being inserted. The woman
standing just to the left of the table on the right appears to be
applying the decals to a helmet or is perhaps putting the final
lacquer finish over the decals. The women at the right side of
the photo are wrapping the helmets in paper and stacking them in sets
of five. The police decals on these helmets are the prewar type.
These consist of a large white tilted swastika (right side) and a
forward tilted national colors decal (left side). Interestingly,
few if any M1935 model helmets with this combination of decals have
ever turned up in a collection. |
