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Nearly
sixty years following the end of World War II it is
difficult to determine which helmets were worn
by members of the Organization Todt (OT). Few
wartime photographs survive to clearly establish which
helmets were most common. Of the photographs
available, the evidence clearly indicates that OT personnel
wore standard German
Army (Heer) combat helmets such as the M1935, M1940, and
M1942 models. Some
collectors also maintain that surplus
World War I helmets (as well as captured foreign
military helmets such as Dutch, French, and Russian) might
have also been used by OT personnel1. This hypothesis is supported
by the fact that authentic examples of OT helmets exist
in collections gathered well before reproductions came
about.
As far as insignia is concerned, most collectors agree
that some elements of the OT organization were issued
combat helmets with specialized insignia2. Those
helmets with specialized OT insignia are comprised mainly
of M1940 and M1942 combat helmets with one of two
different insignia designs. The first taking the
form of a decal transfer and the other being a more
simplified stencil. WWI model M1917 helmets with
decals have also been encountered and are configured in
such a way that they appear to have been repainted and
redecaled after being requisitioned from German
Army surplus.
Many of the helmets
with decals are considered reproductions. However
a handful of helmets bearing the OT stencil are
considered authentic. As early as 1980, counterfeit OT helmets
were extensively reproduced in quality fashion in
central Europe. These helmets found their way into
many collections both in the US and abroad. Even so, there are some advanced
collectors who claim their decaled OT helmets are
period manufactured and completely authentic.
This is based on the fact that they have owned
these helmets since the early 1970’s and long before the
rash of
European reproductions flooded the market.
Notes:
1 Many foreign volunteers served with the OT after
1940. One
of the nations that supplied technical workers to the OT
included the Netherlands where a minority of Dutch
citizens were sympathetic to the National Socialist
cause. A small number of period photos of Dutch OT members show
combat helmets being worn without insignia.
No further information is available at this time.
2
It should be noted that many OT helmets probably bore no
insignia of any kind.
 The
OT Decal
 The
OT Stencil |
