As with collecting any antique or historical artifact, it is vital that people seeking to identify, own, and maintain a helmet collection possess reference works and publications to aid them in their efforts.  Several reference texts have been published over the last 25 years that speak directly to the identification of various military headgear.  Some of these works only touch on the German helmet, while others are written exclusively on the subject.

Many collectors, both novice and advanced, ask which book or series of publications is the "best source" for an all inclusive look at the German helmet.  Unfortunately, there are few books that encompass the entire subject matter from beginning to end.  Many publications are now long out of print and are either totally unavailable or very expensive to acquire.  Some books on the subject have actually become collectors items themselves!  Others, while interesting and well written, actually include false or inaccurate information regarding these helmets.  Some books even sport photographs of reproduction helmets that were mistakenly identified as original.  While some readers are more than eager to criticize a given author, it is to be naturally assumed that any book with errors (photographic or otherwise) was written at a time when information was less available.  It is certainly true that many of the books written on this subject were done so when detection techniques for counterfeit helmets was less known or practiced.

The following list is a brief description of various publications that have focused on the German helmet.  Other books will be added to this list as publishers expand their offerings.  The list is not intended to be all comprehensive, however it does represent the most notable works on the subject and those that collectors tend to refer to the most when working with their collections.  The comments regarding each book are practical observations based on a neutral review of each work.  Information and commentary is strictly the personal interpretation of this reviewer and is not intended to reflect the quality, integrity, expertise, or character of the publishers or the authors.

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