History

During the Third Reich, an effort was made to unite all of Germany’s disparate provincial police forces and agencies into a single cohesive national unit. To attain this goal, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was named Chief of the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior in June 1936. That same month, Himmler implemented new standardized uniforms, headgear, and insignia. The uniforms worn prior to Himmler’s appointment were often navy blue, particularly in what had been Prussia. The new uniforms were green, in a shade that was then dubbed “Police green”.

The German Police were divided into two main units, the Ordnungspolizei (Orps or Regular Police) and the Sicherheitspolizei (Secret Police); the Ordnungspolizei were unofficially called the green police (Grüne Polizei) as a result of their uniform colour. The Sicherheitspolizei were made up of two main organizations, the Gestapo and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Investigation Police). At the beginning of the Second World War, the Sicherheitspolizei were brought under the auspices of the Reich Main Security Office.

There are several different models of steel helmets worn by German Police personnel during the Third Reich, similar to the progression of helmet types in the Wehrmacht. Each iteration of the steel helmet was launched in an effort to reduce the time and cost associated with helmet production.

All steel helmets came in a set shell and liner size, and the shell sizes were often stamped on the inside of the helmet itself, frequently on the back of the helmet near the neck-guard.

The M35 helmets were introduced in 1935, and they were designed to be lighter and easier to manufacture than the First World War helmets. These steel helmets were meant to improve mobile warfare usage. The M35 helmet has reinforced washer rings around the air vents, a rolled rim, and uses the M31 liner.

In 1940, the M40 helmet was released, and it differs from the M35 in the design of the air vents. The M35 helmets have air vents with washer rings that were added as a separate attribute to the shell, while the M40 helmets have air vents that were pressed or stamped into the metal during the production of the shell. Both the M35 and the M40 helmets feature a rolled rim and use the M31 liner.

Two years later, in 1942, the M42 helmet was introduced. The main difference between the M40 and the M42 helmets is that the rim of the M42 is not rolled, but it flares outwards. Also, in early 1944, the liner of the M42 helmets was changed to the M44 Simplified Liner Unit. The M44 liner differed from the M31 in that it omitted and reduced several elements, such as the leather liner scallops and outer ring, to save on material costs.

The M42 helmets either feature two decals or none. The main decals versions include a black shield outlined in yellow and containing a silver-coloured police eagle insignia on the left side, and a red shield outlined in black containing a black swastika in a white circle on the right side. These M42 helmets feature a smooth textured, field-grey finish.