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.

In 1934, the light-weight steel alloy body design of the M34 was officially sanctioned for wear by all members of the Civic Police and Fire Protection Police departments within the Third Reich.

The M34 helmets have semi-gloss black paint on the interior and exterior helmet surfaces, and two decals. The left side decal is a black shield outlined in yellow and containing a silver-coloured police eagle, and on the right side is the NSDAP insignia (a red shield outlined in black containing a black swastika in a white circle). The M34 helmets also have four air vents, two on each side, that are composed of seven smaller holes grouped together. These helmets feature the normal civic leather liner and chinstrap.

The M34 helmets worn by Fire Protection Police personnel have additional attributes, such as an aluminum comb along the top of the helmet, and a detachable black leather neck shield. There are also examples of the M34 helmets without top combs that were worn by members of the Fire Protection Police.

A large surplus of the M34 helmets, without the top comb, were issued in 1940.