History

Following the First World War, the German Red Cross (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, DRK) was threatened in its existence by the Treaty of Versailles, since the organisation was mainly focused on preparing its members for war and military-related medical service. This resulted in the DRK switching focus to social welfare activities during the time of the Weimar Republic.

The stipulations enforced by the Treaty of Versailles were declared null and void following the NSDAP’s consolidation of power in 1933. The new Reich Minister of the Interior, Wilhelm Frick, an NSDAP member, ensured that the DRK would be ready to support all of the Third Reich’s future military affairs and political ideologies. In 1938, the DRK was merged with the Ministry of the Interior’s Social Welfare Organisation, officially becoming an organisation under NSDAP oversight. The DRK also had ties to the SS, mainly due to high-ranking medical professionals serving in both organisations simultaneously.

The design of the DRK Field Cap was a continuation of the form used during the First World War and the Weimar Republic. New regulations concerning the DRK uniforms were introduced in 1935 and 1938, and they altered the design of the uniform garments.

The DRK Field Cap was worn by all DRK personnel as part of their duty uniform.

There are two main versions of the cap. The first version was worn from 1935 to 1938, and the second was worn from 1938 to 1945. Each version of the cap is composed of dark grey woolen material and features the DRK national eagle emblem.

The pre-1938 caps feature side skirts with two decorative buttons along the front seam. Above the front of the side skirts is a light-grey soutache and a metallic DRK national eagle emblem.

The post-1938 caps replaced the decorative side skirts buttons with a national tricolour cockade insignia, the DRK national emblem is embroidered, and the national emblem insignia is located on the left side of the cap. These caps also have different attributes for DRK NCO caps versus DRK Enlisted Ranks caps. For NCOs, the caps have aluminum piping along the side skirts and the top cap seam, and the cockade is composed of hand-embroidered bullion wire. For Enlisted Ranks, the caps do not have any piping, the cockade may be hand-woven from regular thread or machine-embroidered on a cloth backing, and a light-grey soutache is added above the cockade.