General Information: Many Freikorps units famously used reissued First World War helmets adorned with swastikas or white painted Totenkof (death’s head), symbols. Less well known is that some units also used painted horizontal bands around the circumference of the helmet to identify themselves. This type of helmet with painted bands can be seen in some period photographs. In the picture above, several Freikorps troops who participated in the Kapp-Putsch of March 1920 in Berlin are shown with thick dark bands painted around their helmets. Three examples of black and gold banded helmets have appeared in reference books and a collector forum.[1] [2] [3] These are thought to have been used by the Wehr-Regiment München which was a Bavarian Freikorps unit.[4]
Displayed Example: I purchased this helmet in 2023 from a collector in Ontario, Canada, who in turn bought it from another collector. Unfortunately, the rest of its history has been lost. The Ontario seller had posted pictures of the helmet on a collector website asking what other collectors thought it might be.[5] Two forum members responded saying that the markings on the liner looked like those of a Freikorps unit. The first part of the markings is difficult to read, but it appears to be “Cvau 5. Jäg G.” In private communication with the forum moderator[6] he suggested the markings could correspond to Freiwilliges Jägerbataillon 5 which was a Freikorps unit. Subsequently, I found a reference to a Freikorps officer who served in a Jägerbataillon 5 that was part of the Freiwilliges-Regiment Berlin in 1919.[7] The prewar Imperial German Jäger units wore dark green uniforms. The dark green band on this helmet, therefore, could harken back to that tradition. Based on available information, my best guess is that this is a helmet that belonged to a Freikorps soldier serving in Jägerbataillon 5 of Freiwilliges-Regiment Berlin in the immediate postwar period.
The helmet has all three liner pads and one liner pad pillow, but the front liner pad is detached from the liner band.
Collector Notes: Freikorps helmets are exceedingly rare and extensively faked. Most Freikorps troops used unmarked helmets. When painted, this was done at a small unit or individual level and the markings were not standardized. Some of the Freikorps post-period painted helmets were done a long time ago and have now aged convincingly. Others are artificially aged to fool the unwary collector. My advice is to be extremely skeptical of this type of helmet and avoid buying from anybody but a very knowledgeable dealer. Expect to pay a high price for a verifiable original specimen.
* Deaquisitioned
* Citino, Robert. “Meet the Freikorps: Vanguard of Terror 1918-1923.” The National World War Two Museum. June 7, 2018. Accessed 1/6/2024. Original: November 2012 issue of Military History magazine. Photo credit: German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-1983-0015,_Kapp-Putsch,_Berlin_0). https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/meet-freikorps-vanguard-terror-1918-1923
[1] “Einwohnerwehr Munich M18.” Wehrmacht-Awards.com. July 29, 2019. https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/ken-jasper-international-militaria-forums/imperial-uniforms-and-headgear/979634-einwohnerwehr-munich-m18. Accessed March 20, 2024.
[2] Baer, L. pp.85
[3] Goodapple, T.V. et al. pp.?
[4] This type of helmet with gold and black banding is identified in Goodapple’s book as a belonging to a member of “Freikorps Munich.” In Ludwig Baer’s book and initially on the Wehrmacht-Awards.com post cited above, the helmets are identified as belonging to Einwohnerwehr Munich, which was a civil defense unit that fought with the Freikorps and police units. The posts on the Wehrmacht-Awards.com site convincingly argue that these helmets are Freikorps rather than Einwohnerwehr Munich as the colors of the latter were blue and white, not black and gold.
[5] Battlefront1939 (aka). “Helmet painted band help identify.” Wehrmacht-Awards.com. June 6, 2023. https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/ken-jasper-international-militaria-forums/imperial-uniforms-and-headgear/13956307-helmet-painted-band-help-identify Accessed March 20, 2024.
[6] Brian L. (aka). Per com. September 28, 2023.
[7] “Werner-Ehrenfeucht, Heinz Joachim.” Traces of War. https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/73635/Werner-Ehrenfeucht-Heinz-Joachim.htm. Accessed March 20, 2024.
Steel Helmets of the World Wars 