Help on German Helmet! :) 1939

[nickswalker]

Thank you all so very much for your help. It is unfortunate that the insignia is a bit scratched off, but I do display the helmet with the logo facing the wall anyways, just for personal reasons. I am lucky and glad that the paint, liner and strap are in such good shape. I am absolutely taken back by the history and the story that the helmet may hold, a real German soldier, who saw action, wore it, and that is worth so much to me in stories and history alone. Thank you all again for all of the info provided and I will definitely be a part of the group for a while!
Cheers,
Nick

[MG42UK]

Looks like a good KM

I didn't realise how rare these were until I started looking (hoping mine arrives this week!)

[nickswalker]

Yeah I really had no idea either until I started to do a bit of research on them and was pleasantly surprised by it! I was always a bit put off by the swastika, but the history of it speaks too much to me for me to ever get rid of it
That's awesome though! I hope it arrives safely and its all you expect it to be find a nice wall or shelf to display it on, maybe post a pic too! Id love to see it

[BlackCat1982]

Really nice gift from your Grandfather .....
Excellent research Blackcat1982

Not difficult, nor is it meant to increase the value of the item. But personally where items cannot be absolutely attributed to an individual I sometimes add such details to help tell the history of such pieces - in isolation such pieces of equipment are simply that. But if the observer can place them "meteorically" into the hands of a former owner then they come to life. It's just my way of bringing the history back to life...

[nickswalker]

Very well said. I definitely feel the same way. I have much respect for all that gave their lives for their countries, and learning their stories I feel can add a sense of humanity to it. If it is Kurt's helmet then he was roughly my age, 27 and I'm 25, and he died fighting for a cause. Something unimaginable to me, but the information makes it that much more impactful.
Thank you for everything you've shared, I wouldn't have found that info on my own.

[BlackCat1982]

I'm glad you agree, for me it is the humanity behind our collections rather than tying anything political to them. Politicians start wars but it is the common soldiers who have to fight to win it. Then of course we find out that our enemy is no different than us, with family, home etc.

[nickswalker]

Very true. I always thought the stories of Christmas treaties were so amazing for that reason, everyone had a family, parents, loved ones at home, they set aside fighting for those politicians and exchanged stories and games with the "enemy". The chances of anyone, had they been born in Germany, to join the military was very high, no different than here or anywhere really.
I am really truly honored to have a helmet with a name in it, as it does allow me to personalize its story a little bit and adds that touch of humanity. I will ask my grandpa if he has any more information on perhaps how his Dad got a hold of it, and I will follow up with that info.

[MAP]

Very nice helmet. We cannot say what happened to the owner, we can only surmise.

However for your thoughts there were 13 Lepsien named individuals on the Volksbund database. However only one with a clearly KM rank.

Nachname:Lepsien
Vorname:Kurt
Dienstgrad:Matrose
Geburtsdatum:31.01.1916
Todes-/Vermisstendatum:07.03.1943

How do we find/access/use this database. I have a number of named helmets and would be interesting to see if I could find a needle in a haystack

[nickswalker]

Hey! I simply googled Volksbund database and was able to find it, unfortunately i don't speak German, but i hit the translate button and it got the just of the ideas across. But i just typed into the search bar on the site the last name, and hit enter and all the results came up. I imagine it would work similarly if you were to change the last name. Hopefully you have some luck!
Cheers!

[BlackCat1982]

First step type into your search engine "vdk gräbersuche online" and hit enter.

You then get the first page;


Type in the first name "vorname" of trhe person you search for and then the "nachname" surname of the person. If you only know the surname this can be entered. You can change the language to which ever is best, I always use German.

Press enter;



This second screen asks for your personal information, First name, second name, house number and street, home country, town post/zip code. You can enter your date of birth and email address if you want the VDK to contact you about donations or work but for researching names it is not required. Click the bottom tick box option to agree with data protection and press enter.


If the person is listed on the VDK then a name or list of names will come up.


Click on the name and the details come up. In my example case this was a German airman who was killed in UK in 1941, but his body was only located in 1944, (parachute failed when he bailed out).

Hope this helps.