Article about: So I bought this helmet on eBay a few days ago because the liner band looked to be in good shape and I would've used it for some other helmet then. But as I got it, I realised this isn't you
So I bought this helmet on eBay a few days ago because the liner band looked to be in good shape and I would've used it for some other helmet then.
But as I got it, I realised this isn't your ordinary helmet!
It's a size 70! I remember telling a friend "I hope it's a 64"
Since it's a rare configuration I will obviously keep it together.
I cleaned it up in a bath of hot oxalic acid which certainly did the trick, the helmet was completely uncleaned as I got it, still had moss on one side haha
The liner band is in size "NA 70 / 62" bit of an odd marking probably because it was custom made to order.
Liner band is dated 1939, haven't cleaned the split pins a whole lot so I don't know if they're marked.
Now that I was decided to keep it like this I wanted to know where it was found so I asked the seller and he told me he found it in the garden of a house in Hausham, Bavaria.
Seen helmets dug up in gardens quite a lot already, so nothing surprising.
But then I looked into the WWII history of Hausham.
I found an article about it and translated some bits.
"There was a constant stream of retreating Wehrmacht soldiers, fleeing party companions, civilians through Hausham." , as county priest Martin Huber wrote.
Not so, the SS Division Götz von Berlichingen, though.
NSDAP-Kreisleiter Franz Danninger ordered to hold the strategically important access to the Schlierach valley.
And he also wanted to teach the inhabitants of Hausham a lesson, as Hausham was fairly democratic before the Nazi takeover, so he ordered the SS to blow up the mine in Hausham, in which hundreds of civilians were hiding because the owner of the mine refused to send his miners out as Volkssturm militia.
Luckily the people of Hausham were able to persuade him to delay the demolition.
"They had to endure very critical hours during the negotiations with the SS Division 'Götz von Berlichingen'.
The SS arrived on May 1st and dug in which resulted in a fierce street battle which lasted two days from May 2nd to May 3rd and claimed the lives of 21 people.
American and Free French tanks tried to take the town in two attacks, one on May 2nd and one on May 3rd.
As the tanks rolled into the town on May 3rd at noon a lot of civilians had hung out white flags. In vain. The fighting was still not over. Many fled because they feared revenge from the SS.
At around 10pm the French tanks assaulted once more, as the priest recalled : "They shot with all tank calibers from the train station up to the SS-FlAK position at the Kalkgraben, which was already deserted."
During the fighting 15 SS soldiers and 6 civilians lost their lives.
"The absurd resistance caused a lot of damage and the population was grim to the fullest, so much so, that noone cared to bury the fallen SS soldiers, up until the Americans ordered to bury them."
Here's also a link to the article, if you want to read for yourselves. Zweiter Weltkrieg: Ende in der Region Miesbach - Hausham | Hausham
Now with this in mind I am rather certain, that this helmet was form one of the fallen SS soldiers, though no decals remain, but the leather was quite clearly cut out from the helmet and it has shrapnel damage, because the front is not just cracked, but also deformed.
Since the SS were the only ones who put up resistance it can only be from them to be honest.
None of what I have found out was mentioned by the seller, of course, they probably just dug it up and didn't know what to do with it, so they threw it up on eBay, and for pretty cheap, too.
The fight in Hausham was also one of the last of the Division Götz von Berlichingen, not far from there, around the Tegernsee they surrendered.
Hope you liked this little look into the history of an item and also the helmet itself, as I think you don't see 70's that often.
It may or not be from 17th SS but it places the relic in context with where it was found. So that makes it an interesting talking point fir your collection.
It may or not be from 17th SS but it places the relic in context with where it was found. So that makes it an interesting talking point fir your collection.
Thanks, for your reply.
Yeah, unfortunately in its condition there is not way to say for sure.
It's either from one of the 17th SS guys or some unfortunate Heer soldier, as the paint remnants are at least apple green, initially thought it was LW before cleaning because of rust
Luis
Great post Luis and very interesting! From the pictures it looks like it may have had a wash applied or is this a result the result of the Oxalic or soil conditions? Perhaps not as it appears to be in the dome as well? Just curious because if it is a wash and you can find out if it was winter and or snowing when the battle took place it could provide further evidence to it being from SS unit you’ve mentioned.
Thanks for your replies!
Andy, I think it's just salts that precipitated out when it dried (acid or other chemical compounds)
There were bits of gravel, dirt and perhaps bits of concrete still between the liner band and inner ring when I cleaned it.
Which would fit the urban environment, I suppose.
Luis
A pot of history! ET70 4920
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by BlackCat1982
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