German Wedding Helmet

[HoundsTooth]

Thanks Jan!

[Blackdog]

Nice trio of double decals - don’t see many available on the market.
Great condition too.

[AndyM35]

First one I’ve ever seen and you own it! And in great condition too! Congratulations Nick.

[MAP]

Fantastic example and great photography. Can't upgrade this one! Congrats on a fine pick up.

[HoundsTooth]

Blackdog / Andy / Michael - many thanks
nick

[Mellow1312]

Hi guys,

Yesterday i bought such a miniature helmet on a militaria fair.
See the picture Below. The other decal is also fully there.




But now i’ve read almost everything i could find about them on the internet.
But i can’t find 100% evidence these are ww2 original items.
During the cermony they used a real size helmet, and not the miniature.
See the photo below.



At Weitze on the website it says that the miniature helmet is a gift, as a reminder of the marriage. But I can't find an old source anywhere that confirms this.

Can someone help me with this?
interesting to explore this further together!

[Mellow1312]

Also, why aren’t there more available on the Market?
These are not offered a lot.

There were not many of these so called ‘ferntrauung’?

[Jan]

Hi Mellow,

A nice piece there. Here is what I have learned on the Internet about "Ferntrauung" helmets:

"During the Second World War special rules were signed off by Hitler regarding the marriage law in the German Reich. The possibility of a marriage by proxy was based on the Civil Status Act which came into being in late 1939 enabling the long-distance marriage of service personnel to their wives to be at home. In 1941 this was extended to the marriage to the dead or missing if the couple were already engaged. In 1943 it also became possible to obtain a divorce in the event of the soldiers death.

Provided the bride and groom could both prove Aryan decent, a marriage certificate could be obtained from Wehrmacht high command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), which would then be sanctioned by the battalion commander of the soldier wishing to be married. The soldier would then take part in a ceremony performed by his Officer in the field in front of the rest of the members of his unit, usually with a photograph of his wife to be sat on the table. Once the ceremony was complete, the paperwork was then sent back to the bride for her part of the ceremony which would take place at their home town registry office.

The ceremony often known as a steel helmet wedding was confirmed by 2 witnesses at the registry office with the vacant place of the groom being marked by either a full sized or miniature steel helmet finished in the colour and insignia relevant to the grooms branch of service. The bride would then be presented with the helmet in lieu of her absent spouse.

Should the worst happen, the wives would then be entitled to a widows pension and their children would not be considered illegitimate which carried a great stigma at the time. The ceremony also mean't that the spouse would become a part of the soldiers last Will and she would have a rightful claim on any form of inheritance."

Best,

Jan

[Mellow1312]

Thank you for the information Jan.

I'm starting to get the feeling that there's no conclusive evidence to be found.
An old document or a photo from ww2 time.

[AndyM35]

Thank you for the information Jan.

I'm starting to get the feeling that there's no conclusive evidence to be found.
An old document or a photo from ww2 time.

Yes, it does appear hard to find a photo of these helmets being used as part of a WW2 German wedding ceremony, however all written commentary would suggest that this was the case and they were used as a proxy for the groom who was away at the front. I don’t think we know how many were made, however they are certainly not as numerous as a full size helmet. Below are a few images I found of weddings using a helmet to symbolise the groom.