Original German WWII HJ National Youth Organization M43 Feldmütze Field Cap – “Ski Cap” Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great looking German WWII HJ National Youth Organization M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap), often referred to as a “Ski cap.” It is constructed of black worsted wool gabardine cloth, with fold-down panels with rounded scallops to the front and forward sides, covering the entire neck on the sides and rear when in use. When not in use, the panels are raised with their ends resting upon the visor, being joined together by a single pebbled aluminum button, originally painted black. The visor is reinforced with cardboard, and covered in matching gabardine cloth.

Pinned to the front of the cap is the rhomboid diamond shaped HJ cap badge, which consists of a black mobile swas inside a square diamond which is surrounded by alternating white and red quadrants and with tarnished silver borders. The rear of the pin is ((RZM)) marked M1/148 for maker Heinrich Ulbrichts Witwe of Wien (Vienna). It is the late war style which did not use translucent enamel, instead using opaque paint.

The interior of the cap is lined with black rayon sewn in diamond pattern, which shows light wear, and is in very good condition over all. We do not see any any markings on the inside of the cap, which along with the “painted” style cap badge, leads us to believe it is a late war issued cap. The visor is still relatively well shaped, though it definitely has bending and ripples in the cardboard stiffener, most likely due to water exposure. The cap probably measures a 55-56cm in size.

Overall, this is a great looking late war issue HJ M43 field cap!

HJ believed German youth to be the future of his 3rd Reich. The HJ (National Youth Organization) was formed officially in 1935, and with the exception of NSDAP ideology indoctrination was very similar to the Boy Scouts. Beginning at about the age of ten years, both boys (jugend) and girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel) were enlisted in the Party-run organization.

The M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap) is a variety of “Ski Cap” and was based on the Bergmütze (Mountain Hat) used by Austrian and German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Troops) during WWI. Germany had adopted it in 1915, and after the war it spread throughout the military.

The skirt that surrounds the cap is made in the same wool as the cap, and can be folded down over the ears, though this was rarely done outside of the Mountain troops, which had a double-thickness skirt. The skirt has a small dip in the front quarter with a divide secured by one aluminum button which is covered by an embroidered cockade. The small section in the front quarter was built shorter to show the insignia, and cover the wearer’s chin or mouth, without disturbing breathing by covering the nose. There were also later M43 caps, such as those used by the DAK, that omitted the skirt entirely, as it had little use in the desert heat.