Original German Pre WWII Soldatenbund Soldier’s League Veterans Association Officer’s Visor Cap Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The Soldatenbund (Registered Soldier’s League) was an early Veteran’s association founded in 1936, which proved to be very short lived. Two years later in 1938 it was merged with the Kyffhäuserbund as part of the NSDAP-ification of that organization, forming the National Socialist Veteran’s Association, which would be the only approved veteran’s organization until the fall of the NSDAP in 1945.

This cap is a very nice example of an early pattern German Pre-WWII Soldatenbund Officers Schirmmütze (visor cap), which unlike others we have seen, is still in the original configuration! It was not updated to a later Kyffhäuserbund or NSRKB cap, and still retains the original distinctive cap eagle and Army style wreath insignia.

This example is in very good condition, showing light use during service. It features very dark navy blue (or possibly black) construction with a black ribbed band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap also has matching Hochrot (Deep Red) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for artillery, assault guns, and heavy flak. It was traditional for members of the Soldatenbund to have caps bearing the corps color of their service branch, so this cap was owned by an Artillery veteran.

It is decorated with a Silvered aluminum Soldatenbund cap eagle on the peak, which features the Reichsadler National Eagle surmounted by crossed swords and an Iron Cross. The cap band is decorated with an open nickel plated oak leaf and acorn wreath surrounding an aluminum tri-color cockade on the band. The peak eagle has lost a lot of the silvering, now showing some oxidation to the base material, while the wreath and cockade are still mostly bright. The red felt insert inside the cockade is present and vibrant.

The cap is equipped with a silver bullion chinstrap, which we assume designates the wearer to be an officer in the organization, or some type of high ranking official. It shows a bit of oxidation, and is retained by the usual pebbled silver buttons on either side of the cap.

The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear and finish crazing and checking consistent with age, and is brown on the underside. The leather sweatband is in excellent condition, with no major degradation of the stitching or the leather. With the short window that the organization existed during, it’s not surprising that the condition is so good. Size seems to be about a 59-60cm.

The inside of the cap is lined with a brown lightweight oilcloth style fabric on the top, with “service cloth” type lining on the sides. The top plastic shield is still completely present, with the stitching mostly intact, and underneath are still the complete original Soldatenbund official markings:

(Soldatenbund Eagle)
Die vorſchriftsmäſzig Mütze
des Soldatenbundes
Ges. Gesch.

This basically translates to “The Regulation cap of the Soldier’s League”, and indicates that it is a trademarked design.

The cap is in very good shape, showing some light wear around the crown, with a few small moth holes in the sides of the crown, as well as some loss of the piping. The metal stiffener inside the piping has also broken through on the right side piping.

A great example of an early German Soldier’s League cap, still in the original configuration. Ready to display!

The German Schirmmütze Visor Cap:
The visor cap (Schirmmütze) was an important part of the headgear worn by German uniformed military, civil, paramilitary and political organizations during the Third Reich. This was the standard cloth headgear worn as a part of the service uniform. Visor caps were worn outdoors as well as indoors, and were often required to be worn by all personnel on duty. Visor caps were made in versions specific to each organization and were often further differentiated through the use of insignia, colored piping, or style of chin cord, to indicate rank, role or branch. The insignia used on these caps ranged from simple stamped metal emblems, to elaborate hand embroidery. Visor caps were issued to enlisted soldiers and NCOs in the military and in some other organizations. Officers had to purchase their own hats, and lower ranks could choose to purchase caps that were of a higher quality than the rather basic, issue examples. The private purchase caps were generally made in very high quality, with fine materials. A wide variety of fabrics were used, from Trikot and doeskin, to heavy wool, or even lightweight white fabric for summer wear. In the military, issue of these caps was generally suspended shortly after the outbreak of the war, but they continued to be worn by some troops until the end of the war.