Original German Pre-WWII Weimar Republic Reichsheer Infantry Officer Visor Cap with Blue & Gold Cockade Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a really attractive example of a German Weimar Republic Reichsheer (Army of the Realm) Infantry Officer’s Visor cap (Schirmmütze), in excellent condition. This example shows high quality fabrication, made with the typical German Army style feldgrau (Field Gray) green / gray wool with a darker green band and a traditional high front. The cap has white Waffenfarbe (corps color) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, indicating the branch to be Infantry.

It is decorated with a well detailed open silver bullion embroidered wreath, surrounding the Reichswehr Weimar Eagle insignia. The crown of the cap has a gold and blue cockade, which we believe indicates issue in Brunswick or possibly Bavaria. Unfortunately information regarding Weimar period Cockades is not entirely clear. It has the correct Silver bullion cord “chinstrap”, attached to black enamel buttons, indicating that this cap is for an Officer.  The visor / peak on this cap is very nice black finished vulcanfibre, with a lovely pattern of crazing / checking on the top. The bottom was originally orange, but painted over blue to match the interior.

The inside of the cap is lined with white satin fabric. The top plastic shield is fully present, and does not appear to have had maker markings on or underneath it. The gray leather sweatband is embossed with the makers name Wilhelm Welhansen / Hannover.

The condition of the cap is quite nice, with no moth damage that we can see. The interior of the cap shows light wear, and there is some tearing in the delicate satin lining. the chin strap and insignia are all silvered bullion, so they have patinated / tarnished over the decades, giving it a classic look. The Weimar Eagle insignia is still quite vibrant, with almost all of the original paint.

A great example of a German Wiemar Period Reichsheer visor cap, ready to add to your collection!

The Weimar Republic (German: Weimarer Republik), officially the German Reich (Deutsches Reich), also referred to as the German People’s State (Deutscher Volksstaat) or simply the German Republic (Deutsche Republik), was the German state from 1918 to 1933. As a term, it is an unofficial historical designation that derives its name from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place. The official name of the republic remained the German Reich as it had been during the German Empire because of the German tradition of substates.

Although commonly translated as “German Empire,” Reich here better translates as “realm” in that the term does not necessarily have monarchical connotations in itself. The Reich was changed from a constitutional monarchy into a republic. In English, the country was usually known simply as Germany, and the Weimar Republic name became mainstream only in the 1930s.

The Reichswehr (English: Realm Defense) formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was united with the new Wehrmacht (Defense Force). At the end of World War I, the forces of the German Empire were disbanded, the men returning home individually or in small groups. Many of them joined the Freikorps (Free Corps), a collection of volunteer paramilitary units that were involved in suppressing the German Revolution and border clashes between 1918 and 1923.

The Reichswehr was limited to a standing army of 100,000 men, and a navy of 15,000. The establishment of a general staff was prohibited. Heavy weapons such as artillery above the caliber of 105 mm (for naval guns, above 205 mm), armored vehicles, submarines and capital ships were forbidden, as were aircraft of any kind. Compliance with these restrictions was monitored until 1927 by the Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control.

The Reichsheer was the Army Division of the Reichswehr.