Third Party Press

KIA wire camo M35 from May 1940

Peter U

Moderator
Staff member
Hello,

Several years ago this helmet came in to my collection, the friend I got it from bought it, believe it or not, on ebay.
In the lot wasn't only a helmet but also the owners Wehrpass and some period pictures.
In the past I have placed this helmet on various forums, so some of you will have seen it previously, but today I made new pictures and took the time to post it again on this forum.

The helmet belonged to Schütze Hans Frick, he was born in 1919 and lived with his parents in Burgholzhausen where he worked as a butcher, from November 1938 till March 1939 he served with the RAD and on December 12 1939 he was drafted in to the army.
After six weeks of basic training he was assigned to the veterinary company of the 251th Infantry Division; in 1940 a lot of the German infantry units still depended on horsepower to draw their supplies.
On April 12 1940 he gets transfered to the 7th company of Infantry Regiment 471 (251ID).
On May 10 1940 the 251th ID was part of the 4th army and participated in the invasion of the Low Countries, the target for the 251th ID are the Belgian forts on the right bank of the Meuse river in Liege.
Their first goal is the old fort of Embourg, a pre WW1 fort that had been modernized by the Belgian army in the interbellum.
At 10.00 PM on May 13 1940 his unit tries to take the fort by surprise, it is during this assult that he gets KIA; their attack was spotted by Belgian artillery observers and repulsed by artillery fire from the forts Embourg & Chaudfontaine.
His helmet was hit by at least two pices of shrapnel, the helmet gets penetrated and the inside is blown to pieces (parts of his hair are still on the inside of the helmet), no doubt that this killed him instantaneously.
He was buried in a fieldgrave and his helmet was used as a gravemarker.
In the summer of 1940 his father visits his sons grave and it seems that he has taken the helmet home as a reminder of his son; perhaps the family got comfort out of the fact that their son didn't suffer when he died. The father places the helmet in a homemade shrine in the livingroom of there home in Burgholzhausen.
After the war he is reburied in the big German warcemetery in Lommel (Belgium), also there they keep on visiting the grave of there son.
Now I'am going to let the pictures do the talking,

Peter
 

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The helmet was a applegreen M35 DD, in early 1940 he was camouflaged according to the new camo guidelines of the German army.
All the soldiers of the 251th ID wore a similar helmet; the 251th ID went a bit further then the original guideline that stated that the tri-colour decal had to be removed and the helmet be overpainted with non reflecting rough green paint, they also added a wire as an extra camouflage aid.

On the pictures you can still see traces of the decals and on the inside the helmet still has its original factory applied smooth applegreen paint.
 

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The liner of the helmet is blown to pieces.
Little bloodstaining can be seen on the liner, the helmet was most likely rinsed out by someone before they used it as a grave marker.
The chinstrap was cut to remove the helmet of his head.
On the sharp edges of the shrapnel entries one still can see some of his ginger coloured hair (I don't know if it works out on the pictures).
He also wrote his name on the liner (the handwritting is the same as that in his Wehrpass)
 

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This is his Wehrpass, it contains details about his RAD & military service time.
When a soldier was in actif service this ID booklet would be kept in the company office. And when a soldier was KIA, his CO would sent it to the local draftoffice, the draftoffice would give the WP back to the family. The Wehrpass was an offical document and the family could use it as a deathcertificate.
 

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Some period pictures of Hans Frick, one in his parade uniform on which you can see the 471IR insignia on his shoulderboards and one in his combat uniform:
 

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Period pictures of his fieldgrave.
The details of the helmet can be seen on it.
 

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His grave on the German warcemetery in Lommel, in the 1960's and today.
 

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Forts Embourg & Chaudefontaine today.
The field in which Hans Frick was KIA is now turned in to a housing estate, this makes taking "then & now" pictures impossible.
 

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Thanks

A real reminder of the cost of war. His parents and family were casualties too. Touching and poignant grouping.
 
Peter ...

Thanks for the outstanding series of posts and for sharing the pics ... :thumbsup:

Really appreciated the human side of the story combined with the historical significance of your collectible piece surrounding it.

Very moving ...

Regards,
Doug
 
I've been at this awhile and hands down, for me, that is the most fascinating and historical German helmet I've ever seen. In fact, it may be, for me, one of the most fascinating and exceptional relics I've ever seen. Peter, in your Last Will and Testament, if I out-live you, remember me ;)
 
Wow what a find!! The guys at the German Helmet walhalla www.walhalla.se or at the whermacht awards and militaria website would freak out!!! You should post the story there.:hail:

Sadly those forums would not care for such a great helmet as Peter U is not one of their insiders. I've seen WAF "freak out" over obvious fakes because those fakes were owned / peddled by waf insiders and no other reason. Regrettably, WAF is a heavily censored forum not conducive to discussion that does not conform to the moderator/site admin party line. I doubt Peter U will be posting anything at WAF. Great to have you and I think you'll find the experience here, and at Gunboards, to be more open and accepting of opinions, without censorship and banning.
Regards,
Hambone
 
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I just found this thread. Wow. Thats an amazing bit of history.

How that poor kid's father must have suffered over the years.
When you are young and in the military you never think about what your parents are going through, at least until you have children yourself.

Peter, I thank you for posting this. Very touching.
 

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