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Germany, Third Reich. WW2 German Cap M34 manufactured by Peküro, 1942
Following the rise to power of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) and the subsequent reorganization of the German armed forces in 1935, the Field Cap Model 1934 (M34) was officially established as the standard-issue cap for the Heer ground troops. This model represented the continuation and standardization of the military cap within the new institutional framework of the Wehrmacht, recently constituted as the unified armed force of the Third Reich.
In its initial configuration, the M34 featured two front buttons, following the tradition of the models used by the Reichswehr. However, a regulatory modification introduced in 1935 ordered the removal of these buttons, placing instead the Heer’s national eagle embroidered immediately above the tricolor cockade.
Until the middle of the Second World War, the M34 retained on its front an inverted “V” made of cord (soutache), the color of which identified the branch or specialty of the wearer (for example, white for infantry, red for artillery). Nevertheless, by order of July 10, 1942, the High Command of the Wehrmacht decreed the definitive removal of the soutache. This measure had a dual purpose: to simplify manufacturing processes, in line with the increasing industrial pressure of the war effort, and to make it more difficult for the enemy to visually identify German troops on the battlefield.
This specimen was manufactured by Peter Küpper (Peküro) of Wuppertal-Ronsdorf — a well-known maker of high-quality items for the Wehrmacht. The interior is made of rayon, an imitation silk characteristic of mid-war quality pieces. Size 58.
Original German cap from the Second World War.
