Figure 1.--This little German boy wears a Schirmmütze and Lederhosen, we think in the 1940s. He is on his way to school. Notice his school satchel. |
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Some German readers have mentioned a "Schirmmütze". A "Schirmmütze" is simply a cap (Mütze) with a visor (Schirm). So a baseball cap can be a "Schirmmütze". The Germam usually use it to mean a cap that was popular in the 1940s and 50s. We do notice a number of boys wearing it. The first boys we noted were Hitler Youth boys because it was the uniform cap with the Winter uniform. We also notice boys continue to wear it after the War. We notice it throughout the 1940s and the 50s. We rarely see it in the 1960s, especially after the early 60s. A HBC reader reports, "I used to wear a blue Schirmmütze. I noticed an image of a boy wearing one on the long stocking page. My Schirmmütze was bought for me, because I liked the "Michel aus Lönneberga" (Swedish: Emil) books by Astrid Lindgren so much. My parents used to read the books to me and the main character wearing a Schirmmütze is pictured in them. I decided I wanted to wear one of them. You could open its sidewings. I wore it during the winter."
Some German readers have mentioned a "Schirmmütze". A "Schirmmütze" is simply a cap (Mütze) with a visor (Schirm). So a baseball cap can be a "Schirmmütze". The Germam usually use it to mean a cap that was popular in the 1940s and 50s.
We do notice a number of boys wearing ia popular headwear style for a few year after the War.
We are unsure about the origins of the Schirmmütze. We had thought it originated in Germany. But a reader tells us that in the 1930s it was also being wore in Sweeden. We do not know who created the cap and when. The first we see it the cap was bring worn by Hitler Youth boys. And it was widely worn by the Whermacht during the World War II, but we are not sure about the origins.
We first notice German boys wearing these caps in the 1930s, primarily as part of the Hitler Youth uniform. We have not yet found any photigraphs of German boys wearing it in the 1920s. Thus we believe that the Schirmmütze first appeared in the 30s. Most of the images we have found show the boys wearing the dark HJ uniform cap version beginning in the mid-1930s. We notice a few boys wearing the lighter colored cap, perhaps grey like the Wehrmnacht cap. It was widely worn during the War (1939-45). We also notice German boys continued to wear the Schirmmütze after the War. We notice it throughout the 1940s and the 50s. We rarely see it in the 1960s, especially after the early 60s.
The first boys we noted were Hitler Youth boys because it was the uniform cap with the Winter uniform. This was a black cap and itwas worn with the dark winter uniform.
The Schirmmütze was a boy's cap. Girls did not wear them.
A HBC reader reports, "I used to wear a blue Schirmmütze. I noticed an image of a boy wearing one on the long stocking page. My Schirmmütze was bought for me, because I liked the "Michel aus Lönneberga" (Swedish: Emil) books by Astrid Lindgren so much. My parents used to read the books to me and the main character wearing a Schirmmütze is pictured in them. I decided I wanted to wear one of them. You could open its sidewings. I wore it during the winter."
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