German Boys' Headwear: Schirmmütze


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.

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."

Terminology

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.

Popularity

We do notice a number of boys wearing ia popular headwear style for a few year after the War.

Origins

We are unsure about the origins of the Schirmmütze. We think that it originated in Germany 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. Presumably it originated with the military. We see the see the cap bring worn by Hitler Youth boys, but here they were clearly copying the military. These caps were was widely worn by the Whermacht during the World War II.

Chronology

The Schirmmütze was very popular with German boys, but was worn over a fairly narrow window. We first notice German boys wearing these caps in the 1920s, but as far as we can tell, they were not very common. We assume they were ailititary cap. We note a boy wearing a Schirmmütze about 1920. He was part of an unidentifioed youth group. The other boys are mostly wearing other headwear, including caps and hats. We do not see large numbers of boys wearing these caps until the mid-1930s. The Hiotler Youth adopted as a the winter unigform cap. We assume they were coying a Wehrmachy cap. Thus we believe that the Schirmmütze was first worn by boys in large numbers during the 1930s. Most of the images we have found show the boys wearing the dark HJ uniform cap version beginning in the mid-30s. 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. Unlike other HJ caps, the Schirmmütze does not seem to have avquired a NAZI taint, despite the fact that it was aidely worn Wehrmacht cap. We notice it throughout the 1940s and the early-50s. We rarely see it in the 1960s, especially after the early 60s.

Uniform Item

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.

Gender

The Schirmmütze was a boy's cap. Girls did not wear them.

Pesonal Experiences

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."






HBC






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Created: 4:23 AM 7/16/2005
Last updated: 5:22 AM 8/11/2011