SMGN-0286 WERKSCHARFUHRER Visor

A super rare visor! These can be confused with DAF Fest Visors. The structure of the Fest hat is much smaller and more “civil” in size, where as the WERKSCHARFUHRER Visor is peaked like a military visor. 99% of advertised “Werkschar” hats are simply rebadged Fest hats. You can easily tell a real one by the profile, and the large oak leaf band with no horizontal stripes. Fest visors have the horizontal stripes. The visor itself is a size 56 with significant deterioration of the sweatband. The band has been “patched” with some extra material. The bill was nearly removed from this hat, so it was professionally restored using the original war time thread. The inside liner does show a puncture where the prongs of an eagle likely popped through. It is unknown weather the eagle on it now is the original, but it is a correct gold eagle in aluminum. It is securely fastened to the cap which leads me to believe all the prongs are intact. The eagle is in near mint condition. The leader wreath is also aluminum and is in fantastic condition as well. Directly under the eagle is some fabric damage. I assume from the hat flexing and the devices rubbing in this area. Remarkably, there is no moth damage or wear marks anywhere else on the visor. The bill has a spider stress crack but it is not very noticeable and doesn’t appear to be anything concerning. The cellulon type chin strap is in fantastic shape and is just a tad lose, likely from the cap shrinking a bit over time. Some slight issues over all, but still a very nice cap and missing from the majority of head gear collections.

Who were these guys?  “One of the sub-sections of the DAF was the DAF-Werkscharen, (DAF-Labor Squads). The Werkscharen were established in February 1935 and were to act as the NSDAP’s “watch-dog”, in industrial factories. In June 1935 the Werkscharen were granted independent status and uniform regulations were enacted.”