Barbed Wire Helmet Crown ?

[Dennis Redler]

Does anyone know the signifigance of this? The only reference I can find is a design of a proposed Stalingrad arm shield. The first design shows a dead soldier with a "crown of barbed wire around his helmet".
The reason I'm asking is because I saw a dug helmet for sale from Russia that has this crown. I'm sure it was added later...like 2 days ago...but was curious.
At first thought it sounds like a reference to crucifixion.

[Mark in Cleveland, Tn.]

uhhhhhhhhhhh, me thinks you need to step away from collecting TR for awhile!post the pic of this ass-pissery helmet,

[Dennis Redler]

This is from "Combat Medals of the Third Reich by Christopher Ailsby"
Type 1 shield is what I am referring to. The text mentions the crown of barbed wire.

[Dennis Redler]

The helmet in question.

[Ian Hulley]

That would be used to hold foliage ... not a 'crown' and it certainly wasn't on the lid when the damage occurred.

Ian

[Dennis Redler]

As I stated in my initial post...the barbed wire was probably added 2 days ago. Seeing the helmet made me remember the shield.
I was just curious about the "crown" reference in the arm shield.
Does anyone know the significance?
Thank you,

[peeved]

As a dilettante's guess maybe Mr. Ailsby's crown reference was merely Christian Thorny Crown imagery on the part of the author. E.g. Kurt Klietmann just wrote about barbed wire around the helmet:

... in der Mitte des Schildes den Silo mit der Trümmerwelt der Wolgastadt, auf die das Antlitz eines toten Soldaten sah. Um den Helm legte er Stacheldraht und schrieb quer über den Entwurf in steilen Worten: Stalingrad.
Der Entwurf wurde vom Führerhauptquartier abgelehnt. "Zu demoralisierend", stand am Rande geschrieben.
Der Künstler fiel am 20. November 1942 in Stalingrad.

From Auszeichnungen des Deutschen Reiches 1936-1945 by way of http://forumarchiv.balsi.de/orden/230766.html

Markus

[Mark in Cleveland, Tn.]

Ok, the lid is cool, and Ian is correct.as for the shield, ehhhhhhhh.. like the internet, do not believe evrything in print, even from a militaria historian.

[Dennis Redler]

As far as I know the book I referenced gives the definitive description of the shield. I was just curious what the shields designer meant by wrapping the helmet in barbed wire. Was this a common occurrence and did it have meaning relating to the time in question...the battle of Stalingrad? I mean, the idea must have come from somewhere. Or perhaps just his imagination?

[John G.]

It's simply symbolic of heroic sacrifice.... like a laurel wreath... there are WW 1 post cards, art work, and memorials that have barbed wire "wreaths" wrapped around helmets...so there was some "history" to this symbolism (also with obvious religious symbolism, of course).

I'm sure a few helmets may have actually used barbed wire for Camo. attachment.... but very few. The barbs would seriously scratch the finish, could cause injury to the wearer or his comrades, and without attachment clips, it would have easily slipped off. Not unique to Stalingrad... simply the artists whim.

John G.