The "Big Hole" digs.
After a bloody and tenacious struggle the German forces in Holland capitulated. Huge numbers of ex-German Armed Forces found themselves in makeshift holding areas whilst they were processed. They were relieved of their equipment and much of it was thrown into large holes, perhaps some having been set alight with gasoline before being bulldozed over. Years later and one such location has been unearthed.
The first "fruits" of the search giving little hint as to the final magnitude of finds to come from this area.
Above; The first two anti-gas bottles from the area, below a tatty 1935 pattern helmet...
Further visits to the area pay off big time! Above is some of the better finds from this one hole, it measured around 1 metre square and was 2 deep! The hole gave up bucket loads of M-35, M-40 and M-42 pattern helmets, as well as other items. The icing on the cake being the recovery of 3 Fallschirmjäger helmets, the best one we've shown above.
The site of the biggest stash of WW2 German helmets ever noted kept giving up more secrets in subsequent visits. The site has also seen increased activity by other diggers. Below: shows the condition that another M38 Fallschirmjäger helm is found after 61+ years piled together with many others. Notice the condition of the interior leather work. The piling together of so many items has preserved them in very good condition.
During one dig in the "Big Hole" area a rival group reportedly unearthed 83 assorted helmets during one operation! Unfortunately nearly all had been crushed under the weight of earth, or perhaps by a Canadian bulldozer during the burying of the mass of material in 1945. Below; During the course of cleaning it is very obvious the original camouflage patina of some of the helmets. The children's garden toys are put to new use!
A rarity indeed was the discovery of this intact RF number stamping. This has got the collecting world buzzing, as nothing has ever been seen on an M38 before!! This is no fake, it is one of many helmets recovered from the site, and strangely it is the only one so marked - or at least the only one where an intact marking of this type has been recorded.
Below; This is a photograph taken of the area in 1945. The scale of items that lie buried at this location is staggering, thus it draws groups back to search for further treasures again and again. The prisoner on the left is climbing on a mountain of helmets. The Canadian soldier watching him on the right of the photograph is standing in front of a huge pile of German respirator tins. Visitors will note that a large number of the helmets belong to Fallschirmjäger prisoners. There are still hundreds if not thousands of these still to be located.
Still more from the Holland "hole". A good example of an M-35 Luftwaffe helmet, complete with both decals and even the leather liner and strap!
Left other evidence of more than helmets being in this location; two MP40 magazines and rifle grenade tools (Schlüssel für das Drallrohr). These haven't lasted as well, neither did the many gasmask tins.
Below is the Fallschirmjäger helmet featured earlier and it's friends! These are the best of the bunch, but they offer a fascinating insight into the past. One helmet even contained a fragment of wartime newspaper tucked under the sweatband! Below and Bottom; the customary M35 with chicken wire finish to attach camouflage onto. Leather and bakelite items; bayonet frog, losantin tabletten containers and cover for dienstglas.
There has been much talk throughout the military archaeologist network of the now famous "Big hole". Certainly it has provided many with a plentiful supply of original German equipment. Below is what one typically found when searching in this area. As in 1945 the helmets lay thick in the ground, the condition of the examples shown here is not excellent but many collectors are prepared to buy even these. The sheer weight of soil, as well as helmets stacked together has clearly crushed some.
Photo above: With grateful thanks to "Rico".
Left: Once cleaned they make a superb display. The rifles were not found at the location. So far, despite alot of searching by many searchers no weapons have been found. It would appear that these were disposed of elsewhere.
Above left & Right some more cleaned items from the "Big Hole" excavation. The stack of helmets above and in detail at right show the variety of prisoners who were originally processed through this camp on their way to captivity, and eventually back to their families. The decals on several of these helmets are still very clearly visible, condition not affecting the value these are held in by the finders. Leather liners have survived as has even the Mauser Hsc holster, a favourite of the officer class as it was both discreet and light.
We are grateful to be able to display the 3 photos above and express thanks to Nick T. for their inclusion on the site.
How many homes have had to cope with this kind of intrusion? There are many. This little collection is another days work from the site of the "Big Hole". This enormous site has now given up the best of the finds, which will be a relief for the local populace as the area had become a mecca for battlefield diggers from across Europe. After some preliminary cleaning the helmets are looking very much better, the M38 Fallschirmjäger helmet even has much of the original paint on it.
The "Big Hole" as it has become known was the stuff of legend. This location of the processing of a mass of German POW's at the end of the war in the West has revealed an almost unheard of number of items of equipment. Most notably it has provided the collecting world with an example of the ministry marked M38 Fällschirmjägerhelm. Something unheard of until last year. Left and right we show two more nice examples of the German Army steel helmet,
At left we see the M40 army helmet with wire camouflage loop as it came out of one of the many holes in the area, and then after careful cleaning. Even the decal has survived the 60 years underground.
At right, another helmet, this one has been cracked by the pressure of other helmets and tons of earth on top of it. However after some initial cleaning we can now clearly see the surname of the former owner.
Soldat Nöbel was just one of the many who queued up to be questioned and then stripped of his helmet, cartridge pouches and other field equipment before going into the compound. Without any further information on Nöbel, (there many such people by this name in Germany), we can only be sure that he survived the war as a POW.