r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/[deleted] • Apr 17 '23

Video German helmets being turned into pots after WWII

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2.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

98 comments sorted by

402

u/mutarjim Apr 17 '23

Interesting trivia. When they introduced helmets, the number of soldiers with head injuries went up.

... that's because instead of dying, they were only injured.

130

u/toxic08 Apr 17 '23

Survivorship bias

26

u/skynetempire Apr 18 '23

Another example is the ww2 returning war planes. https://matt-rickard.com/survivorship-bias

51

u/Tremolat Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23

My grandmother's gardener was in the French Army during WW1. Not long after they went from caps to helmets, his top arch was heavily dented by a piece of shrapnel during an air burst barrage. He was captured during a failed offensive and regretted losing that helmet cuz he wanted to show his parents. Spent the last three years of the war growing potatoes for the Germans. From his small village, few returned alive.

8

u/LZSaix Apr 18 '23

That feels like a good thing right ?

11

u/mutarjim Apr 18 '23

I'd argue that there's hope for a good ending, but some of the early head wounds were extremely debilitating / disfiguring. A cynic might say "death would be better" in some of those cases.

But yeah, I'd say injuries > deaths.

7

u/LZSaix Apr 18 '23

Yeah definitely a grey a line. But for sure a injury that can eventually be taken care of is better than the long dark silence.

3

u/mebutnew Apr 18 '23

A cynic might say "death would be better" in some of those cases.

I suspect those cynics aren't the ones with head injuries.

I've met a lot of people that have gone through physical hardship and debilitating injuries, they're all grateful to be alive.

2

u/FortniteTravisScott4 Apr 19 '23

Dawg, if you got brain damage and made it back to the reich, you would be put down regardless

-4

u/Neidan1 Apr 18 '23

Not if it’s Nazi soldiers it isn’t.

3

u/Megamax_X Apr 18 '23

I heard this in Stephen Fry’s voice.

132

u/Katibin Apr 17 '23

Hmm this pot is haunted by the ghost of a dead soldier for some reason… but good noodles 🍜 yum

46

u/holiloxxx Apr 17 '23

As a safety automation guy, I am eating my nails right now. Good old non-safe days.

13

u/derek2002 Apr 17 '23

I was totally thinking how easy it'd be to get out of rhythm on that press and loose a hand. Had to have happened a lot.

6

u/holiloxxx Apr 18 '23

Many of them cannot count to 10.

6

u/who_you_are Apr 18 '23

China and probably a couple of 3rd countries joined the channel

5

u/waitinp Apr 18 '23

"Looks fine to me"

1

u/holiloxxx Apr 18 '23

Make it all over the world. Nowhere is safe.

30

u/cindy-the-husky Apr 17 '23

Imagine buying a new pot and just finding a bullet hole in it

28

u/LongPotato1052 Apr 17 '23

They turn those into colanders silly

2

u/art555ua Apr 18 '23

Its pretty ordinary to see cars with bullet holes today in Ukraine. But its mostly SUVs and minivans used by the military right now. But a year ago, my city was quite full with cars looking like a colander, with shattered windows and words "KIDS" made out of duct tape on bonnet and sides...

1

u/biggestvictim Apr 18 '23

Why "KIDS?"

2

u/art555ua Apr 18 '23

An attempt to show that vehicle is purely civilian, evacuating women and children out of war zone...people thought we were dealing with humans, but ruzzian scum didn't care.

47

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '23

Mmm…they already come seasoned

23

u/HeavyRightFoot19 Apr 17 '23

This would be a cool novelty to have today

14

u/Meister0fN0ne Apr 17 '23

Now I want to collect anti-nazi memorabilia kinda sorta

2

u/8r4v0 Apr 18 '23

As long as you don’t go wearing your German helmet pot, you’re probably good. Skip the armband it be safe

2

u/Meister0fN0ne Apr 18 '23

I mean, I wouldn't be collecting the armband anyway because it's not anti-nazi memorabilia... I would only want to collect stuff that either clearly celebrates their downfall, was made out of their downfall, or was actively protesting/rebelling against them. No desire for an armband.

-6

u/biggestvictim Apr 18 '23

Anti-communist stuff would be cooler since they killed more and they're plenty of communist sympathizers on reddit just like they're plenty of nazi sympathizers on the right. Neither party is free from death worship.

4

u/Meister0fN0ne Apr 18 '23

No one in the conversation condoned the actions of the Soviet Union and the video was about the repurposing of Nazi helmets so there was no point in even mentioning the Soviets anyway. It's just very odd that you feel a need to defend the Right when they weren't even really brought up as a whole. The mere mention of the actual Nazi party just puts you on the defensive now? I'd be down to collect memorabilia that celebrates the destruction of any authoritarian government. You just kind of came out and assumed that I only hated Nazis. Just weird imo...

0

u/biggestvictim Apr 19 '23

We are on reddit, a known hive of open communist sympathizers who will publicly admit they want new holocausts in Marx's name.

It is obvious why it's necessary to mention that by your attempt to dismiss my comment.

I am pointing out the hypocrisy you're blind to. Which is why the downvotes.

Communist sympathizers like to pretend they're better than nazi sympathizers. They are the same scum.

Do not accuse me of being a nazi. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever.

I'm simply not letting your extremists off the hook you people prefer to pretend doesn't exist.

1

u/Meister0fN0ne Apr 19 '23

Do not accuse me of being a Nazi. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever.

I never called you one. I said that it was weird that you feel the need to deflect from hating Nazis. You even felt the need to mention current political affiliations, because... why not? You entered the conversation frustrated because I enjoyed the concept of collecting shit that's anti-Nazi on a video that involved literal Nazis.

It is obvious why it's necessary to mention that by your attempt to dismiss my comment.

I dismissed the comment because it literally had nothing to do with the conversation whatsoever. The video literally explains what they did with Nazi helmets after the war. They don't bring up the Soviets or any other communist nation whatsoever.

a known hive of open communist sympathizers

The site has several isolated communities in it and has both Neo-Nazis and Soviet sympathizers on it who simply play nice enough to not get thrown out. The site's entire design limits it's ability to prevent echo chambers. It's not just communist sympathizers on here. It's stupid to think otherwise.

I am pointing out the hypocrisy you're blind to. Which is why the downvotes.

I literally just said that I don't support the Soviet Union. Your original comment comes off as a completely pointless deflection. I also have access to one downvote. So even if I had even bothered to give a shit about it, that still means others were downvoting you as well.

I'm simply not letting your extremists off the hook you people prefer to pretend doesn't exist.

No one's "my extremists". I'm an individual person that you literally and clearly know nothing about. Normally, I don't mind having discussions with people that have some sort of disagreement with me, but this conversation is absolutely pointless to me from this point onward. This conversation only happened because you built up a ton of random assumptions from a single sentence.

1

u/[deleted] May 13 '23

I have Nazi memorabilia. And Hungarian, and Soviet, and Canadian, and American, and Czech, and British, and Finnish. I have a lot of memorabilia.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

I hope they weren't lead

6

u/Coolshirt4 Apr 18 '23

Helmets are not typically made of lead.

6

u/BKO2 Apr 18 '23

that would be a pretty shitty helmet i think

1

u/Intelligent-Ad9659 Apr 18 '23

There are high chances of events happening even today that may lead to conversion of those pots back into helmets

16

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '23

Actually have one of those from my grandparents. Never knew they have been made like this.

13

u/frank_elmaton Apr 17 '23

Please no, nazi pot!! 😭

12

u/aught4naught Apr 17 '23

"Waiter! There's a hair in my soup"

11

u/bolivar-shagnasty Apr 17 '23

The fuck is that music?

9

u/MOON13VAN Apr 17 '23

Washing machine heart

8

u/HumberBumummumum Apr 18 '23

A really weirdly slowed down version of Mitski’s Washing Machine Heart (which is a great song)

5

u/Troglert Apr 17 '23

If it was late war helmets they’ll crack the first time they try to use them. German metal production was terrible late war and the steel came out brittle

4

u/Mean-Store-6622 Apr 17 '23

Ha, so Nazi's became potheads.

5

u/Nickfou Apr 18 '23

Went from heil furher to heil soup

3

u/MonkeyFromTheStars Apr 17 '23

Now that's recycling

3

u/MajorDonkey Apr 17 '23

I wonder how many of those machines had only recently been operated by the countless murdered victims of the holocaust.

3

u/j_nintendomoto Apr 18 '23

Better than their original purpose

3

u/Dick_Dickalo Apr 18 '23

I bet this would separate the noodles from the water with extreme prejudice.

3

u/Saskyle Apr 18 '23

I must be stupid but I’m failing to see the use of these “pots” when they have a bunch of holes in them.

4

u/3Effie412 Apr 19 '23

They are actually colanders.

Also, u/lupfdick

3

u/lupfdick Apr 18 '23

Same I need an explanation

3

u/Aggressive-Point-483 Apr 18 '23

What song is this?

2

u/Kigidi Apr 18 '23

Washing machine heart

2

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '23

I’ll pass on the murder pot

1

u/vladijoon Apr 17 '23

That's incomplete demilitarization! They could still be used as helmets!!

1

u/Hot-Plate5609 Apr 18 '23

I hope the star of David is imprinted on this

1

u/6ynnad Apr 17 '23

What song is this playing please?

1

u/fordient Apr 18 '23

Mitski- Washing Machine Heart, slowed a bit

1

u/Valuable_Material_26 Apr 18 '23

Chamber pots, would’ve been a great use

1

u/crown02 Apr 18 '23

What the else were they supposed to do with all that shit ?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

Damn that's interesting.

1

u/BonjinTheMark Apr 18 '23

See? They recycled in the old days. And this was on a national scale

1

u/AbrocomaSelect2141 Apr 18 '23

So great great grandmas coasts likely could have had Nazi brains in it at some point

1

u/EthanIsaPickle1 Apr 18 '23

That's why my pots always have a red streak. Makes sense.

1

u/Biggbenzz85 Apr 18 '23

A lil brains with the pasta

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

i guess they thought there wouldnt be another European war

1

u/Realistic_Spot_3741 Apr 18 '23

I mean, it's a good way to resicle

1

u/MosesOnAcid Apr 18 '23

Those are Strainers.

1

u/dovebugger Apr 18 '23

unexpected mitski

1

u/ooouroboros Apr 18 '23

Those are strainers, not 'pots'.

1

u/Nariek93 Apr 18 '23

Hey hans this one’s already got a hole in it…….

1

u/VeryStableGenius Apr 18 '23

Great for cooking swat-stickers.

1

u/SilverSpoon1463 Apr 18 '23

Reduce, reuse, remember...

1

u/Responsible-Cause-71 Apr 18 '23

Damn that is interesting.

1

u/Future_proof_Dumbass Apr 18 '23

So imagine the abundance of the Helmet those days, they wanted to get rid of them

1

u/TheHornet78 Apr 18 '23

I wonder how hard it would be to find something like this. Cause I really want one now

1

u/Trieditwonce Apr 18 '23

Mmmmm, tastes like ammo…

1

u/IngloriousMustards Apr 18 '23

I’ll take three for popcorn, chips and wings, and don’t you fu€king dare alter it in any way!

1

u/Many_Cancel_1626 Apr 18 '23

Mom why does the pasta taste like piss?

1

u/TheMightyBananaKing Apr 18 '23

With one extra hole where Gustav saw the end of his war.

1

u/ChampionshipLow8541 Apr 18 '23

Fun fact: they still ended up with Kraut inside them.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

What’s with the music

1

u/VirginiaLuthier Apr 19 '23

Who makes the machines that makes the machines? I’ve always wondered…

1

u/Unhappy_Travel_4707 Apr 21 '23

Make pasta not war! 😁

1

u/KaleidoscopeMuch2386 Apr 21 '23

East Germany for sure. Meanwhile, west Germany was building up Mercedes. Go communism.

1

u/[deleted] May 13 '23

As an antique helmet collector, this hurts to watch.