Do the armed forces (and/or police) of any current nation still wear helmets that look like the helmets worn by the armed forces and police of Nazi Germany during WW2? If so, why would they continue to do it? Wouldn’t that tend to impart a fascist image?
The US Army currently uses something that strongly resembles the helmets you speak of. I’m not wild about the design, but I gather they have tremendous practical advantages over previous iterations of US Army helmets.
Another link with some terminology (“PASGT”, “Fritz Helmet”, and “Stahlhelm” for the old German one). Nice link on “Stahlhelm” on the page.
However, despite what that picture might suggest, most U.S. troops are not geeks.
I recall reading (sorry, no cite), that that design provided better protection to the back of the head and the neck, because it extends the helmet’s protection further down.
I was in the USAF in a job attached to the US Army when that design first came out. The R&D folks had determined 20 + years ago (then-time) that it was a better design, but the political climate was such that the Pentagon could not bear to outfit its soldiers in anything resembling the Nazi gear.
Finally, enough studies were done of casualties from Viet Nam that would have survived with a better helmet & enough WWII -era people retired that the idea became thinkable. S o they didled with it a bit to make it less Nazi-looking (and also marginally less effective) and the new design was released for production & issue to the troops.
This was the early 1980s.
Some German fire brigades wear a very similar helmet:
http://www.medida.de/onlineShop/de/dept_80.html
Apparently it is gradually replaced by newer models. Certain police and border patrol units have been using it after WWII. The Bundeswehr (since 1956) uses different helmets and as far as I can tell always did.
Especially in other countries this type of helmet is associated with the nazis although the general shape changed very little since WWI and it has been used ever since.
I know the guys who designed the current US military helmet - They worked with my father.
Not only does the lowered rear brim do a superior job of covering the head and neck, the lower brim acts to lower the center of gravity of the helmet, reducing neck and shoulder fatigue from wearing a fairly heavy piece of equipment.