This 1946 Newsreel Reveals How Germans Making Pots and Pans from Nazi Helmets

Various shots showing industrial process that recycles German army helmet into enamel plated colander. More shots of cooking pots and utensils being made from helmets, factory workers stack them on shelves.

This 1946 German newsreel answers a question we never thought to ask: what happened to all those old Nazi helmets after Germany lost the war?

Naturally some made their way into museums, but with tens of millions of helmets produced during the war, no soldiers left to wear them, and the country’s industry on the brink of collapse, Germany's caretaker government needed to showcase a bit of that old-fashioned Teutonic ingenuity. Their solution: repurposing the helmets into useful objects such as colanders, pots, and other kitchen utensils.