A1: SA-Scharführer, SA-Feldjägerkorps
A corporal of the Sturmabteilung Feldjägerkorps, which acted as auxiliary police in the uncertain early days of the Nazi government. The uniform in SA olive-brown was cut similarly to that of the Prussian Police; police features included the brass star badge on the kepi and right collar patch, a duty gorget, and the Police bayonet, at this date bearing the Police star on the grip. The FJK distinguishing colour of white was displayed on the kepi, collar patches, piping to the collar, cuff and front edge of the tunic, and the underlay to the single, narrow, checkered white-and-black right shoulder strap. The single ‘pip’ of this rank is centred on the left collar patch, and the Party armband is worn on his left sleeve. Their auxiliary police role entitled the FJK to carry pistols – in this case a small Walther PPK.
A2: Oberwachtmeister, Bavarian Landespolizei
This long-service senior NCO’s cap and tunic are still in the distinctive blueish-green colour worn before the introduction of the standardized grey-green of the Ordnungspolizei; it has black facings at the cap band, collar and cuffs, and bright green piping. The Police eagle is worn on the cap, but note that a silver-grey Army-style national emblem has been added to the right breast of the tunic since the Nazis came to power. He retains his Landespolizei shoulder straps and silver cuff braid of rank; the collar bears silver-grey Litzen with bright green ‘lights’, and note also the green marksmanship lanyard from his right shoulder. In 1934-36 the Police bayonet had a clamshell guard; it is frogged to his belt with its decorative Troddel knot.
A Police senior NCO in summer uniform, wearing the white-topped cap authorized in 1937 with a lightweight white tunic and grey-green breeches; shoulder straps were attached, but not collar patches. Traffic police also used white tunics for visibility, but were more often seen in long white duster coats to protect their uniforms when on point duty. (Josef Charita)
A3: Jäger, Landespolizeigruppe General Göring
This unit – eventually to evolve into the Luftwaffe’s elite Division ‘Hermann Göring’ – was formed by Göring as Prussian Police President in February 1933 in order to create a crack police battalion of complete political reliability during the period when the Nazis were consolidating their power. In 1933-34 the members received military rank titles. The Landespolizei grey-green uniform was faced dark green on the collar only, and piped in bright green (including the cuffs and trouser seams). In December 1933 the unit was authorized a dark green cuff title with silver-grey edges and Gothic script ‘L.P.G. General Göring’. This man wears the cross strap fitted to his black belt, with its circular swastika clasp, and the Police bayonet. Note the bronze SA-Wehrabzeichen on his left breast, worn by many policemen to mark their paramilitary training by the SA. In September 1935 the LPG was transferred to the Luftwaffe and retitled as a regiment.
Schutzpolizei junior rank wearing the M1935 steel helmet and the regulation Police greatcoat – see Plate D1. The deep fall collar is faced dark brown and piped with bright green; shoulder straps were attached, but not collar patches or the Police sleeve eagle. He also wears a single set of leather triple ammunition pouches on his belt; this was normal for policemen in other than combat units who were issued the Mauser Kar 98k rifle. (Josef Charita)
Like the Army mountain troops, the Hochgebirgs Gendarmerie – see Plate D3 – often found that ponies or mules were a more efficient means of transport than motor vehicles in the high country. This man wears the Police mountain cap with a metal national emblem, the trousers of the Wehrmacht’s reversible grey/white winter oversuit, some kind of collarless padded overjacket, and a civilian scarf. (Josef Charita)
B1: Oberstleutnant, Schutzpolizei, c.1938 (Paradeanzug)
This lieutenant-colonel wears the parade dress introduced in 1937, with the officers’ white horsehair plume attached to his shako; the parade waist and pouch belts in silver wire brocade with interwoven lines of black and red; officer’s parade aiguillettes, and his full medals. The officer’s shako has black leather peaks and crown, and fine quality silver wire and silvered metal furniture. His grey-green Waffenrock is faced with dark brown and piped bright green; the Litzen on his bright green collar patches, and the Police eagle on his left sleeve, are worked in silver wire thread for officers, and his shoulder straps are in silver cord on bright green underlay. The Ehrenwinkel chevron on his right sleeve indicates that he is an ‘alte Kämpfer’ – a member of the Nazi Party since before 30 January 1933. He carries the Police officer’s sword and knot – Degen mit Faustriemen – on a strap emerging under his pocket flap from a concealed inner belt.
B2: Leutnant standard-bearer, Schutzpolizei; Berlin, 1937 (Paradeanzug)
On 12 September 1937, Hitler presented this Party-style standard to the Berlin police. The second lieutenant carrying it wears the same uniform as B1, but with the appropriate shoulder straps of his rank, and a Police duty gorget – in this case with gilt eagle and bosses; the standard-bearer’s bandolier is of black leather faced with bright green cloth and silver brocade, and he wears white gauntlets.
B3: Generalleutnant der Ordnungspolizei, c.1940 (Meldeanzug)
This Police major-general wears Reporting Order, and his uniform resembles that of an Army general officer, though in Police grey-green with brown facings and bright green piping (as B1) and distinctions – note the green Lampassen on his breeches. As a general he also has gilt buttons; gilt insignia, cords and piping on his service cap; gold-on-green ‘alt Larisch’ collar patches; interwoven gold and silver wire cord shoulder straps on green underlay, with one rank pip; a gold wire Police sleeve eagle, and a gilt miniature of it on the grip of his sword (if he were in full parade dress, he would also wear the brocade belt with a gilt clasp). Note on his left breast pocket, above his World War I Iron Cross First Class and Wound Badge, a Nazi Party member’s badge; and below them, the silver embroidered SS-runes denoting his parallel membership of that organization.
C1: Oberleutnant, Verwaltungspolizei, c.1941–43 (Ausgehanzug)
The officer’s walking-out dress is worn by this first lieutenant of the Administrative Police: service cap, tunic without belt but with medal ribbons and pin-on awards where appropriate, straight trousers with piped seams, lace-up shoes, dress sword or dagger with knot, and (officially) white gloves. The administrative branch uniform differed from that of the Schupo only in having light grey piping and distinctions instead of bright green; but note the shoulder straps, with a carmine line showing above the light grey underlay.
C2: Major, Schutzpolizei, c.1941–43 (Dienstanzug)
The officer’s service dress differed in including unpiped breeches and riding boots, grey kid gloves, and a pistol holstered on the belt – here a P08 (Luger). This angle illustrates the bright green piping and two buttons on the false skirt pockets of the Police Waffenrock tunic.
C3: Meister, Wasserschutzpolizei, 1939 (Ausgehanzug)
This senior NCO wears the naval-cut reefer jacket and straight trousers of his service; his rank entitles him to wear officer-style gold cords on the stiffened service cap, and, for walking-out dress, the officer’s dagger on its brocade hangers (the latter was replaced by the Police sword during 1939.) Rank was displayed by a combination of shoulder straps and braid cuff rings, somewhat analogous to the rings worn by company sergeants-major in the armed services. The Meister’s shoulder strap is of standard Police design, with bright yellow Truppenfarbe. The Police sleeve eagle and cuff rings are in bright yellow. This former seaman proudly displays his World War I U-boat service badge.
D1: Hauptwachtmeister, Schutzpolizei der Gemeinden
This NCO, posted to command a few men in a large country village, wears the standard Police pattern greatcoat, faced at the collar only with dark brown; no collar patches or sleeve eagle are displayed. The piping, and that on his NCO-pattern undress service cap and shoulder straps of rank, is wine-red. He wears a holstered P08 on the standard black belt with silver Police buckle. Under the coat he wears straight grey-green trousers and jackboots.
D2: Oberleutnant, Motorisierte Gendarmerie
This young first lieutenant of the motorized branch of the rural police wears the Gendarmerie service uniform with the officer-pattern cuff title bearing the name of this branch in silver-grey between edges of the same colour. Note the Gendarmerie’s lighter camel-brown facings and orange piping, and their brown leather equipment.
D3: Wachtmeister, Hochgebirgs Gendarmerie
The ‘High Mountain Gendarmerie’ wore the traditional mountain cap with orange crown piping; note that he has added the metal Police eagle. His tunic, with camel-brown facings and orange piping, displays the standard Police enlisted ranks’ collar insignia: silver-grey Litzen on Truppenfarbe patches surrounded by narrow silver-grey twist cord. His long mountain trousers are retained inside his cleated mountain boots by an elastic under the instep. His mittens are home-knitted – the kind of personal touch that was tolerated. A typical ribbon bar might show those of the War Merit Cross with Swords, and the cornflower-blue long-service medal. This man has also served in the front line, as shown by the buttonhole ribbons of the 1939 Iron Cross Second Class and the Russian Front Winter 1941/42 medal, and by the General Assault Badge and the black Wound Badge – for the injury which no doubt keeps him on the home front now.
E1: Wachtmeister, Feuerschutzpolizei, c.1938
The original Fire Protection Police uniform in dark blue has carmine (deep rose pink) piping and distinctions. Above the sleeve eagle the name of the Bezirk (district) is embroidered in an arc of Gothic lettering. The Fire Protection Police helmet has a sharp angle to the ‘step’ in front of the ear, and two pierced circles for ventilation on each side. A broad leather protective neck flap was normally fitted. Helmets were made both with and without a chromed fore-and-aft ‘comb’ over the skull; many were later fitted with a Y-shaped chinstrap. The special wide belt has a large steel ‘karabiner’ or snap hook at the left front, mounted on a plate riveted to the belt; a hatchet case hangs below the left hip.
E2: Hauptmann, Feuerschutzpolizei, 1938–42
This officer wears the grey-green Police service dress introduced during 1938, with black facings at cap band, collar and cuffs; this was changed to standard dark brown during 1942. The piping and distinctions are still carmine, and as an officer he wears the sleeve eagle in silver thread. In his buttonhole is the ribbon of the 1939 War Service Cross Second Class, and on his pocket the First Class decoration with Swords for bravery; this series of crosses was widely awarded for service not in actual combat.
A factory guard of the Werkschutz – see also Plate F3. There was little standardization of uniform, and a wide range of differently cut and coloured military-style tunics and breeches were worn with peaked caps and jackboots. This watchman poses in a smart combination of pale tunic and medium-tone cap, perhaps in shades of grey, with dark breeches. The tunic displays plain collar patches, shoulder straps, and a ‘Werkschutz’ cufftitle in Latin block script, probably in silver-grey on a dark red band. Note also the whistle lanyard and holstered Walther PPK pistol; under magnification a medal ribbon with crossed swords motif can also be made out.
E3: Zugführer, Luftschutzpolizei, 1942–45
This junior officer of Air Protection Police, of equivalent rank to Leutnant, is in undress order; he wears that service’s uniform of Luftwaffe cut and colour inherited from the Sicherheits und Hilfssdienst, with officer’s silver piping on the cap and upper collar. His Police cap and left-sleeve insignia are also in that colour. The collar patches show silver embroidered Litzen with dark green ‘lights’ on black backing; and the narrow shoulder straps, on black underlay, are unusual in having a single green cord inset from the long edges – a feature carried over from the SHD, from part of which the Luftschutzpolizei was created.
The 1942-pattern insignia for Police generals – see Plate G3. This is SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutant der Polizei Kurt Göhrum, the Police President of Berlin, who displays SS-pattern ranking in gold on police-green collar patches on his dark brown collar facing. (Josef Charita)
F1: TN-Bereitschaftsführer, Technische Nothilfe, 1942
This engineer, of a grade equivalent to Leutnant, wears officers’ distinctions on the field-grey uniform that was steadily replacing the pre-war dark blue, as increasing numbers of the membership served with the armed forces. Note the solid diamond-shaped swastika on the national cap badge, and the Army-style wreath and cockade on the black cap band; the cap piping is plain silver. The original photo shows this opened tunic collar, following that of the blue uniform; others show enlisted men in the conventional Army field blouse with closed collar. The insignia are those used from 1941 to 1943; the subject photo shows mirror-image collar patches of rank (in 1937-41 all but the three most senior ranks, from TN-Landesführer upwards, displayed detachment numbers on the right-hand patch). The rectangular black patches bear an aluminium cogwheel, above embroidered wire laurel sprays showing this series of ranks; the edging is flecked with black. The narrow shoulder straps are of plain silver cord on black underlay. Note the TeNo eagle on its triangular backing, set high on the left sleeve, and the cuff title on the left forearm. This man’s ribbons show that he has seen service with the Wehrmacht in Russia in the first winter of the campaign.
F2: Bzp-Oberabteilungsführer, Bahnschutzpolizei
This officer of the Railway Protection Police, equivalent to a Hauptmann, wears the closed-collar version of service dress. The cap crown and uniform are in this service’s unique light blue-grey, with a dark blue-grey collar and cap band; cap piping and cords are silver, as are the insignia, featuring a special wreath incorporating the winged wheel. The collar patches are black, with the broad silver thread borders, winged wheel and single star of this rank. The shoulder straps are in silver cord flecked with black chevrons, on black underlay; above the single gilt rank pip (note that Bzp straps did not follow the usual military sequence) are a gilt unit number and winged wheel. The sleeve eagle is similar to the first pattern used by the SS-Verfügungstruppe. For this group of officer grades the Gothic ‘Bahnschutzpolizei’ cuff title is worked in black on silver brocade with darker silver edges. The winged wheel motif is repeated on the silver clasp of the black belt.
F3: Werkschutzpolizist, c.1944
Members of factory guard services wore a variety of uniforms usually in either blue or grey. About the only constants were the Werkschutzpolizei upper cap badge, and the oval left-sleeve badge with cord edging. The former features an eagle with a tilted shield at bottom left bearing a swastika; the latter, a stylized impression of a factory, between wings and above a half-cogwheel, the whole ‘protected’ by the same shield. Collar patches were issued by some factories, bearing their company logos; we have chosen to show here that of a Dortmund gas-processing plant, with a stylized ‘KA’ within ‘D’ monogram, but we have no way of knowing whether this patch was actually issued. The ‘Werkschutz’ cuff title is in light grey on carmine; and note this example of a kind of duty gorget, pinned to the tunic, bearing a white eagle and ‘Werkschutz’ scroll on a red-painted background.
G1: Strafanstaltbeamte, prison service, 1940
This prison official in service dress is of a grade roughly equivalent to a Police Hauptwachtmeister, and serves as a senior warder in an ordinary criminal prison or Strafgefängnis. The uniform is Police grey-green with dark green distinctions, gold ‘lace and metal’ and carmine piping. The cap cords are dark green with heavy gold flecking. The plain tunic-colour collar and cuffs are piped carmine; the special dark green collar patches are edged with gold cord and bear an ornate button. The shoulder straps have dark green central cords with two flower-shaped rank pips, gold outer cords flecked with bright green, and carmine underlay. Note that the belt clasp is slightly oval. Some examples of the tunic had a fly front concealing the buttons.
G2: Abteilungshauptführer, Postschutz, pre-1942
This official’s grade entitles him to officer-style cap cords, shoulder straps, and a silver-grey sleeve eagle of the special Postschutz design, with the eagle and swastika overlaying triple lightning bolts. (However, note that our subject photo still shows an enlisted man’s belt buckle.) The uniform is field-grey with dark green cap band and collar; the cap insignia are aluminium, and the wreath of the cockade is of a special design incorporating the lightning-bolts. The orange distinctions of the postal service appear in the piping of the cap and of the trousers worn for walking-out dress; the shoulder strap underlay; the edging of the mid-green collar patches; and the Gothic lettering ‘Postschutz’ on the light grey cuff band. The silver rank insignia worn on the collar patches are already of SS style; from March 1942 the Postschutz was transferred from the Ministry of Post and Telegraph into the Allgemeine-SS, and adopted full SS collar and sleeve insignia. Like so many uniformed organizations, the Postal police had a special dagger for wear with walking-out uniforms, with the Postschutz national emblem on the black grip. This man displays a Party membership badge.
G3: Generaloberst der Ordnungspolizei, 1944
This figure is based on photos of SS-Obstgruf u. GenObst der Polizei Kurt Daluege, executive head of the Ordnungspolizei 1934–42, and nominally until the end of the war. It shows the final pattern of Police general’s rank insignia worn from late 1942, embroidered to SS rather than Army design. This colonel-general wears an undress uniform, and follows fashion in having his tunic tailored with the collar opened to wear over a shirt collar and tie – and, in this case, the Knight’s Cross of the War Service Cross with Swords at his throat. The general officers’ shoulder straps are of gold and silver interwoven cord on bright green underlay, with the three small silver pips of this rank set one above two; the sleeve eagle is in heavy gold wire embroidery. Among his decorations Daluege displayed the German Cross in Silver on his right breast, and on his left a Gold Party Badge above the War Service Cross First Class with Swords, and his Wound Badge from World War I. The embroidered silver-thread SS-runes on a grey-green backing mark his parallel membership of that organization, in which he also held the rank of colonel-general. The undress uniform trousers have bright green Lampassen.
H1: Wachtmeister, Schutzpolizei, c.1943
This Schupo NCO wears the much plainer Army-style Feldbluse tunic introduced in 1943 to replace the more elaborate and expensive Waffenrock as the normal service dress. The brown facings and green piping have disappeared, and the collar Litzen are woven on plain, unedged, bright green patches; the shoulder straps and sleeve eagle are unchanged. He wears straight trousers confined by canvas anklets over ankle boots. The field cap has the unique Police piping, up the front and along both crests of the top fold; the Police insignia is woven in silver-grey on black. He carries a Kar 98k service rifle and a single set of its ammunition pouches, but has not been issued the decorative Police bayonet. His aluminium duty gorget is unchanged.
H2: Meister, Schutzpolizei armoured troops, 1944
The crews of Police light armoured vehicles – usually captured foreign types, issued to some Barracked Police internal security units from 1942 – were authorized the Army-style black ‘special uniform for armour crews’. The Police version, as worn by this warrant officer, had bright green piping round the collar, and a green-on-black sleeve eagle with a white swastika. His collar patches and his shoulder straps of rank are conventional: the former with silver-grey Litzen on bright green backing edged with silver-grey cord, and the latter of diagonally interwoven dark brown and silver cords, surrounded by silver cords, the silver flecked with dark brown chevrons, all on bright green underlay. Black Schiffchen and M1943 Einheitsfeldmütze field caps were both produced, with silver-grey Police eagles woven on black backing, and here with bright green crown seam piping. This man, who has clearly served in the occupied territories, displays both classes of the Iron Cross and the bronze Anti-Partisan War Badge.
A number of policemen were highly decorated for combat service. Here, Oberst der Schutzpolizei Bernhard Griese wears the M1943 cap, piped silver at the crown seam and bearing a metal cockade above a woven Police eagle. His plain field tunic displays the Knight’s Cross at the throat (awarded May 1942), the Eastern Winter Campaign 1941/42 ribbon in the buttonhole, and on his left breast the Iron Cross First Class, Infantry Assault Badge, Wound Badge, War Service Cross with Swords First Class, and a number of other decorations from World War I and its aftermath. (Josef Charita)
H3: Oberwachtmeister, Schutzpolizei, 1945
This NCO, serving in the war zone that was remorselessly advancing into Germany, wears the Police version of the Waffen-SS so-called ‘pea-pattern’ non-reversible four-pocket combat uniform; the box-pleated breast pockets are the only difference from the W-SS issue that is apparent in photographs. His shoulder straps are the only insignia attached. He wears the old Schiffchen field cap (which was seen worn alongside the M1943 visored cap throughout the war), in this case made of standard field-grey cloth rather than Police grey-green, and lacking the bright green Police piping. In the chaos of the collapsing Third Reich the only rifle available to his unit is the obsolete Gewehr 98.