W.Unland

Hello, It certainly appears to be a Feuerschutzpolizei tunic, and an untouched one! The sleeve eagle has had the name cut off and re-sewn to follow the regulations of 1941. A collector would never sew down a "damaged" eagle so this tunic seems to be one of the few that has not been altered. You must consider that the Schutzpolizei d. Gemeinden wore the same tunic with carmine-red rather than carmine-pink piping. The colors can be very similar so a hands on inspection would be needed. If more pink then FSP. I do notice the damage to the collar, that should be considered when evaluating price. The shadow of the belt across the tunic shows this one saw some real use, or possibly long time display on a mannequin. Regards, W.Unland

Hello, The tunic you show is a Meister d. Schutzpolizei, or a warrant officer of the protection police and has nothing to do with forests. It is the same branch as my fist two posts in this thread. The Schutzpolizei was the big city police as well as the barracks/riot police. Later they made up the bulk of the SS police division personnel. The rank is the highest NCO. It appears to be a very nice post 1941 tunic with un-named sleeve eagle. It also appears to be made in high grade light weight wool. The badge loops are bad and it has a couple of moth holes BUT the price quoted seems VERY reasonable in today's market, at least to me. And YES, everything I show above is original. Regards, William Unland

Thanks very much, but I have a very modest collection. My main interest is police sleeve eagles. being a retired cop I can't afford to collect the "big" stuff Regards, Bill Unland

And lastly Prussian Landespolizei with TR era cap circa 1935: I hope others will join this thread and share their police related uniforms. Regards, William Unland

Prussian Landespolizei musician NCO circa 1935:

Feuerschutzpolizei NCO service uniform:

Small town SchuPo d. Gemeinden NCO service uniform:

Motorized Gendermerie officer's service dress:

Gendermerie NCO service dress:

Gendermerie NCO with mountain cap:

Same tunic with officer's field cap:

A Gendermerie Officer's "field" uniform with helmet:

A Gendermerie reserve officer's full dress:

Next the same tunic with the fatique cap:

Hello, I haven't posted for a while so I have decide to start a post where those of us interested in police relics can post their uniforms to share with the community. I apologize if I have posted some of these before. First an NCO from the 2nd Berlin mounted Schutzpolizei, the only mounted unit entitled to wear the "Southern Cross" traditions badge. Of course the tschako has a musician's plume, but you get the idea:

Dear Pat, If you take into consideration volunteer fire departments the number of different named eagles would probably number in the 1000's, an impossible task to collect all. i have chosen to collect "patterns" of nco eagles instead, i.e; different styles of eagles representing different manufacturers. Regards, William Unland

After some discussion on another forum, it has been concluded that the cap could be a generic German made cap imported into Holland and sold by the Dutch uniform company to occupation troops of the Feuerschutzpolizei, which indeed were stationed in Holland. As the cap is a perfect example of German assembly and materials this theory certainly has merit. The "in between" color of the piping makes a final determination impossible. If GemPo red carmine, it must be a Dutch cap imported for use in Germany. If a FSP cap with pink carmine piping, it could be a German cap imported the other way into Holland and sold by a Dutch company. Unfortunately impossible to say which is the case here. All said, this is the ONLY German police cap, or military cap for that mater, that I have ever seen with a Dutch maker/seller's stamp. Very unusual, whatever the true circumstances. Regards, Bill Unland

And finally a close-up of the round maker's ink stamp. This is where the unique nature of the cap becomes evident. The stamp identifies the maker as "MOL" in "Breda, Holland". This is a known maker of Dutch military uniforms and caps. What appears to be happening here is that this cap was contracted for with the firm of MOL during the occupation of Holland by a small municipality, probably trying to save money by "outsourcing". Clearly the contract specified that the cap meet German specification and regulations, rather than buying an "off the shelf" Dutch alternative. The GemPo were uniformed by their respective towns not a centralized depot system so it is not hard to imagine a city administration trying to save by buying in the "greater reich" rather than a German maker. The GemPo were absorbed into the Schutzpolizei sometime around 1942, so this cap probably survived unused as it sat in a box in some city hall unused until it's liberation. As I have never seen another Dutch made police cap, I must assume that this was NOT a standard practice, and that this cap and any of its breathern out there were limited to a very small number, possibly from only a single unknown small town. I think it fair to term this cap "rare". Thanks for looking, Bill Unland

Inside the sweatband can also be found a police acceptance stamp dating this cap to 1942.

Now a view of the "inside". The brass pins from the front eagle can clearly be seen. There are no "extra" holes and all sewing is very tight suggesting that this cap is in original condition, and has not been "worked" on or had it's insignia changed. Take note of the round ink stamp which will become very important shortly.

Here is a view of the interior. Exactly what one would expect of a "contract" mass produced cap. Orange generic interior and sweatband with no maker mark, only a size stamp. The unusual features are the green painted underside of the brim and a brass stud closing the sweatband rather than a sewn ribbon. The sweatshield is celluloid, and appears to have never been subjected to wear.

Here is a side view better showing off the "saddle-form" shape. The matte aluminum buttons are also unusual as such a cap would normally be fitted with black paited buttons. The police eagle also appears to be thinner than those I am used to encountering, perhaps because of foreign manufacture. The cap appears to have never been worn, and all insignia and the side buttons are original to the cap as produced.

Hello, Presented here is a rather unusual cap, the likes of which I have never encountered before. it is a schirmmutze for an NCO of the Schutzpolizei d. Gemeinden, or small town municipal police. What makes it unusual is that it was manufactured in occupied Holland under contract to a Dutch company. It has some unusual characteristics, but is made to German specifications and on first sight cannot be distinguished from a German made cap. Here is a frontal view. The piping color is a deep carmine, not "pink" enough to represent a Feuerschutzpolizei assignment. Interestingly the state cockade is made of brass, not aluminum and has a high gloss enamelled cardboard red insert rather than the typical felt. The cap has a high, nice heavily padded front and pronounced saddle form. An attractively made cap.

Hello, Here is an overlay photo to demonstrate the different branch colors found on police caps. Not represented are the red of the traffic police and the black of the TENO police, and example of which I have never seen and is presumed to exist. In order from top to bottom: Gray------------Verwaltungspolizei Carmine pink-----Feuerschutzpolizei Green-----------Schutzpolizei Dark Green------Prussian Landespolizei circa 1936 Orange----------Civil Gendarmerie Carmine Pink-----Feuerwehr Dark Green-------Luftschutzpolizei Blue-------------Wasserschutzpolizei Carmine Red-----Schutzpolizei d. Gemeinden It is also easy to see the different thicknesses of piping used by different manufacturers from very thick to rather thin and insignificant. Regards, Bill Unland

And lastly, the ever so hard to find greatcoat thrown over the shoulders: