Imperial Geheime Feld Polizei warrant disc

[Don Bible]

[attachmentid=63617][attachmentid=63618]Third Reich era police warrant discs have been a longtime collecting interest for me, but I know very little about the police warrant discs used prior to 1934.

Many years ago in California, a police warrant disc for the Geheime Feld Polizei turned up at the Great Western Show, but was not for sale. It was not numbered. I still have photocopies of it.

Another example of the same disc has been on exhibit for many years at the Wehrgeschichtliches Museum Schloss Rastatt in Baden W?rtemberg. It too is unnumbered.

Until recently, those were the only examples of that warrant disc I had ever heard about. A few weeks ago an example of that disc came up for sale on the Internet site of a German dealer, where it remained for several weeks until I learned about it from a German friend. I seldom checked the site for warrant discs.

I ended up buying the disc although I am not normally interested in warrant discs prior to the Third Reich era. It too, is an unnumbered disc.

It is a beautiful die struck example of what I believe is a relatively rare and unknown disc, which I would like to learn more about. I have never seen anything in the German archives pertaining to the Imperial GFP, and am wondering if any World War I historians on this site can shed any light on this apparently esoteric organization.

[Guest Rick Research]

My one and ONLY "contribution" if I can stretch it even that far, is this graduation photo taken at Uzjany, someplace in occupied Russia, of the August 1917 course for new GFP dog/handler teams for Armee Abteilung "D:"

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It is, unfortunately, not a very good photo, being overexposed, but what it reveals about the organization of the GFP is intersting from a uniforms and titles point of view. The human personnel are attired in a mixture of ordinary MILITARY clothing, but retain police rank designations--

Feldpolizei Wachtmeister, Feldj?ger, and the suitably vague "Feldpolizei-Beamter."

The officer on horseback at far right is identified as Leutnant Sch?nherr, Armee Abteilung D's "Leiter der G.Feldpolizei."

For a mere 2nd Lieutenant to be chief of an ARMY level Secret Field Police establishment suggests how FEW of these apparently all NCO level personnel there were.

One wonders what the brace o' puppies being handled by #6 Feldpolizei-Beamter Offizierstellvertreter G?rs were supposed to have DONE!

[Don Bible]

Thank you for your reply and this wonderful old photo. This is more information than I have found anyplace else. The photo suggests a lot about how this organization was run, and is the ONLY photo I have ever seen of Imperial GFP officers. Thank you again for your most appreciated contribution.

Best regards,

Don Bible

[Guest Rick Research]

I'll try for a better version of the photo and put the scan here.

[attachmentid=63695]

Well, it's BIGGER anyway!

But wait! NOW I can see that there is a GFP SIGN over the door-- will have to make a close up scan of that!!!

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It says:

Dressur-Anstalt

f?r Polizei-Hunde

Ob. Ost.

Geh.Feldpolizei A.A.D

So much for the "secret" part!!!!!

[Guest Rick Research]

The back (will scan and put that HERE) says

[attachmentid=63696]

Russland 8.VIII.-31.VIII.17

Hundekursus in der Dresseursanstalt Uzjany A A D

Von links nach rechts:

1) Feldpolizei-Wachtmstr Schramm A A D

2) Vizefeldw Schulz A A D

3) Feldpolizei-Beamter Nowack A A D

4) Feldpolizei-Beamter Unger A A Woyrsch

5) Feldpolizei-Beamter Eckhardt A A Linsingen

6) Offiz Stellv G?rs A A D

7) Feldpolizei-Beamter Goradza A A Scheffer

8) Feldpolizei-Beamter Hartmann A A Gronau

9) Feldpolizei-Beamter Heim (((or maybe Hein))) A A Eichhorn

10) Feldpolizei-Beamter R?hken A A D

11) Leutnant Sch?nherr A A D Leiter der G.Feldpolizei

A A = Armee Abteilung, with either initial ("D") or names of the commanding generals after each.

Wachtmeister Schramm is the only one with a specific police rank shown. Vizewfeldwebel Schulz and Offizier-Stellvertreter G?rs, like Leutnant Sch?nherr, have army ranks.

The two NCOs holding puppies (far left) and dogs (far right) and the guy between G?rs and Goradza are not identified-- presumably "staff" and not the class.

Nowack and Heim are wearing the collar rank buttons of senior NCOs. Schramm's backlit, but is of that category. Unger, Eckhardt, and Goradza appear to be Offizier-Stellvertreters (= Warrant Officer). Hartmann and R?hken seem to be of junior sergeant. From the diversity of units, it looks like each of the graduates was going back to be his ARMY level's GFP dog handler.

[Don Bible]

Rick, this is a truly amazing photograph, and your translation of the names of the GFP officers and your comments are priceless to me. This picture and your translation and comments will be displayed with my example of the Imperial GFP disc, I think it is probably the best documentation that I could ever hope to get, that the GFP organization truly existed. Picture and comments has been credited to THE RICHARD LUNDSTROM COLLECTION.

Sincerely,

Don Bible

Mohawk, Tennessee