Mystery Polizei Uniform

[Gordon Williamson]

Can anyone identify this one ? Impossible to see if there is a sleeve eagle, but certainly no breast aegle yet the visor cap has the regular Heer insignia.

[JoeW]

Double-breasted tailoring; no shoulder boards but collar tabs; seems almost like a over-jacket of some sort. NCO with a Zweidornschalle, so he wouldn't have a police sleeve eagle. The glare off the Ringkragen is maddening. Style appears like the Feldgendarmerie, Bahnhofswache and so forth, yet he appears to be wearing an earlier style Teller mutze.

[Gordon Williamson]

Hi Joe,

Here is the full image.

Going by the helmets/uniforms of the Army troops its certainly not way back in Reichswehr days. The seller described it as Zugwache, but I don't believe that. More likely Bahnhofswache but Bahnhofswache belonged to the Heer so the uniform doesn't really fit.

Bit of a mystery.

[JoeW]

Hi Joe,

Here is the full image.

Going by the helmets/uniforms of the Army troops its certainly not way back in Reichswehr days. The seller described it as Zugwache, but I don't believe that. More likely Bahnhofswache but Bahnhofswache belonged to the Heer so the uniform doesn't really fit.

Bit of a mystery.

Gordon, he looks almost out of place there. I can't really make out what the cap insignia is, but look at the rest of his uniform. Most all German military or government agencies like Reichsbahn, etc. used the box buckle I would think. He is wearing leather puttees. You don't think he might be Hungarian Gendarmerie or the other force wearing their gorget?

[Gordon Williamson]

Joe, from a distance and with the glare obscuring the details, the Hungarian gorget would certainly look just like this. It was the same shape and with the same chain as the German pattern. The uniform doesn't fit for them either though, theirs had cuff insignia and their cap was similar to a Bergmütze with feathers at the side. I'm beginning to think a non-German individual is looking more likely but then what appears to be German insignia on the cap is baffling. But then many of these German sympathising states had insignia similar to Germnan insignia from a distance.

I wish my old friend David Littlejohn was still with us, if it had been a "foreigner" he'd probably know straight off.

Still, the shot only cost 5 Euro on Ebay so I don't mind if it has to remain a mystery.

[Bayern]

Hello , They looks as some type of Hilfspolizei . the older model of peaked cap , contrasts with the M35 helmets and these itself appears as Kommoder versions made of aluminium . the two troopers apart dont wear chest eagle , the knobelbecher boots are more Russian Ucrainan than German .for more complexity ,the Gorget. the gorget  was used also by the standard bearers .

[Paul R]

Early Zoll?  The visor cap has a German eagle and cockade/wreath on it.

 

http://www.ww2german.com/hg671.html

[OvBacon]

I've been playing with the image in photoshop and it does indeed appear there is an eagle on the cap.

Edited April 9, 2020 by OvBacon

[OvBacon]

could they be navy

[Paul R]

For me, at the moment, based upon the hat insignia configuration and the size of the collar tabs, the uniform is a variation for a Zoll member.  I cannot think of anything else that this could be at the moment. 

[Nick]

I agree with you Paul, Customs seems to be the most likely explanation fits with the collar tabs and cap.