History

During the Third Reich, an effort was made to unite all of Germany’s disparate provincial police forces and agencies into a single cohesive national unit. To attain this goal, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was named Chief of the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior in June 1936. That same month, Himmler implemented new standardized uniforms, headgear, and insignia. The uniforms worn prior to Himmler’s appointment were often navy blue, particularly in what had been Prussia. The new uniforms were green, in a shade that was then dubbed “Police green”.

The German Police were divided into two main units, the Ordnungspolizei (Orps or Regular Police) and the Sicherheitspolizei (Secret Police); the Ordnungspolizei were unofficially called the green police (Grüne Polizei) as a result of their uniform colour. The Sicherheitspolizei were made up of two main organizations, the Gestapo and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Investigation Police). At the beginning of the Second World War, the Sicherheitspolizei were brought under the auspices of the Reich Main Security Office.

The Fire Protection Police was established in 1938. Fire Protection Police Officers with the rank of Oberbrandmeister and higher were permitted to wear the German Police Sword for Officers or the new Fire Protection Police Dagger. The dagger was worn as part of the service uniform until the beginning of the Second World War, at which point it was abolished.

The design of the Fire Protection Police Dagger was based upon the dress dagger used by the Royal Prussian Fire Department.

The handle of the dagger is made up of the pommel, the grip, and the crossguard; these elements may be silver or gold coloured. The pommel has two stacked circular buttons. The grip is made from wood with a thin leather cover, or black plastic (bakelite), and features horizontal grooves. Aluminum wire is wrapped in the grip grooves. The crossguard has two extending arms/quillons that end in a cloverleaf shape, and the centre of the obverse crossguard features the image of a fire protection helmet in front of two crossed axes. The reverse of the crossguard centre is blank. There may be a leather washer below the crossguard.

The blade is double-edged and composed of nickel-plated steel. The obverse and reverse surfaces are decorated with ornate floral and Fire Department designs etched designs. The best way to establish the dagger’s production era is through the presence of manufacturer marks on the ricasso. The manufacturer’s logo/trademark may be acid etched on the obverse, while the full name and location of the manufacturer may be acid etched on the reverse.

The scabbard is made from black leather and features three sections of silver-coloured mounts; at the top, centre, and bottom. The top and centre mount each feature a suspension ring to facilitate the dagger attachment to dual leather hanger straps.