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 metal cap eagle insignia has two main patterns, the 1st pattern was used from April 1934 to June 1936, and the 2nd pattern was used from June 1936 until the end of the Second World War. The 1st pattern police eagle insignia has smaller wings, a thinner body, is right-facing, and holds a plain swastika in its claws. The 2nd pattern police eagle insignia has larger wings, is left-facing, and clutches a swastika surrounded by a wreath in its claws.

These metal eagle insignia are gold-coloured (gilt) for Generals, and silver-coloured (silvered aluminum, white metal, silvered zinc) for Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), and Enlisted Men (EMs). The eagle insignia featured on the Visor Caps worn by members of the Water Protection Police (Wasserschutzpolizei) are also composed of gold-coloured (gilt) metal. The metal insignia composed in two pieces were generally worn by higher ranks, such as Generals and Officers, while the insignia made from a single piece of pressed metal were usually worn by NCOs/EMs.