History

The RAD (Reichsarbeitsdienst = Reich Labour Service) was officially established on June 26, 1935 as the sole, and compulsory, labour service of Germany. Its purposes were to help the economy, curb unemployment, and indoctrinate its members with the NSDAP ideology, as well as play its part in militarising the German population.

The FAD (Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst = Voluntary Labour Service) was the precursor of the RAD in the early 1930s. Official uniform regulations were first introduced on October 1, 1933, with modifications made in July 1934. It is also known as NSAD (Nationalsozialistischer Arbeitsdienst = National Socialist Labour Service).

The earliest uniforms were a not entirely successful attempt at standardisation. They gave way to a second wave of FAD uniforms that, when the RAD was established, experienced no significant changes.

The cap insignia of the RAD is a spade outlined in red with a black swastika, with two wheat ears. For Officers it is silvered metal with black, red, and white enamel, and gilt for General ranks, while the one for NCO/EM (Non-Commissioned Officers/Enlisted Men) ranks is aluminum with black and red paint.

A cloth version was introduced in 1938. NCOs/EMs were supposed to wear the metal badge on the RAD Cloth Cap and the Visored Field Cap, whereas a machine-woven cloth version was supposed to be worn on the Field Cap.
Generals and Officers were supposed to wear a hand-embroidered cloth version.
However, RAD Cloth Caps for NCOs/EMs with a machine-woven cloth cap insignia have been observed, and some Officers continued to wear the metal cap badge instead of switching to a hand-embroidered cloth version.