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.

Initially, shoulder boards were worn exclusively by Officer ranks, including on their greatcoats. With the introduction of the 2nd pattern, they were also worn by lower ranks. They have a black underlay.

The FAD shoulder boards, the 1st pattern, were initially taken over into the RAD after it was established in 1935. In 1936, however, new shoulder boards were introduced, the 2nd pattern. A third pattern was introduced in 1942, which was in use until the end of the war. During this period EM and NCO volunteers wore two silver-coloured and black, later just silver-coloured, twist cord loops at the bottom of the shoulder boards to denote this status. A 1st, 2nd, or 3rd pattern was not necessarily introduced for each rank. Several ranks had no changes from one pattern to the next.

The underlays of the shoulder boards are in specific branch colours: members of the general branch have a black underlay, medical is cornflower-blue, administrative is forest-green, legal is light blue, and war correspondents wore lemon-yellow.

By a regulation introduced on July 6, 1934, Officers who had honourably retired received permission to retain their uniforms. They wore an underlay of corn poppy red (ponceautrot) cloth on the shoulder boards. A later regulation stated that retired officers instead were to wear a silver strip of braid sewn to the center of the black velvet underlay with the ends protruding at the sides.
Honorary Officers (Ehrenführer) wore an underlay in cavalry yellow, however this was changed to white later in 1934.

The 1st pattern Oberstfeldmeister rank shoulder boards show two double rows of white fabric with a pattern of black chevrons, and two transverse bars. They have two loops at the bottom.

The 2nd pattern has a velvet underlay in branch colour and two double rows of silver-coloured cord with a pattern of black chevrons. It is completed by two gold-coloured pips.

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