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 Ordnungspolizei was also divided into smaller branches of service, and each branch was associated with a branch of service/troop colour (Truppenfarbe). The troop colours include:

Schutzpolizei des Reichs (National Protection Police): Green
Schutzpolizei der Gemeinden (Municipal Police) pre-1942: Red
Schutzpolizei der Gemeinden (Municipal Police) post-1942: Green
Gendarmerie (Gendarmes/Rural Police): Orange
Verwaltungspolizei (Administrative Personnel) pre-1942: Red over grey
Verwaltungspolizei (Administrative Personnel) post-1942: Light grey
Feuerschutzpolizei (Fire Protection Police): Carmine
Wasserschutzpolizei (Water Protection Police): Yellow

The uniform garments worn by members of the Wasserschutzpolizei (Water Protection Police) and the Feuerschutzpolizei (Fire Protection Police) remained blue after the 1936 uniform redesign.

While the German Police uniforms were standardized in 1936, the trousers and breeches did not fully transition to the new green colour until 1938. Thus there are examples of the German Police trousers and breeches that were composed of black wool post-1936. As well, the trousers and breeches that were worn by Fire Protection Police and Water Protection Police personnel followed different regulations.

The trousers that were permitted for wear by all ranks of the German Police were generally made from green fabric. The summer trousers were made from lightweight brown fabric.

These trousers may feature piping along the exterior leg seams. The colour of the piping correlates with the wearer’s branch of service (Truppenfarbe).

The trousers have four pockets, with two diagonal hip pockets, one horizontal back pocket, and a small fob pocket. All these pockets are “slash pockets” that were cut into the trousers. They feature no flap and are closed by a single button.

The trousers’ external waistband features buttons spaced along the front and the back to facilitate the attachment of suspenders. The reverse of the external waistband has a small “V” notch with two straps and a buckle for adjusting the fitting of the trousers. The internal waistband may be stamped with the wearer’s name, a manufacturer’s mark, or a police property stamp (P. or Po.).