History

Before the NSDAP’s rise to power in 1933, firefighters and their regulations were overseen by the individual German states. Fire services were more or less run by the communities as they saw fit. Larger towns and cities featured professional fire services (Berufsfeuerwehr), while rural areas featured volunteer fire services (Freiwillige Feuerwehr).

Under Third Reich rule, fire services were to be unified on a national level and therefore placed under the control of the German Police. National socialist doctrine was infused and the fire services militarised in preparation for war and the anticipated bombing of German cities.
Between 1933 and 1938, the professional fire service was referred to as “Feuerlöschpolizei” (fire extinguishing police), while between 1938 and 1945, they were referred to as “Feuerschutzpolizei” (fire protection police) as a subdivision of the German Police.
Volunteer firefighters were classified as part of the Hilfspolizei (police auxiliary forces).

Firefighter uniforms had generally been made of dark blue material, predominantly in Prussia. This colour was still used during the 1930s, but then changed in 1939 when members of the professional fire service received a green uniform similar to that of the German Police. The uniform garments featured carmine piping and initially black, later dark brown (as of September 1942) collars, cuffs, and cap bands as identifiers. However, volunteer firefighters kept wearing dark blue uniforms with carmine piping until the end of the war.

A Werkfeuerwehr was an industrial fire brigade. Every large company protected its factories by employing their own private fire brigade. Members of these fire brigades wore uniforms very similar to regular firefighter uniforms, albeit with a few key differences concerning their insignia.

The initial visor cap used by firefighters is dark blue with a black cap band. It features carmine piping above and below the cap band and on the crown. Officers wore a silver-coloured chin cord while Enlisted Ranks wore a black leather chin strap instead.

Initially, the visor cap was worn with a tri-colour cockade above the cap band and a Prussian cockade on the cap band. This was changed in 1934 when the Prussian cockade was replaced by a metal Police eagle emblem.

Werkfeuerwehr members wore the visor cap with the same eagle insignia the Werkschutz (factory protection) used, an eagle with spread wings and a slanted shield with a black swastika on it in front of its chest. This was authorized in January of 1938 and first worn in September of that year.