History

Air raid protection organisations existed during the time of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s. However, in preparation for a coming war, a greater need for a centralised organisation under NSDAP control arose. It was established mere months after the NSDAP took control of Germany. The Reichsluftschutzbund (National Air Raid Protection League) or RLB was founded on April 29, 1933 under the control of Hermann Göring as Minister of Aviation. Naturally, its leader, as well as the nature of the organisation’s tasks, meant that the RLB would always have close ties to the Luftwaffe. All previously founded air raid protection organisations ceased to exist or were forcefully absorbed into the RLB.

The RLB’s function was to train the public on how to prepare for and deal with enemy air raids, and act as a supervisor of civil protection and defense, for both private homes and for places of work. Therefore, the RLB’s focus was split up into what was referred to as Selbstschutz (self-defense) for homes and Erweiterter Selbstschutz (extended self-defense) for places of work. Air raid protection of industry that was deemed essential to the war effort was referred to as Werkluftschutz (Factory Air Raid Protection) or WLS.
The core of the organisation was made up of high-ranking Luftwaffe officers (the RLB leader was always a Luftwaffe General) and a number of full-time salaried RLB members. These professional RLB members made up only a minority of the organisation, since the vast majority of members were, in fact, volunteers. Eventually, a law passed on June 26, 1935 made it a legal duty for almost everybody to receive training by the RLB.

In May of 1937, the Sicherheits- und Hilfsdienst (Security and Assistance Service) or SHD was founded. This was meant as a sister organisation of the RLB made up of professionals rather than amateurs, including firefighters, medical personnel, and specialist troops like public utilities repair service, gas decontamination service, or salvage crews.

At the same time, the Luftschutzwarndienst (Air Raid Warning Service) or LSW was founded. It was intended as an intermediary between the Flugmeldedienst (Flight Message Service) and the air raid protection organisations. The Flugmeldedienst was responsible for spotting enemy aircraft and determining their likely targets, so the population could receive a warning before an attack was carried out.

The SHD was split in the spring of 1942, with the Luftwaffe taking control of its mobile (motorised) units, and the Police taking control of its static units under the name of Luftschutzpolizei (Air Raid Defense Police).
The water-related units were formed into a new organisation, the Wasserstraßenluftschutz (Waterways Air Defense) or WSL. This organisation was entirely separate from and not affiliated with the Wasserschutzpolizei, the Water Protection Police. The WSL’s creation was officially announced on June 1, 1942.

Shoulder boards in the RLB indicated the wearer’s rank or rank group. RLB members wore only one shoulder board, on the right shoulder. The underlay of all RLB shoulder boards is lilac.

All lower ranks wore the same plain lilac shoulder strap with black piping. Their individual ranks were distinguished by their collar tabs. Officer ranks had individual shoulder boards that readily identified their individual rank.

All RLB ranks featured the word “Luftschutz” (air raid protection), sometimes as a prefix. It was often abbreviated to “LS”. The rank structure was first introduced on March 7, 1934, but subsequently changed twice, on November 30, 1935, and in October of 1938.

Officer ranks were:
Präsident (Kommandeur between March 7, 1934 and November 29, 1935)
Generalhauptführer (Vizepräsident between November 30, 1935 and October of 1938 and Vizekommandeur between March 7, 1934 and November 29, 1935)
Generalführer (introduced in October of 1938)
Oberstführer (introduced in October of 1938)
Oberststabsführer (introduced in October of 1938)
Stabsführer (Gruppenführer between November 30, 1935 and October of 1938, and Kommandant between March 7, 1934 and November 29, 1935)
Hauptführer (Kapitän between March 7, 1934 and November 29, 1935)
Oberführer (Obertruppführer between March 7, 1934 and November 29, 1935)
Führer (Truppführer between March 7, 1934 and November 29, 1935)

Lower ranks were:
Obertruppmeister
Truppmeister
Obertruppwart
Truppwart
Obertruppmann
Truppmann

Technically, two additional lower ranks were introduced on March 7, 1934, those of Untertruppwart and Untertruppmeister. However, in practice, these ranks were never used.

All Officer shoulder boards were made of a lilac underlay with silver or gold-coloured bullion twist cord.

The shoulder board for the Präsident features a gold-coloured braid with two gold-coloured braided bars (or rank slides).
The shoulder board for the Generalhauptführer features a gold and silver-coloured braid with a gold-coloured braided bar, while that for the Generalführer features a gold and silver-coloured braid with no bar.
The shoulder board for the Oberstführer features a silver-coloured braid with two silver-coloured bars, while that for the Oberststabsführer features one bar and that for the Stabsführer features no bar.
The shoulder board for the Hauptführer features two silver-coloured cords laid next to each other in a “U” shape to appear as four cords, with an additional two silver-coloured bars, while that of the Oberführer features one bar, and that of the Führer features no bar.