166. German Police Formations: Oberwachtmeister der Motorisierten Gendarmeriebereitschaft, 1935, Service Uniform.
After 1st April 1935 when the SA Feldj�gerkorps ceased to exist as a separate Party police force their members were absorbed into the Reich Protection Police. Special formations of Motorised Gendarmerie Emergency Units were organised charged with the task of patrolling the German State Autobahn systems. These Bereitschaften were made up in the initial stages from the members of the FJK. This fact can clearly be seen by the influence they had in the choice of white used as their facing colour, the retention ofa gorget of almost identical pattern to that worn by the FJK as well as the overall colour of their uniform. These special Autobahn police had a short existence. Their task was eventually taken over by the Motorised Gendarmerie (No. 178) and the members of these units were absorbed into the regular Reich Protection Police completely losing any semblance of their former origins.

167. German Police Formations: Oberwachtmeister der Marine-K�sten Polizei, 1940, Service Dress, Summer.
The uniform and certain items of insignia worn by members of the Naval Coastal Police detachments were initially the same as worn by the Waterways Protection Police (see No. 172). The insignia was later changed to regular naval pattern. The gorget worn by these 'Coastguard' police personnel was one of the smallest of all the gorgets worn and it was different also in that instead of being suspended from around the wearer's neck by a 'chain', it was attached to the jacket or greatcoat by a long metal prong on the back of the gorget which was passed through two cotton loops stitched to the coat. Members of the Coastal Police wore a narrow dark blue cuff-title edged yellow and with the yellow gothic lettering 'Marine-K�stenpolizei'.

168. German Police Formations: Hauptwachtmeister der Schutzpolizei der Gendarmerie, 1941, Service Uniform.
The Gendarmerie or Rural Police was a branch of the Ordnungspolizei. In those communities of less than 2,000 inhabitants and in the open countryside, Order Police protection was afforded by the Gendarmerie. It also included the Motorised Traffic Gendarmerie (No. 178) and the Mountain Gendarmerie (No. 169). The uniforms of the Gmdarmerie personnel were distinguished from those worn by their opposite numbers in the Schutzpolizei. Gendarmerie used light brown leather trimming and equipment in all those parts of the uniform where the Schutzpolizei (see Nos. 161, 165) used black. Cuffs and collars to Gendarmerie tunics were in light brown as compared to dark brown and their piping colour was orange as opposed to the green used by the Reich Protection Police.

169. German Rural Police: Wachtmeister, Mountain Police, 1943, Service Uniform.
In those areas of the Reich, including the annexed territories, that were of a mountainous nature or were prone to heavy snow fall during the winter months specially trained members of the Gendarmerie, skilled in skiing and mountaineering, were employed. Members of the Mountain Gendarmerle (Hochgebirgs Gendarmerie) had to undergo a period of four years practical experience in mountaineering and rock climbing before qualifying as a specialist with the right to be known as an expert and entitled to wear the badge of an expert mountaineer. Skiers in the Mountain Gendarmerie were sirmlarly treated. Three schools existed before the war to teach the Mountain Gendarmerie the art of skiing. These were situated at Oberloch bei Hindelang, Sudelfeld atn Wendelstein and at Kitzb�hel in the Tirol. The personnel of the Hochgebirgs Gendarmerie wore the same basic green uniform as worn by the Schutzploizei but were distinguished as Gendarmerie personnel by having light brown cuffs and collars to their tunics and greatcoats piped in orange piping. They wore long trousers tucked into mountainrering boots and also wore the Mountain Police Bergm�tze (Mountain or ski cap) with police insignia in either cloth or metal. No Bezirk or area name appeared above the police eagle arm badge worn on the left sleeve of their tunics.

170. German Order Police: SS-Obergruppenf�hrer und General der Waffen-SS und Polizei Alfred Wiinnenberg, 1942, Police General's Service Uniform.
Under the Weimar Republic there was no National Police Force in Germany. Each Land or State had its own police, the controlling authority being usually the Minister of the Interior of the Land. In January 1934, a year airer coming to power, the Nazis began to reorganise the German Police by transferring the right to exercise police power from the Lander to the Reich. This process of centralisation culminated in the creation of the post of Chef der Deutschen Polizei im Reichsministerium des Innern (Chief of the German Police in the Reich Ministry of the Interior). Himmler (No. 41), shortly after his appointment to this office, divided the German police into two main departments: the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police or SIPO) and the Ordnungspolizei (Order Police or Uniformed Police, ORPO). From its inception to the summer of 1943 command of the Ordnungspolizei was held by General der Polizei und Chef der Ordnungspolizei Kurt Daluege. He was succeeded from 1943 to 1945 by SS-Obrrgruppenf�hrer und General der Waffen-SS und Polizei Alfred WLinnenberg. No. 170 shows Wunnenberg at the time he commanded the SS-PolizeiDivision. He wears a mixture of Army and Police uniform items, Arnly tuIlic with National Emblem worn on the left sleeve together with Police General's cap badge, collar patches and shoulder straps.

171. German Police Formations: Feuerschutzpolizei Revieroberwachtmeister, 1938, Fire Fighting Uniform.
Although Prussia had incorporated its fire-fighting organisarions into the Police system in 1933, this amalgamation was only made universal throughout the Reich in 1938. In view of the necessity for air-raid protection about ninety of the larger German cities were ordered to transfer their existing fire fighting personnel to the newly created Fire Protection Police. The Feuerschutzpolizei was a branch of the Ordnungspolizei and as such came under the comtnand of the same higher police authorities which controlled the latter. The age limit for the Fire Protection Police was sixty years. The officers had to have been graduates ofthe Fire Protection Officers School at Eberswald. The smallest administrative area was the Wachtbczirk composed usually of several ordinary Schutzpolizei Reviere (Wards). Operational areas for actual fire-fighting were determined independently, however, and Ausriickbereichr (operational zones) were drawn in conformity with tactical considerations. The usual operational unit called out in the first instance was known as a Zug, and the corresponding Feuerschutzpolizei Wache was known as a Zugwache (Watch Squad). In exceptional cases a larger unit, the Gruppc, was called out and the corresponding Wache was known as a Gruppenwache (Watch Group). The commander in charge of the local units of the Feuerschutzpolizei was called Kommandeur or Leiter. He directed fire-fighting and fire prevention, allotted the respective zones of operation to the subordinate units, and generally supervised the organisation and operation of the Feuerschutzpolizei under his command. He was responsible for administrative purposes to the Oberb�rgermeister or B�rgermeister. The size of the Fire Protection Police was fixed in accordance with the population of the city; but in those cities with more than 870,000 inhabitants and in those with harbour installations, numerous industrial or large areas which presented particular fire hazards, the number and the nature of the Feuerschutzpolizei Wachen was determined in each case individually. In cities with more than 150,000 population, auxiliary fire-fighting units called Freiwillige Feuerwehren were established on a voluntary basis to supplement the Feuerschutzpolizei. They were organised into tactical units called Gruppen. In exceptional cases, where the Freiwillige Feuerwehr was inadequate, an obligatory fire service, the Pflichtfeuerwehr, was established. Both the Fire Protection Police (Feuerschutzpolizei) and the Volunteer Fire Defence Service (Freiwillige Feuerwehr) wore identical blue-black (Prussian blue) uniforms with black facings and carmine pink piping and insignia. Only the collar patches differed and the inner colour of their shoulder straps distinguished between the two formations. Upon absorbtion into the Order Police, the Fire Protection Police wore the police eagle arm badge in carmine pink with the name of their Bczirk or district above on the left upper arm of their tunics, work overalls and greatcoats. From 1938 the Fire Protection Police began to be issued with uniforms of police-green material with black cuffs and collars, piped crimson. These facings were later changed to brown when all police uniforms began to be standardized from September 1942. The Prussian blue Fire Police uniforms corrtinued in use throughout the war right up to the capitulation. The Fire Police helmet was produced both with and without the polished metal'colnb'. The helmet's leather neck flap was detachable.

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