220. German Forestry Service: Oberj�germeister, 1936, Ceremonial Uniform.
222. German Forestry Service: Reichsj�germeister, 1934, Forestry Uniform.
Forest and Game administration, formerly under the control of the L�nder or individual German states, were united by the Nazis into the Office of the Forest Master (Reichsforstamt) under the control of Hermann G�ring as Chief Forester and Hunting Master of the German Reich. Before the war there were 869,300 persons employed in the forestry and wood working industry. Those responsible for the conservation of game and the management of the forests were organised into a uniformed body, sub-divided into an ascending system of responsibility marked by the use of collar insignia and shoulder straps. Green was chosen for the colour of the Forestry and Falconry Service uniforms with green leather belts, dark green collar facings and piping and, with those forms of dress used for work in the forest, green shirts with green ties were worn. On the left upper arm of their tunics, blouses and greatcoats, Forestry Officials wore a dark green oval badge which displayed the skull of a deer with a full set of antlers worked in silver wire (gold for most senior ranks) and in which was set a black swastika surrounded by and emitting fine silver (or gold) rays. Behind the skull was positioned a scroll bearing the initial letters D.J. standing for Deutsche J�gerschaft.
221. German Falconry Order: Gaumeister, 1938, Service Dress.
The Falconry Order was brought into being in 1938. Members of the Order wore a style of uniform identical to that worn by the Forestry Service personnel. They were however distinguished by wearing special collar insignia and an arm badge. This arm badge displayed a hooded falcon standing within a wreath ofoakleaves set against a rising sun symbol and standing on a scroll bearing the initial letters D.F.O., Deutsche Falkmorden.
223. National Socialist War Victims and Former Soldiers Associations: Official, National Socialist War Victims Support Service, 1939, Service Suit.
224. National Socialist War Victims and Former Soldiers Associations: Official, National Socialist Empire War Association, 1938, Service Suit.
The origins of the German Soldiers Welfare Organisations that existed during the Third Reich were said to have originated in the year 1786 when Fusiliers from the Army of Frederick the Great created the first Comrades Fellowship in an effort to help one another. After the First World War, with so many of Germany's men having served in the armed forces, there was a great and obvious revival of interest in this type of organisation. The Steel Helmet (Stahlhelm - sec Nos. 38, 39) organisation existed which amongst other things was a mutual help organisation of former soldiers as was the Lighthouse Association of the German Land Warfare Association (Kyffh�userbund der deutschen Landkriegerverbande. KfHB) and the Reichstreubund (Empire Loyalists) amongst others. The Nazi Party created their own organisation known as the National Socialist Empire War Association (Nationalsozialistches Reichskriegerbund NS-RKB) which on 4th March 1938 became the only permitted organisation whilst at the same time absorbing into its ranks the membership of the other abolished associations (No. 224). For this purpose the Reich was organised into eighteen Provincial Groups (Gaukriegervcrb�nde) divided into 850 Districts (Kreiskriegerverb�nde) which were in turn subdivided into 41,000 local Groups (Kriegerkameradschaften) comprising in all more than 3,000,000 former soldiers. This organisation was headed by the Reichskriegerf�hrer, General of infantry and SS-Gruppenf�hrer Reinhard with its Honorary Leader (Ehrenf�hrer) Rriehsstatthalter General of infantry Ritter von Epp. The National Socialist War Victims Support Service (Nationalsozialistisches Kriegsopferversorgung - NSKOV) was a purely Nazi Party organisation set up to help and assist in the welfare of victims of the First World War as well as chose members ofthe Party that had suffered during the early periods of fighting with the Communists (No. 223). Both these organisations wore civilian style suits to which were pinned metal badges and medals and on which the membership wore arm bands and cuff-titles. Like all uniformed organisations these 'Old Soldier' associations had a complex system of ranks and rank insignia and they wore badges awarded for various skills at shooting and marksmanship.
225. German East Africa former Colonial Servicemen's Association: Official of the Deutsche Kolonialkriegerbund, 1934, Tradition Uniform.
German troops who had served in the former armed forces of the East African and other German colonies were formed into a separate Kameradschaft as part of the NS-Reichskriegerbund. They had all the rights and performed all the duties ofa regular NS-RK Bund local group but in place of the standard dress of a dark civilian suit and peaked cap they were permitted to wear their former colonial forces uniform with its very distinctive wide brimmed, felt hat
Tratto da German Militaria and Collectables