232. German Postal Service: Postbetriebsassistent, 1939, Service Uniform.
233. German Postal Service: Postal Protection Service, Postschutz Gruppenf�hrer, 1940, Service Uniform.
234. German Postal Service: Post Woman, 1940, Service clothing.
German postal, telegraph and telephone services together with some aspects of radio services were combined in an autonomous organisation which functioned under the designation 'Deutsche Reichspost'. Male employees who were fully qualified functionaries were entitled and obliged to wear the full official Reichspost uniform when on duty. The uniform consisted of a dark blue jacket and black trousers. Rank was shown by the use of collar patches of which there were a series of twenty different collar patch designs. Orange was used as the piping colour (No. 232). Women were employed within the German Postal Service in a number of capacities. Before 1940 those of them who were not qualified as full functionaries, that is qualified Postal officials entitled to wear the full regulation uniform, were only permitted to wear the 'Reichspost' arm band (see Pig. 236), the peaked cap and rain cape when on duty. After 1940 however, a uniform was introduced for their use (Fig. 234). This consisted ofa blue jacket worn with the woman's own civilian blouse, matching coloured skirt or slacks and worn with a dark blue beret and black shoes. No Postal insignia other than the 'Deutsche Reichspost' arm badge was worn and only the small white metal cap eagle appeared by law on the orange piped beret. The Postal Protection Service or Postschutz was organised in March 1933. It was given the responsibility of protecting and maintaining the security of all post offices and postal establishments together with all mail, telephone and telegraph services throughout Germany. Prior to 1942 the Postschutz was under the control of the Reich Ministry of Post and Telegraph. In March 1942, upon the approval of Hitler, the Postschutz was incorporated into the Allgemeine-SS and was then designated as SS-Postschutz. Members of the Postschutz wore uniforms of field-grey with orange as the colour used for their collar patches and special arm insigtlla (No. 233). After the organisation was taken over by the General-SS the same uniform continued to be worn but with SS style collar insignia.
235. German Tram, Bus and Auxiliary Postal Services: Auxiliary Omnibus Conductress, Berlin Transport Company, 1944, Topcoat.
237. German Tram, Bus and Auxiliary Postal Services: Tram Driver/Conductor Cologne Transport Company, 1941, Working Uniform.
The subject of uniformed clothing as worn by the employees of German Omnibus, Tramway and Underground passenger transport companies is by its nature complex and extensive. Most German towns with a population of ten thousand or over were serviced by trams and buses and in the capital by the U-Bahn or underground railway system. Most of these transport systems were almost entirely owned in whole or in part by Municipal Corporations, the most important of which was the Reich capital's 'Berliner Verkehrsgesellschaft'. A comparatively free hand was allowed these various communal transport companies with regard to the uniforms and work clothing they issued to their employees. Since 1936 all employees of all transport companies were obliged to wear the German national emblem (Eagle and Swastika) on their uniform headdress. The uniforms themselves were not allowed to be produced in any of the 'protected uniform colours', that is in Army field-grey, Air Force blue-grey or the brown ot the Party's political formations. Insignia of 'rank' was left to the individual company but during the war there was an attempt made to unify the various methods. The actual cut of the tunics, jackets (closed or open neck), trousers, blouses, skirts, slacks and greatcoats and topcoats was left up to the companies. In Vienna in 1941 female auxiliaries working as conductresscs on the city's tramway system were even permitted to wear the company's regulation service blouse in a choice of colours in beige, grey and light blue, to match the colour of their hair. The basic personnel structure of most transport companies was usually divided into two branches. Those persons who drove, conducted or maintained vehicles and those that administered the running of these vehicles. The rank system of each classification was indicated by insignia worn on their regulation uniforms.
236. Auxiliary Postal Workers: BDM Auxiliary Post Girl, 1943, BDM Suedette Tunic and Melton cloth skirt.
Shortage of manpower forced many of the State organisations to make increasing use of women and to a certain extent of young girls to try and make good the deficiencies in their work force. Older members of the rank and file BDM were persuaded to volunteer for a whole range ofjobs in an effort to keep these essential services moving. The delivery and sorting of mall wasjust one suchjob (see also No. 63). It was impossible to provide all these auxiliary workers with a regulation uniform. As an expediency the issue of arm bands bearing a design peculiar to the parent body was a common method of overcoming this problem. The BDM girl acting as a postal worker delivering mail is wearing such a 'Reichspost' arm band.
Tratto da German Militaria and Collectables