RoyalScotsVols
Member
After the end of the Second World War, the Berlin police, in common with forces all over Germany, had to change the insignia on their uniforms. The previous green shakos continued to be worn after the Allied Command order of 3 August 1945 lifted the ban on the German police wearing uniforms although Nazi era insignia was to be removed. The process seems to have been:
However, procurement issues led to there not being enough of the revised star plates leading to some officers wearing only the state cockade or no insignia at all.
In the Spring of 1947, the star and state cockade were changed to a round badge showing the Berlin Bear. Radecke's view seems to be that this may have been done following objections from the Russian representatives in the Allied Control Council but he notes that why this change was made is not conclusively documented.
Pictured is a shako with the 1947 round badge and Berlin Bear motif along with a couple of pictures that I believe show this type of shako in use. I'm not an expert in this period nor style of headdress (and my German translation is best described as 'woeful') so any comments or corrections from the forum members will be welcome.
- 20 October 1945: The new police star plate was to be worn on the green shako.
- 16 March 1946: The new police star plate was to be worn with the state cockade.
In the Spring of 1947, the star and state cockade were changed to a round badge showing the Berlin Bear. Radecke's view seems to be that this may have been done following objections from the Russian representatives in the Allied Control Council but he notes that why this change was made is not conclusively documented.
Pictured is a shako with the 1947 round badge and Berlin Bear motif along with a couple of pictures that I believe show this type of shako in use. I'm not an expert in this period nor style of headdress (and my German translation is best described as 'woeful') so any comments or corrections from the forum members will be welcome.