Justizvollzugsanstalten NCO Uniform

[SCHUPO]

The mention of a Justizvollzugsanstalten (Justice Police) Uniform ought to attract some attention as they are quite scarce in my experience. I recently picked up an interesting variation of the Justiz Prison Official tunic that I thought I would show. An obscure service branch including Criminal Court Officials, Jailers, and Prison Corrections Officers. This uniform is styled as a Litewka in Imperial German uniform plates and has concealed buttons and slash pockets. The Litewka could have three or four pockets and this one has three cut in the Imperial uniform style. The tunic was sourced from a local picker who picked it up in the area.

This NCO uniform differs from most Justiz tunics in that it has three outside slash pockets instead of the four pockets normally found on these tunics. Almost all have a concealed button front as does this example that came from a local picker. This style of tunic can be seen on page 177 of Ingo Lohken, "Polizei Uniformen der Suddeutschen Staaten 1872-1932". The blouse that Lohken shows is a "kleiner Rock fur Offiziere" and was worn without insignia. His is a variation of the normal four pocket Rockblusen worn by the Polizei & Gendarmerie of the Freistaat Bayern, and others. BTW, the tunic came with this ribbon bar worn on sewn loops so probably original to the tunic.

At any rate I was glad to find this scarce variation locally although it needs to go to the cleaners.

 

[ccj]

Nice, what years was this style tunic worn?

 

[b.loree]

Very interesting, that slanted breast pocket flap is quite unusual..

 

[SCHUPO]

Thank you for the kudos. One never knows where the next material culture artifact will show up. It is the same with a walk-in at a militaria/gun show. These particular Justiz uniforms are not only obscure but seem to be variations on a theme as uniform regulations changed over time. If the ribbon bar is original to this uniform (and it appears to be) the Cross of Honor was instituted on 13 July 1934 so this could have been worn into the NS Zeit. I suspect it is much earlier than than 1934 but he could have been wearing it for years. This tunic style is certainly from Imperial times but Lohken shows this three pocket style Litewka worn into the time of the Weimar Republic. I have another made in this police-green cloth that was worn without collar tabs but the three slash pockets are not as angled.

Anyway, here is a later NS Justiz example of the later four pocket uniform for comparison. Notice the extreme angle of the lower slash pockets. These pockets are a very stylish statement by the unknown tailors IMHO.