Description
German Police (Schutzpolizei) 1934 – 1945
Before the NSDAP came to power there was no National Police in Germany, instead, each region had its own police force, controlled at Land or State level. From 1934, the Nazis reorganised and centralised the German police service into two main departments: the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police) and the Ordnungspolizei (Order, or Uniformed Police).
The task of uniformed police was primarily to maintain law and order among the civil population but their role became blurred as they later expanded to become militarised garrison troops, supplying security battalions, later regiments, in occupied territories to counter partisan activity. The State Protection Police (Schutzpolizei) wore green facings to their uniforms, while the rural Gendarmerie adopted orange-brown.
