Condition: Excellent
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Product Description: This is a very attractive example of a desirable, early eagle for a Polizei Schirmmütze (Police visor cap). These early eagles are much harder to find than the later one-piece versions. This first pattern Police cap eagle is an extremely high quality piece with fantastic detail. It is made of stamped metal, in two separate pieces. The intricately detailed German police eagle with its distinct pebbled swastika is affixed to a separate wreath. which is also very detailed and reminiscent of a combat badge. This first pattern Police cap eagle retains nearly all of its original silver plated finish. The front has minor and typical age toning and patina and shows only very slight wear. The reverse has some built up patina and still retains both of the original brass alloy prongs that were used to affix this eagle to a visor cap. This is a really nice first pattern Police cap eagle, in typical early quality. It’s a desirable piece of Polizei insignia, with lots of eye appeal.
Historical Description: The German Polizei (Police) had very many different roles before and during WWII. There were many different Police organizations that worked together for the purposes of law enforcement and maintaining order. The Ordnungspolizei was the regular police. Under the Ordnungspolizei umbrella were the various Schutzpolizei (protection police) units, including state, municipal, rural, and traffic police. There was also the Water Protection Police and the Fire Protection Police. Also within the Ordnungspolizei jurisdiction was the Hilfspolizei, a category which included volunteer fire departments, Air Raid Protection Police, postal protection, and Factory Protection Police, among other groups. Police batallions of the Ordnungspolizei deployed to occupied territories during WWII, where their duties included the roundup and elimination of Jews and other civilian groups the Nazis regarded as undesirable. Besides the Ordnungspolizei, there was also the Sicherheitspolizei, made up of the combined forces of the criminal police and the Gestapo secret police. Also under police jurisdiction was the Sicherheitsdienst, the intelligence service of the Nazi party and SS. Starting in 1943, all German police forces were placed under the command of SS leader Heinrich Himmler. The various Polizei organizations all had distinctive uniforms and insignia which indicated rank, organizational assignment, and occupational assignment. Headgear of Polizei units ranged from the mostly ornamental “Tschako” helmets of civilian police forces, to field caps and combat helmets. As with all Third Reich uniformed organizations, the Polizei had their own ID documents and awards, as well.
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