1933-35

Germany in uniform

Volume 1. From Reichswehr to Werhrmacht

December 1933 saw the publication in Berlin of a uniform guide book showing not only army and navy uniforms, but also those used by the various police forces, state organisations and those, of course, dependent on the National Socialist Party.

This surviving booklet bears the stamp of the central library of the North Sea naval base. It has 55 pages, 38 of which show in colour, groups of three or four people from the various state or political organisations

The accuracy and diversity of the various uniforms shown, as well as the aesthetic value of this booklet make it a very valuable item not only for historians, but also those interested in uniforms. With its diversity of subjects and the undeniable charm of its illustrations, it allows us to glimpse what Germany was like when Hitler took power.

In order to present this subject in light of the years that were to follow, it seemed better to slightly modify the order in which the various organisations were presented. Aviation, therefore, is placed immediately after the navy, and the various services and organisations are then grouped together under the Party banner, something that was the reality in any case, except for state organisations only shown in pictorial fashion ; they neither belonged to the armed forces, nor the Nazi Party. The same seemed necessary to complete the original charts with texts that showed the changes and characteristics of the various elements of the arms of service covered in this book. This has been carried out by using period documents (texts and photographs), notably those published by the French 2nd bureau intelligence services that were particularly well-informed about the growing strength of German armed forces.

Firstly, it became clear when reading period documents that all Germans felt a desire for revenge and that consequently the actions of the successive leadership of the nation was a result of the Versailles Diktat and the failure of the Republic, leading to rise of Nazism.

Also, the militarisation of state organisations and the amount of Party paramilitary units gives one the impression that all Germans wore a uniform...