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The following tables list the base forms for police unit marks found in German Small Arms Markings From Authentic Sources by J. Goertz and D. Bryans, Walsworth Publishing Co., Marceline MO, USA, 1997. This book contains English translations of the actual regulations issued by the German authorities from the Imperial and Weimar eras, and is an invaluable source of information about the often obscure markings found on German weapons and equipment until 1937, when unit marking of materiel was officially discontinued. Unit marks were applied to many kinds of German military and police equipment during the Imperial and Weimar eras. A complete discussion of the interpretation of German unit marks is outside the scope of the information presented here, but they indicate which unit(s) the materiel were issued to. (For more information, consult The Imperial German Regimental Marking [Revised Edition] by Jeff Noll, P.O. Box 7184, Ventura, CA 93006, USA.) Knowing that, and having the history of the German military and police units, one can sometimes derive some information about where such materiel have been (e.g., which battles in WWI). Thus, unit marks give one some history about the items on which they are found. Unit marks normally take the form: [some letters] . [letters or number] . [letters or number] . [number] The first set of letters on the line indicate the military or police unit that the item was issued to. There are many possible combinations of letters and numbers, and the information presented here addresses just those pertaining to German police units in the Weimar and early Nazi era. The last numbers on the line indicate the item number of the item that was issued to a unit; e.g., the 351st P08 pistol issued to the Schutzpolizei of Stettin. As always, I'm not responsible for any inaccuracies in the data, just for the transcription. Please report any errors to me.
During the Weimar Era, German police power remained decentralized. It was centered in the federal states of Prussia, Bavaria, Baden, Wuerttemberg, Hesse, Saxony, and others. These consisted of the following city and rural police groups:
Schutzmannschaft: old Imperial Royal police, unable to control civil disobedience early in the Weimar Era. Sicherheitspolizei: created by the Prussian government in 1919 to control civil violence and disorder. Banned by the IMKK because of its military character and dissolved on October 6, 1920. Along with the Schutzmannschaft it was reformed into the Schutzpolizei during the early 1920's. Schutzpolizei: large city police and riot squads. By 1932 it consisted of 92,306 men, of which 54,921 were Prussian. Landjaegerei / Gendarmerie: rural police. By 1932 it consisted of 16,532 men, of which 8,929 were Prussian. Kommunalpolizei / Gemeindepolizei: independent small city police. By 1932 it consisted of 18,876 men, of which 15,000 were Prussian. Kriminalpolizei: detective police force. In 1932 it consisted of 10,856 men.
The Einwohnerwehr was a paramilitary police force formed by an order of the Prussian Ministry of the Interior dated April 15, 1919, to allow citizens to protect themselves from looters, armed gangs, and revolutionaries. It was subject to the command of the local Reichswehr regiments which supplied its guns. This was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, and after repeated demands by the IMKK, on June 29, 1921, the Berlin government dissolved the Einwohnerwehr. The Einwohnerwehr had a membership of hundreds of thousands and was formed mostly from former servicemen. Many of its members (for example Captain Ernst Roehm, future head of the SA [Sturmabteilung, a.k.a. the Brown Shirts]) eventually joined the Nazi Party.
S.Sta. S.W. Mark S.An. S.Koe. S.Wi. Mark H.Ps. P.B. P.Bg. P.H. P.He. P.N. P.O. P.P. P.S. P.Sch. P.W. Ps.L. Mark L.B. L.Bg. L.H. L.He. L.N. L.O. L.P. L.S. L.Sch. L.W. For example,
Stade district Wiesbaden district Occupied Rheinland areas, 1922 Meaning Aachen district Koeln district Wiesbaden district Police schools, 1922 Meaning Senior service police academy, Potsdam Berlin police school Brandenburg police school Hannover police school Hessen-Nassau police school Niederschlesien police school Ostpreussen police school Pommern police school Sachsen police school Schlesiwg-Holstein police school Westfalen police school School for physical training Air surveillance departments, 1922 Meaning Berlin Brendenburg Hannover Hessen-Nassau Niederschlesien Ostpreussen Pommern Sachsen Schleswig-Holstein Westfalen
S.Al.II 1. 12 - item 12 of the first centuria within command II in the Allenstein district. Markings used in Berlin, 1922 Meaning
Mark
Berlin police communications section Berlin mounted police section Berlin Mitte (Middle) police group Berlin Ost (East) police group Berlin Sued (South) police group Berlin Suedost (Southest) police group Berlin West police group
S.B.Ko. Berlin Command of maintenance/supply section S.B.No. Berlin Nord (North) police group
S.B.S.I 1.7 - item 7 in the 1st Centuria within command I of the South Berlin police group. Note: Air surveillance departments controlled by the provincial presidents were stamped like the police schools, but with an "L" instead of "P".
Wi.M. Wirtschaftsamt Muenchen (Munich procurement office) Wi.N. Wirtschaftsamt Nuernberg (Nuremberg procurement office) Fl.S. Flugueberwachung Bayern-Sued (South Bavarian
avaiation supervision) Fl.N. Flugueberwachung Bayern-Nord (North Bavarian aviation supervision) I. 1. N N.A. Abschnitt I (Section I) 1. Hundertschaft (first centuria) Nachrichtentechniche Abteilung (communications section) Ausbildungsstaffel der Nachr. -techn. Abtlg. (communications training section)
N.Ba. Baustaffel der Nachr. -techn. Abtlg. (communications maintenance squadron) K K.S. 1 P.R. b For example, M.5. - Kommando Muenchen, staff, gun 5 N.b.5. - Kommando Nuernberg-Fuerth, berittene Abteilung, gun 5 W.K.S.5. - Kommando Wuertzburg, Kraftfahr-Sonderabteilung, Sonderwagen-Staffel, gun 5 Kraftfahrabteilung (motor transport seciont) Sonderwagenstaffel der Kraftfahrabteilung (armored vehicle squadron) 1. Lehrabteiling (1st training section) Polizei-Reitschule (police equestrian school) berittene Abteilung (mounted section)
E. F. G. H. Hi. K. Ka. Kg. Koe. Kz. Lg. Li. M. Me. Mg. Mi. O. Op. P. S. Sch. Sd. Si. St. Sta. T. W. Wpr. HP. LS.Al. LST. PB. PBd. PBg. PFr. PHi. PK. Pl.
Erfurt district Frenkfurt (Oder) district Gumbinnen district Hannover district Hildesheim district Koeslin district Kassel district Koenigsberg district Koeln district Koblenz district Lueneburg district Liegnitz district Muenster district Merseburg district Magdeburg district Minden district Osnabrueck district Oppeln district Potsdam district Schneidemuhl district Schleswig district Stralsund district Sigmaringen district Stettin district Stade district Trier district Wiesbaden district Westpreussen district Senior Service police academy Allenstein Landjaegerei school Trier police school Bonn police school Brendenburg a.d. Havel police school Burg police school Frankenstein police school Hildesheim police school Kiel police school Police School for physical education
Police institude Muenster police school Hannoeversch-Muenden police school Sensburg police school Treptow a.d. Rega police school Police institute for technology and transport Rheinpolizei
S.Br.I.365 - Schutzpolizei of Breslau, first precinct, item 365 LS.Al.13 - item 13 of the Landjaegerei school in Allenstein K.B.526 - item 526 of the Kriminalpolizei of Berlin