History

During the Third Reich, an effort was made to unite all of Germany’s disparate provincial police forces and agencies into a single cohesive national unit. To attain this goal, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was named Chief of the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior in June 1936. That same month, Himmler implemented new standardized uniforms, headgear, and insignia. The uniforms worn prior to Himmler’s appointment were often navy blue, particularly in what had been Prussia. The new uniforms were green, in a shade that was then dubbed “Police green”.

The German Police were divided into two main units, the Ordnungspolizei (Orps or Regular Police) and the Sicherheitspolizei (Secret Police); the Ordnungspolizei were unofficially called the green police (Grüne Polizei) as a result of their uniform colour. The Sicherheitspolizei were made up of two main organizations, the Gestapo and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Investigation Police). At the beginning of the Second World War, the Sicherheitspolizei were brought under the auspices of the Reich Main Security Office.

The Police Honour Chevron for so-called "Old Fighters" (Ehrenwinkel für alte Kämpfer) was introduced on October 8, 1942 and based on the same design as the Honour Chevron for SS members. The only difference is the cloth backing, which for SS members is in black and for Police members is in green. It was worn by Police members who could prove that they had been part of the NSDAP or another party-affiliated organisation since before January 30, 1933.

The tresse (braid) on the chevron is silver (aluminum), or gold (celleon) for those of General ranks. It was worn on the upper right sleeve.