History

The RAD (Reichsarbeitsdienst = Reich Labour Service) was officially established on June 26, 1935 as the sole, and compulsory, labour service of Germany. Its purposes were to help the economy, curb unemployment, and indoctrinate its members with the NSDAP ideology, as well as play its part in militarising the German population.

The FAD (Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst = Voluntary Labour Service) was the precursor of the RAD in the early 1930s. Official uniform regulations were first introduced on October 1, 1933, with modifications made in July 1934. It is also known as NSAD (Nationalsozialistischer Arbeitsdienst = National Socialist Labour Service).

The earliest uniforms were a not entirely successful attempt at standardisation. They gave way to a second wave of FAD uniforms that, when the RAD was established, experienced no significant changes.

The Emsland sleeveband was introduced on October 22, 1933 and served as a traditions insignia for all members who had already served in the FAD in the Emsland area. It is black with silver-coloured Gothic letters.
There are several versions. An example is the “Emsland IV” version, used by the 4th Group of the Emsland district. Other versions carry different Arabic numbers, indicating Abteilung (Detachment) level. This last version also came with white letters for EM ranks.