History

Armbands were usually used to identify a soldier’s special duty position or function. It would normally only be worn in the carrying out of said duty or function. It could also be used to identify a civilian as an official employee of the army.

Most armbands were worn on the left upper sleeve, but there were exceptions to this rule.

Non-German Civilians (Nichtvolksdeutsches Zivilpersonal) wore a white armband with three lines of black letters “Im Dienst der Deutschen Wehrmacht” (In the service of the German Armed Forces). It was introduced on October 1, 1941. Different variations are known to exist.