Original Items: Only One Set Available. The Ordnungspolizei, abbreviated Orpo, meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in NSDAP Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organization was absorbed into the NSDAP monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favor of the central government ("Reich-ification", Verreichlichung, of the police). The Orpo was controlled, nominally by the Interior Ministry but its executive functions rested with the leadership of the SS until the end of World War II. Owing to their green uniforms, Orpo were also referred to as Grüne Polizei (green police). The force was first established as a centralized organization uniting the municipal, city, and rural uniformed police that had been organized on a state-by-state basis. Eventually the Police were divided into eight assorted branches of service, with each branch having a distinguishing truppenfarbe, (Branch of service color) that was displayed on the uniforms including the piping on the visor caps.

The Gendarmerie (state rural police) were tasked with frontier law enforcement to include small communities, rural districts, and mountainous terrain. They were issued uniforms with Orange-gelb (Orange-yellow) truppenfarbe piping and insignia. With the development of a network of motorways or Autobahnen, motorized gendarmerie companies were set up in 1937 to secure the traffic. The German Police had no enlisted ranks, with the lowest rank being an Unterwachtmeister (Junior Watch Master), which was equivalent to the German army rank of Unteroffizier. The highest NCO rank was that of the Meister (Master), or Warrant Officer, which did not have an armed forces equivalent, but was higher than an army Oberfeldwebel (Master Sergeant).

This is a lovely set of "Uniform Cutoff" insignia from a German WWII Gendarmerie Rural Police Meister, consisting of a right collar NCO litzen, or collar tab, and a schulterstück (shoulder board). These look to have been cut off from the standard M36 pattern tunic, with the litzen cut off with a large piece of the color, and the shoulder board has the fabric around the button and shoulder end cut off as well.

The collar section is from the left side, has the correct brown "badge cloth" wool covering the top, and the the litzen collar patch is machine woven from silver bullion thread with a Police Orange-gelb (Orange-yellow) background, the Truppenfarbe (Troop Color) of the Gendarmerie. There is additional piping in this color around the edge of the collar that is not cut.

The “sew-in” style NCO schulterklapp (shoulder board) of this set is unique to the rank of Meister, and is bordered with a single row of of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping around the edge, with brown chevrons woven into the design. Inside this is a braid of brown double piping woven together with the silver double piping with the same brown chevrons, giving them a lovely look. It has the correct orange-yellow base material and piping around the edges for the Gendarmerie.

A great example of a German WWII Gendarmerie Rural Police Insignia, ready to display!