Original Item: Only one available. This is a lovely WWII German Duetsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK) Officers Wool Greatcoat, with a charcoal gray wool outer shell. It features a six button double-breasted closure with a lay down collar, which has a hook and loop closure, and also a securing strap for when the collar is worn in the up position. All of the buttons are the pebbled magnetic variety, and are nickel plated or silver painted. These are all sewn directly to the fabric, which does make them more prone to tearing off, however these are all still present. The greatcoat features long French style cuffs on the end of the sleeves, and has two large waist pockets with top flaps.

The inside of the coat is lined on the top half with blue gray cotton twill fabric, which extends down both of the sleeves, and there is a horizontal slash pocket on the inner left chest. It is marked II 51 on the lining for the left waist pocket, which could be a unit marking, or possibly a size. We were not able to find any type of maker marking on the interior.

The greatcoat is adorned with Red Cross kragenspiegelen (collar tabs) are light gray and trimmed with silver bullion, each adorned with a red enamel cross. We do not believe that the DRK had any type of troop colors, but they used light gray in areas on insignia where this would normally be. The DRK Officer / Officials schulterklappen (shoulder straps) are each constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping attached to light gray bases that protrude around the edges. There is a single gold rank "pip" on each, which corresponds to the DRK rank of Oberwachführer (Senior Watch Officer), equivalent to a Heer Oberleutnant or U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant. These are definitely narrower than the standard military style.

The left sleeve has a very nice service used condition white Deutches Rotes Kreuz armband, with an embroidered red "Geneva Cross" in the center. It is tack stitched to the sleeve so that it will not fall off. It shows light wear and staining consistent with use in service, but no major damage. We also noticed a red enamel Sang pin on the left chest, which is a French blood donation pin. There are also a pack of US American Red Cross Playing cards.

Overall condition is very good, showing no major mothing or other damage. We assume the owner saw light to moderate service during the war, and took care of his gear well. A lovely German Rec Cross Officer Greatcoat in very nice condition, complete with the correct insignia and armband. Ready to research and display!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 24”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17"
Chest width: 21”
Waist: 21"
Hip: 26"
Front length: 47.5"

History of the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz in WW2:
In April 1933 the NSDAP Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick made it clear to Winterfeldt-Mencken that this policy would no longer apply; instead, the DRK would be expected to play its part in supporting the armed forces in any future conflict. Shortly after this the DRK was informed that the head of the SA Medical Corps, Dr. Paul Hocheisen had been given responsibility for voluntary nursing organizations.

On 11 June 1933 Frick was invited to speak at the Red Cross Day. He declared:
"The Red Cross is something like the conscience of the nation. ... Together with the nation, the Red Cross is ready to commit all its strength for the high goals of our leader, Adolf AH".

The DRK was quick to respond to the changed circumstances, indeed Winterfeldt-Mencken had always been opposed to the system of parliamentary democracy. The Workers' Samaritan League, a left-wing humanitarian organization, had always been an unwelcome competitor to the DRK. Hocheisen very quickly arranged that it should be taken over by the DRK. Similarly, the DRK moved quickly to rid itself of left-wing members, and in June 1933 it also decided that the NSDAP "Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service" should be applied and dismissed its Jewish employees.

However the DRK was still a member of the Red Cross movement, and Germany remained a signatory to the Geneva Convention, so it was not possible for them to apply the same level of "Gleichschaltung" to the DRK as it was to other organizations. The attitude of the ICRC towards the DRK’s exclusion of the Jews was later expressed in a letter written by Max Huber in 1939. According to him, the primary obligation of neutral treatment as foreseen in the Geneva Convention was to the victims of war, and not to the helpers. He argued that as it was impossible to prescribe rules which were in conflict with the laws of a country, it was better to take a flexible approach than to risk the break-up of the universal Red Cross movement.

Despite Winterfeldt-Mencken’s professions of loyalty to the regime, they were not reciprocated and a replacement was sought. President Hindenburg was able to influence the decision, and selected Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who was Queen Victoria’s grandson, rather than Hocheisen. Charles Edward had moved from England to Germany at the age of 15, had subsequently served as a general in the German army in the First World War, and had long supported right-wing movements in general, and AH in particular. He was already honorary president of the National Socialist Motor Corps.

Charles Edward became President of the DRK in December 1933, while Hocheisen became his deputy. Not unsurprisingly, they did not work well together. There followed a typically NSDAP-Darwinist power struggle, in which Hocheisen was eventually able to assert his authority – only to be ousted by the top SS doctor Ernst-Robert Grawitz at the start of 1937. At the end of 1938 the German Red Cross officially came under the control of the Ministry of the Interior's Social Welfare Organization, becoming de facto a NSDAP entity, led by Grawitz in the role of 'acting president', with Oswald Pohl as chairman of the board of administration.[9] By this stage there was no doubt about who was in charge, though Charles Edward remained in his post until 1945. As he was related to European royalty and spoke good English, he was a useful figurehead for the DRK, but Grawitz was different – he would turn up to International Red Cross meetings in his SS uniform. Grawitz took a radical approach to his task. He introduced a hierarchical chain of command into the DRK, and arranged for a new large and imposing "representative"- presidential building to be constructed in Potsdam-Babelsberg, complete with a balcony from which speeches could be made. His ideal concept for the DRK was that of a "healthy structure which would fit itself organically into the laws of life in the National Socialist Third Reich".

In the years after the NSDAP takeover, as well as adopting NSDAP salutes and symbols, the DRK introduced NSDAP ideology into their education. Rescue teams were trained in military conduct, basic concepts of National Socialism, genetics, racial hygiene and demographic policy. More senior staff – doctors, nurses and managers were educated in demographic policy, racial history, racial hygiene, the biology of inheritance and the foundations of genetics. As a preparation for war, the DRK focused on training people to deal with air raids and gas attacks and organised joint exercises with the police and the fire brigades.