Original Item: Only One 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.

The Schutzpolizei des Reiches or the Schupo was the state protection police of NSDAP Germany and a branch of the Ordnungspolizei. Schutzpolizei is the German name for a uniformed police force. The Schutzpolizei des Reiches was the uniformed police of most cities and large towns.

This is a very good condition example of a German WWII Schutzpolizei (Protection police) Officer M38 overseas cap (Schiffchen). The overseas cap, nicknamed in German military slang as Schiffchen, or literally "little ship" as it resembled an up-turned row-boat, was standard issue for for all military and many of the civic organizations of the NSDAP as well. This example is constructed of a Polizei blue / green cotton fabric exterior, with an olive canvas interior that is size marked 56. It features a fine silver bullion BeVo style machine embroidered Officer's Civic Police Eagle trapezoid emblem on the bottom front, with a BeVo tri-color cockade on a black backing above. It also has officer's bullion piping around the crown and on the front scallop flaps.

Condition of this cap is very good, showing only light wear from use on the interior, however the exterior definitely shows damage from mothing during storage. There are areas where the fuzzy "nap" of the fabric is missing, and there are also some holes. We can see a bit of staining from dirt and oil as well, however the colors are still very well retained, and the bullion insignia and piping is also in great shape.

A hard to find Protection Police Officers M38 Overseas cap, ready to add to your collection!

The Ordnungspolizei encompassed virtually all of NSDAP Germany's law-enforcement and emergency response organizations, including fire brigades, coast guard, and civil defense. In the prewar period, Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, and Kurt Daluege, chief of the Order Police, cooperated in transforming the police force of the Weimar Republic into militarized formations ready to serve the regime's aims of conquest and racial annihilation. Police troops were first formed into battalion-sized formations for the invasion of Poland, where they were deployed for security and policing purposes, also taking part in executions and mass deportations. During World War II, the force had the task of policing the civilian population of the occupied and colonized countries beginning in spring 1940.