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Before the First World War, there were no organized police units in Germany. They were
first created at the time of greatest need after 1918 when, by virtue of the peace accord,
Germany did not want to deploy the 100,000-man Reichswehr to quell the many
uprisings and demonstrations. So, in Prussia in the summer of 1919, the Sicherheitspolizei, partly made up of Freikorps members, was formed. After Hitler assumed power, the Ordnungspolizei was formed in 1935 and he ordered that the Landespolizei (rural police) be absorbed by the military. As such, there were two main police entities: the Ordnungspolizei which included the Schutzpolizei, Gendarmerie, Wasserschutzpolizei, police doctors/veterinarians and fire service personnel, and the Sicherheitspolizei which included the Gestapo and Kriminalpolizei (Kripo). The Gestapo focused its efforts on political crimes and espionage while the Kriminalpolizei conducted major criminal investigations.
An order dated June 17, 1936 created the police identification. On November 15, 1936, all police IDs were standardized; the Gestapo and Kripo had already ordered standard IDs on July 1, 1936. The green, oilcloth Dienstausweis was established on November 15, 1936. It was bi-fold and was to be carried in a plastic holder with the cover and reverse, which had the photo, showing. The interior pages showed the holder's rank and duty station, as well as room for four annual verifications. The same ID was issued in blue for auxiliary police. Due to materiele shortages, a card stock ID was ordered on November 17, 1941. As seen above, it was similar to the oilcloth ID, however the photo was on the inside and verification stamps on the reverse. The example shown was issued to Anton Wolf, a member of the Hipo (Hilfspolizei), by the higher police authority in Serbia. The NSKK-Verkehrshilfsdienst, a sort of highway patrol, received police authority on September 7, 1939. They were issued a yellow police ID effective March 10, 1941.
The white, oilcloth Hausausweis was established on October 12, 1936 and gave civilian empoloyees authority to enter police buildings. It was bi-fold and also included provision for annual verifications.
On June 7, 1940, the police instituted the Dienstpass which served the same function as the military Wehrpass. Police personnel carried it with them and superiors made entries in it, as well as the personnel file. On August, 1941, an order was issued requiring that the blood group be added on page three after the gas mask size and illegitimate children also be recorded on page four. An order dated July 14, 1942 required insert pages 18a-d to record dental exams. The 32-page Dienstpass was housed in light green cardboard with dark green highlights. The cover specifically states that it was not an identity document, but rather designed for administrative use. There was no photo in this document. Page one listed the police code of conduct; page two simply showed the police eagle; pages three through seven listd personal information. Page eight denoted RAD and military service; pages nine through 13 showed police assignments; page 14 schools attended; page 15 campaigns; pages 16-17 wounds and job-related illnesses; page 18 inoculations; and page 19 listed awards. In the example shown above, Karl Guhling received the Iron Cross II, Police Long Service Award III, Infantry Assault Badge, Wound Badge in black and the Anti-Partisan Badge in bronze. Pages 20-27 were designed for administrative remarks; Guhling fought partisans, secured supply lines and helped fight defensive battles. Pages 28-31 had verification stamps and page 32 provided discharge information. Not to be confused with the Dienstpass, the Dienstbuch (not shown here) was instituted on September 21, 1943 and issued to civilian support personnel, excluding Gestapo and Kripo, serving outside of Germany.
By an order dated January 29, 1943, police personnel serving outside of Germany in security and anti-partisan efforts were to be issued a police Soldbuch. This was largely because the Dienstpass did not include pay entries. Since there was no example yet prepared, police were initially issued a brown-covered Soldbuch with SS runes. Some retained the SS runes on the cover, while others had them inked out or pasted over with paper. As seen above, the SS runes have been erased. The later Soldbuch had a green card stock cover with the police eagle, while the interior pages were beige. It consisted of 36 pages and the photo was attached to the inside cover. Page one showed promotions and pay groups; page two recorded personal data; pages three and four listed data verifications; page five showed next-of-kin, page six unit assignments; page seven awards; page eight battles, pages 9-12 pay and allowances; page 13 eye exams; pages 14-15 hospital stays; page 16 inoculations; pages 17-20 dental exams; pages 21-24 change verifications; pages 25-30 pay and administrative remarks; pages 31-34 leaves; and pages 35-36 rules for use.
The Landwacht was formed by an order dated January 17, 1942. Due to the shortage of regular police personnel, civilians were assigned as auxiliary police. The Landwacht served as rural police and was later expanded to include the Stadtwacht, or city police. There were a variety of IDs issued at the local level, ergo no standard format existed. In early 1945, the Stadtwacht was officially changed to "Verstaerkter Polizei-Dienst," or "reinforced police service," and the IDs were pen-and-ink changed.
Initially, the Gestapo had four IDs. A red ID was issued to candidates and full-time officers. It authorized the holders to carry a firearm and purchase ammunition. Administrative personnel had a similar ID, but with a green diagonal stripe from top left to lower right. The fourth was a white Hausausweis for civilian staff. The Kripo had the same IDs, however they were green and adminisrtative personnel had a red diagonal stripe. The Gemeindekripo (local investigators) had the same ID as the Kripo, but it was brown. On December 12, 1940, an order was issued modifying the IDs effective January 1, 1941. The Sicherheitspolizei, SD and Gemeindekripo were merged to form the Staatsschutzkorps (State Protection Corps). All had red IDs; administrative personnel with a green diagonal stripe, candidates with a light brown diagonal stripe and SD members with a white diagonal stripe. The Hausausweis remained white, but a yellow Hausausweis was created for temporary workers, such as construction crews, to enter the security buildiings.
