BACKGROUND: On June 17TH 1936, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was appointed to the newly created position of Chef der Deutschen Polizei im Reichsministerium des Innern, (Chief of the German Police in the National Ministry of the Interior), effectively giving him full control of all police agencies within Germany. As a result of this appointment and the restructuring of all the separate German state police into a single, national, police force new regulations were instituted on June 25TH 1936 to bring about uniformity in dress for all police through-out the country although it wasn’t until April 1ST 1937 that it was fully implemented. 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 and personnel serving with the Gendarmerie, (Rural Police), were allocated orange as their truppenfarbe color. The Gendarmerie, (Rural Police), also had a sub-unit designated Gendarmerie-Bereitschaften (mot.), (Rural Motorized Emergency Police), who were allocated white truppenfarbe and were tasked with policing the German Autobahn system. Along with the distinguishing truppenfarbe the police were also differentiated by the color of their leather accoutrements with brown leather utilized by the Gendarmerie, and Polizeibeamten, (Police Officials), personnel and black leather by the other branches of service. As a highway patrol force the Gendarmerie-Bereitschaften (mot.), utilized assorted vehicles including motorcycles and a new motorcyclist crash helmet was developed in late 1938 and officially adopted in January 1939. Shortly after Hitler and the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), ascended to the leadership of Germany, the police, as with almost all civic organizations, incorporated the new style national eagle and swastika on their headgear. The first pattern police insignia to utilize the new style national eagle and swastika was introduced on April 23RD 1934. Of Note: On June 25TH 1936 a slightly modified second pattern police eagle and swastika were introduced to replace the first pattern.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Molded brown vulcanfibre construction Gendarmerie-Bereitschaften (mot.) motorcyclist crash helmet with brown leather fittings. The rounded crown helmet features a raised, padded, protective bar running horizontally around the bottom edge and an inserted, screened, alloy, ventilation grommet to each side of the crown. The front center of the helmet has a silver washed, stamped aluminum alloy, second pattern, (circa June 1936-May 1945), police eagle, clutching a wreathed, canted swastika in it’s talons, encompassed by an opened top, vertically oval, oak-leave wreath. The helmet has an extended, forward, brown lacquered leather visor. The bottom edge of the visor has a dark green finish. The interior of the helmet is fully lined in black oilcloth with an internal padding and has an M31 style tan leather liner with ventilation perforations to the front forehead section, all nine fingers are intact. The liner is well marked with a purple size inkstamp, "56", and dual, impressed, silvered, manufacturer’s acronym/logo and address consisting of stylized script, "Erel", and "Berlin", along with, "Ges. Gesch.", indicating, Gesetzlich Geschützt, (Protected by Law), "Fabrikmarke", (Trade Mark), and, "Fiber-Helm", (Fibre-Helmet). The interior crown lining of the helmet also has a machine stitched, black rayon manufacturer’s label with machine woven, silver script that includes the manufacturer’s name and location, "Robert Lubstein Berlin NW 21", and, "Ges. Gesch. Erel, Sonderklasse", (Special Class). The interior of the helmet has downwardly extended, brown leather side and nape of neck panels with vertically oval ear cut-outs and an integral brown leather chinstrap with a corresponding, pronged, steel, roller buckle. The reverse of the side and nape of the neck panels are fully lined in brown wool. The nape of the neck panel has four, horizontal aligned, alloy ventilation grommets and a tunnel looped fit adjustment elastic. Very nice!