UBB.threads
Posted By: bernd Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 08:56 PM
I just received this almost mint condition Gendarmerie Officer's privat purchase belt .It is almost mint in the sense , that I think it was hardly ever worn , if at all , it has only some small moth bites in the green felt backing .

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 08:59 PM
The belt is made of fine , 1/8 -inch thick leather with the green felt backing glued to it , The belt is 2-1/4-inches wide and 43- inches long .

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 09:02 PM
On the backside the felt backing has been kept 9-1/2 -nches back from the tip of the belt .

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 09:05 PM
This photo shows this better .

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 09:13 PM
The tip of the tounge has a "W 109 " , wich I think original was to mean 1.09 Meter ( the M being stamped upside down by mistake !)in length for the belt . I can not make out much on the remains of the sales tag ; if anything ,it would be 9.00 RM.

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 09:15 PM
Here now the belt buckle .

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 09:19 PM
On the backside the short lenght of the buckle each show a "O" , wich I do not know if they stand for a certain manufacturer or if they are just casting marks ???

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 09:21 PM
Here a close-up of the nice stitching work .

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Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 09:22 PM
..and on the front .

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Posted By: Raymond Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/10/2008 10:23 PM
Bernd, great score. That's one of the nicest belts I've ever seen. The "O" on the back of the buckle are from the manufacturing as I believe they are injection molded.
One thing that always confuses me is how do you know what organization used a specific belt. Since brown belts were used by a few different organizations. Now Luftwaffe would use a blue gray backing but green seems more generic. Are they interchangeable? If a policeman walked into a store and needed a belt could he pick any belt (brown in this case) he wanted or was he limited? From looking in the Assmann catalog I can see several organizations used the same fittings. So is figuring out the proper organization all in the backing?
Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/11/2008 03:15 AM
Raymond: My opinion that this belt was an Gendarmerie Officer's belt was based on the very similar belt I have from my Dad who was an Oblt. in the Schutzpolizei in Munich , but since he was in the Schutzpolizei ,his belt has a black finish and the felt liner is of a gray-green color .I have seen similar Heer/Army Officer's belts , but with a gray color felt liner . The same would be true for Luftwaffe Officer belts with gray or blue-gray felt liners .
Posted By: hanswurst Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/11/2008 03:21 AM
Bernd,

I have the same exact belt as yours. It got it with a police tunic about 25 years ago or so. I also believe these to be for police use, but I am sure other units could have used them as well. Nice find, great condition....
Joe
Posted By: Raymond Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/11/2008 09:25 PM
Thanks Bernd. Doug had once showed me the photo of your father that was published in a book on the Police. I never bought the book and forgot title,but would like to try and get a copy. Do you,or Doug, remember the title?
Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/12/2008 12:40 AM
Raymond : There is a long write-up on my Dad on this forum : just look under " Find" and type in " Heinz Ostermann " . You will find a lot on my Dad's history and uniforms . The Book was Tom Shutt's : 'Dress and Field Service Hats of the 3rd Reich ' ,published 1981 : you will find my Dad's photo on page 150.
Posted By: Dave L / dblmed Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/12/2008 09:41 PM
Bernd .... What a phenomenal Gendarmerie Belt!

The condition just doesn't get any better - Congrats.

Great historical connection with your Dad. (I, also, will certainly read the nice thread.)

What a super hobby - to be able to carry on traditions & special interests. You & Doug are very blessed & fortunate!

Txs, Dave/dblmed
Posted By: Raymond Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/12/2008 10:55 PM
Thanks Bernd. I remember there was a thread on you dad. I will go back and re-read it.
Posted By: bernd Re: Gendarmerie Officer's Belt - 03/13/2008 09:18 PM
Dave : Thanks for your kind remarks . Doug and I keep in constant contact via e-mail and phone and we both enjoy our hobby very much .
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