This object is an enlisted men’s shako (Tschako für Mannschaften) of the Schutzpolizei of the Free State of Prussia, dating to approximately 1925. It is a tangible artifact from one of the most politically turbulent periods in German history – the Weimar Republic – and represents the deliberate effort of the young democracy to break with the symbols of the fallen Empire while building a reliable republican police force.
In the spring of 1919, the newly renamed Free State of Prussia resolved to build a powerful new police force: the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police). This force was barracked, militarily trained and equipped, and was intended to manage civil unrest and suppress uprisings without requiring the intervention of the army. The chaotic post-war years, marked by revolutionary upheavals and political instability, made such a force seem essential to the republican government.
However, the Sicherheitspolizei soon proved politically unreliable. Its personnel were recruited mainly from Freikorps formations, and during the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch in the spring of 1920, its loyalties came into serious question. Furthermore, the victorious powers of the Entente viewed the force as an attempt to build a shadow army in defiance of the disarmament provisions imposed on Germany. For these reasons, in mid-1920 the Sicherheitspolizei was merged with the remnants of the former royal Schutzmannschaften, now renamed the Ordnungspolizei, to form the new Schutzpolizei.
In Prussia, the post-war police reorganization was overseen by the administrative jurist and later State Secretary Wilhelm Abegg. The Schutzpolizei was henceforth organized both for individual precinct service and in closed units for major operations. It was already deployed in 1921 during the March battles in central Germany. By decree of December 12, 1928, the Prussian police was uniformly divided into administrative police, protection police, and criminal police.
The officials of the Prussian Schutzpolizei, under the leadership of the long-serving Prussian Interior Minister Carl Severing, were regarded as a “republican protective force” – a characterization that underscored their role as defenders of the Weimar democratic order.
Most German police forces adopted a version of the Jäger shako after World War I, replacing the Pickelhaube (spiked leather helmet) that had become inextricably identified with the previous Imperial regime. The first leather shakos of the Sicherheitspolizei and early Schutzpolizei originated from the Jäger troops of the old armies, as did the original proposal for their introduction. The shako became the standard headdress for daily service – the daily service uniform included the dark gray, almost black shako instead of the peaked cap.
On July 11, 1921, the asymmetric “flying” Prussian eagle was introduced as the police insignia, replacing an earlier symmetrical version that had been in use only briefly. This flying eagle, mounted on a star, formed the distinctive front emblem of the shako. A lacquered cockade completed the identifying insignia on the front of the headdress.
The democratic Prussian police force met its end in dramatic fashion. Following the Altonaer Blutsonntag (Altona Bloody Sunday) on July 17, 1932, the so-called Preußenschlag (Prussian Coup) unfolded: by ordinance, Reich Chancellor Franz von Papen appointed himself Reich Commissioner for Prussia and declared the democratically legitimized Prussian government deposed. The Prussian Schutzpolizei thus came under the control of the Reich – a decisive step on the path to the National Socialist seizure of power.
The shako type demonstrated remarkable longevity as a police headdress, surviving several dramatic political changes. This form of headdress was worn by civilian police forces of the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, East Germany, and West Germany. It finally disappeared in the 1970s, when the various police forces of West Germany adopted a standardized green and light fawn uniform that included the high-fronted peaked cap.
This enlisted men’s shako of the Prussian Schutzpolizei is a compelling artifact from one of the most consequential and tragic epochs of German history. It embodies the Weimar Republic’s attempt to establish and defend democratic institutions through a loyal police force – an effort ultimately undone by the convergence of anti-democratic forces. Fitted with its star bearing the Prussian eagle, lacquered cockade, and leather storm strap on button 91, and noted as size 56 with clear signs of service wear (condition 2-), this shako bears the marks of genuine field use. For the serious collector, it represents an authentic document of Weimar-era policing and the fragile democracy it was meant to protect.
