Original German WWII National Forestry Service Officials Leather Belt with Buckle by F. W. Assmann & Söhne

Original Item: Only One Available. After the NSDAP takeover in 1933, the various German State Forestry agencies were consolidated into the Reichsforst Beamte (National Forestry Service) on April 22 1938. Following this uniform regulations introduced the Official’s belt buckle to replace the assorted pattern belt buckles worn by official’s of the various state organizations. The new pattern buckle came in a burnished black finish for wear with the service uniform, natural aluminum for the parade and dress uniform and in a gilt finish for ranks of Oberlandesforstmeister and above. The natural aluminum buckles were worn on both a dark green leather and brocade belts. All National Forestry Service belts and buckles were then discontinued in late 1943.

This is a very nice German WWII Era Deutscher Forstverein Gürtel und Schnalle (German Forestry Association Belt and Buckle), only the second example that we have had, and the first came with a tunic. This was the standard belt worn by officials / officers during their regular service in the country, and is not a type of dress belt, even tough it has that style of buckle.

The belt buckle and double square rings are of die struck/stamped aluminum alloy based construction, which has been oxide washed, much of which is still retained. It depicts the "spread wing" Civic Reichsadler National Eagle facing to the left on a pebbled background that is surrounded by an oak leaf wreath tied together at the bottom with a ribbon. The buckle is marked on the back with the "barred A" trademark logo of F. W. Assmann & Söhne of Lüdenscheid, a large maker of belts, buttons, and other accoutrements. The buckle has a great broken in look, with some wear through to the aluminum base material, as well as some dents around the edge.

The buckle is attached by its double square ring to a long quality black patent leather belt with olive green felt padding on the interior. It has a leather length adjustment tab, as seen on standard leather belts, and there are also two snaps that make a loop to secure the buckle on the belt, which we have seen on other forestry belts. There is an aluminum claw clasp that attaches to this and hooks together with the buckle, which is attached to a leather tab with a double row of seven holes on it. The belt itself measures about 37” from the buckle to the clip in the longest position, and there is also an 85 stamped on the leather adjustment tab, for 85cm (33.46 inches).

The belt is overall in very good shape, with the leather still mostly supple, showing only light wear. There is some moth damage to the felt padding on the interior, almost impossible to avoid after such a long period of time. There is also some cracking to the finish of the leather adjustment tab, however the leather itself is still sound. Both leather sliders are in great shape.

Overall a great example of a hard to find WWII German Forestry Association Official's Belt by a desirable maker, ready to display!

The Forstverein (Forestry Association) was a civil union, founded in 1899, whose members were either Foresters or Forest owners and was founded to give more "power" to their interests when dealing with the Governments of the states or the Reich. Their "targets" were mainly economical with some "spreads" of caring for nature and forests. The aim of the association was: to take care of the German forest, the promotion of forest economy and science and the exchange of personal ideas. After the NSDAP took over Germany, the various Forestry Groups were folded under the NSDAP umbrella.

The Forstschutzkommando (FSK), or simply Forstschutz was a uniformed and armed para-military security formation raised in late 1939. Composed of some 10,000 volunteers, it was recruited from forestry officials and forest workers and headed by Landesforstmeister Ernst Boden. Hermann Göring, as the Reichsforstmeister, was its "supreme commander".

After having received brief training, the first 2,000 so-called Forstschützen were put into action in wooded areas in occupied Poland. Here, they provided security for lumber transports and -storage places and sawmills, as well as being employed to combat wood-thieves and poachers and to arrest "unauthorized" persons in the forests. They were authorized to use firearms in the case of resistance or attempted escapes.

In July 1941, the Forstschutz took charge of the Bialowies forest, a former hunting ground of the Czar and important area for the lumber industry. The civilian population was evacuated from Göring's new Reichsforst, with their villages and farms being burnt to the ground and two small Jewish communities being liquidated as well.

In the summer of 1942, Forstschutz units were dispatched to the Reichs Commissariats of "Ostland" and the Ukraine. Here, they were used in anti-partisan operations, suffering significant casualties in the process themselves.

Apart from their original security tasks and anti-partisan operations, Forstschutz personnel were involved in the capture and liquidation of Jews, who had managed to keep from being arrested or who had escaped from Ghettoes and were hiding in the forests. Apparently, Forstschutz men were also actively involved in the liquidation of Jewish Ghettoes if regular SS- and Police forces were not available.

Later, during the large-scale German fighting retreat, Forstschutz units even participated in military combat engagements in an infantry role.