English: Schutzpolizei der Gendarmerie Tschako, the characteristic
shako ("bump hat") of the
Schutzpolizei (Protection Police) of Nazi Germany.
Gendarmerie were state rural police and part of the
Ordnungspolizei (Orpo), the "regular police" in the Third Reich.
The shako has a large, high relief, stamped, natural aluminum wreathed Police eagle and swastika emblem and a stamped alloy, vertically oval, national tri-color cockade.
Most German police forces adopted a version of the Jäger shako, after World War I, which replaced the spiked leather helmet (Pickelhaube) that had become identified with the previous Imperial regime. This new headdress survived several political changes and was worn by the civil 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 standardised green and light fawn uniform that included the high-fronted peaked cap that is still worn. See Shako, M1936: O/RS, Schutzpolizei (SchuPo, the regular police) in the collections of The Imperial War Museum, UK.
Photo taken on 8 May 2019 at
Lofoten War Memorial Museum (Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum) in Svolvær, Norway. The museum exhibits uniforms, smaller items, etc. from World War II and
the German occupation of Norway 1940–1945.