The imperial control department of the NSDAP

The first years of their existence, the members of the NSDAP and the SA did not wear uniform uniforms , most of them were wearing unsuited outerwear, gray caps and armbands with a swastika. ^[one]

After the ban on NSDAP activity was lifted, Adolf Hitler already in 1925, in his “Directives on the reorganization of the NSDAP and the SA ” ( Richtlinien zur Neuaufstellung von NSDAP und SA ), pointed to the mandatory wearing of uniform brown shirts by ground attack planes in order to eliminate recognition errors in streetwear. battles that in the run-up to numerous elections in the days of the Weimar Republic were a matter of course. ^[one]

In 1927, brown caps and colored insignia were introduced to introduce uniformity in the SA uniform , which by then consisted of brown shirts , breeches, and boots . All uniforms in the period from 1926 to 1927 . was to be acquired exclusively through the SA Economic Department ( SA-Wirtschaftsstelle ) in Munich .

Until 1933, the National Socialists, however, did not always have a single uniform because many of them did not have the means to purchase it, while numerous orders and prohibitions prevented independent form- making. ^[1] In connection with the significant growth of attack aircraft formations, Hitler instructed the CA leadership to create a “ Zeugmeisterei ” ( Tailoring , Manufacturing, Supply Department, its elements, equipment , various accessories and accessories ). Subsequently, similar departments were also established in a number of other major cities of Nazi Germany .

Coordination of the activities of all these departments was entrusted to the institution in Munich , which led to the assignment of the name “ Reichszeugmeisterei ” (hereinafter - RZM ).

In 1930, all the above mentioned departments of control were subordinated to the Reichshamasmaster (financial manager) of the NSDAP or to the reichsler Xavier Schwarz .

The provision of a monopoly to the Office of RZM for the granting of permits for the manufacture and trade of uniforms and ammunition planned for 1933 was secured in 1934 with the adoption of the law “ On the protection of the government of the national revival from insidious attacks on the state, party and uniforms ” of December 30, 1934 ( Gesetz gegen heimtückische Angriffe auf Staat und Partei und zum Schutz der Parteiuniformen ) ^{[Comm. 2] [2]} , at the same time it was transformed into the General Directorate of Economic Department VIII of the NSDAP .

From this point on, all party structural divisions and related organizations were to coordinate their own supply of uniforms and equipment only through this department.

RZM fully regulated all activities related to the manufacture and supply of uniforms and equipment, defining and developing standards for the manufacture, production and quality of materials and products supplied, up to the accompanying production of a table of fabric colors for the textile industry . The well-distinguished "security mark of the RZM NSDAP department" on the product, which included, besides information in the form of a code about the industry, product group and year of manufacture, also the identification number of the manufacturing company, must necessarily either be attached to the product or applied to it stamp or industrial marking was applied to metal products using engraving and stamping . Without an authorization patent RZM, for the receipt of which the duty was paid, not a single enterprise had the right to sell or manufacture uniforms or equipment to the units and organizations of the NSDAP . According to the RZM department, by the middle of 1934 there were about 15,000 large and small enterprises throughout the Reich
1,500 street vendors, 75,000 sewing workshops and 15,000 trading establishments, the so-called “brown stores” ( braune Läden ), received this approval document. ^[one]

Firms that sought to supply the products of NSDAP were obliged to obtain a license from the RZM department with the assignment of a serial number code, which marked the products manufactured by them. At the same time, product quality was subject to strict control by the RZM department. If the products of a company ceased to meet the quality requirements, the manufacturer lost the RZM number code, and the right to manufacture this product (s) passed directly to the NSDAP .

Testing of various types of products was carried out first with the involvement of veterans and disabled of the First World War , then with the beginning of the Second World War - prisoners of war . In Munich , partially warehousing and shipment of all types of uniforms and ammunition was carried out to the addressees. ^{[1] [3]}

The supply of weapons , ammunition and other equipment in Nazi Germany was carried out and controlled by the Army Armaments Office ( Heereswaffenamt ).

The RZM office building in Munich is a remarkable example of the architecture of Nazi Germany . It was built in the period from 1935 to 1937 . Munich architects Paul Hofer (Paul Hofer) and Karl Johann Fischer (Karl Johann Fischer) with the inclusion in the complex of the old factory building.

An unusual structure hides behind the facade of a natural building stone - these are steel frame structures filled with brickwork . ^{[Comm. 3]} In the course of the work, a construction method developed by Friedrich Krupp AG ( Friedrich Krupp AG ) was used for the first time: the ceilings of the interior and the roof of the building itself were covered with steel plates - for better protection from air raids.

With the inclusion of Bavaria in the American occupation zone in 1945 in the building, after the dismantling of the arch of the main entrance of the imperial eagle and the swastika , the American military administration was located. After the withdrawal of American troops from their locations in Munich in the 1990s, the headquarters of the Munich Police Station was housed in the building. ^{[3] [4]}

Marking example: RZM M4 / 72

• 72 - identification number / manufacturer's number of "Wilhelm Deum" (Wilhelm Deum) from Lüdenscheid
• M4 - designates metal products ( M ) and belt buckles ( 4 )

In Nazi Germany, for various types of uniforms and equipment, there were hundreds of various numbers-codes RZM. However, there was no such marking on samples of uniforms and ammunition of ground forces, air forces and navy , since the units and formations of these types of troops did not belong to the structural units of the NSDAP .

• Nazi Party and RZM (Eng.)
• Examples of cold weapons marking by Eickhorn, Solingen (inaccessible link) (German)
• RZM "M7" codes: cold weapons (Rus.)

• Nazi Germany Land Weapons Administration
• [1] Codes LDO - Association of manufacturers of awards since the year of its foundation 1941. (German)
• [2] Trademarks and RZM codes "M7". (eng.)
• [3] Shortened encoding of manufacturers. (him)
• [4] Coding of German manufacturing firms. (eng.)
• [5] LDO codes (Imperial office suppliers and award manufacturers). (eng.)