Original German Pre-WWI Weimar Period Rheinland Fire Police Officer’s Belt & Buckle Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Pre-WWII Weimar Republic Era German Fire Department Officer’s belt, from the area of Western Germany known as the Rheinland. This was also often called the Rheinprovinz (Rhein Province), and as one might guess, was the area around the Rhine River. This area was part of the de-militarized zone following WWI. These belts would be worn with the standard fire officer’s uniform of the time.

The belt is fabricated from a thick leather, smooth dark brown upper, raw underside with the typical long leather tab with two rows of holes, which allow the pronged end clasp to adjust the length of the belt. Overall this belt is about 38-39 inches long when let out all the way.

It has a plated bronze buckle on the right end, which has coat of arms of the Rheinland, a shield with a river flowing at a 45 degree angle, surmounted by a spread-winged Weimar Republic eagle. This itself is surrounded by a laurel wreath, and the back of the buckle has a clip for attaching to the end clasp. The belt also features two sliding keepers with metal rings on the bottom, for attaching a sword or dress bayonet, a symbol of authority.

Condition is quite good, with lots of the original plating present on the buckle and clasp, with some brass showing through on the wear points. The belt is in great shape, with minimal wear, and is currently somewhat stiff. The belt does not appear to have seen much use at all, though it does have some cracking in the finish due to age.

A very nice and interesting Weimar Period German belt, ready to display!

The Weimar Republic (German: Weimarer Republik), officially the German Reich (Deutsches Reich), also referred to as the German People’s State (Deutscher Volksstaat) or simply the German Republic (Deutsche Republik), was the German state from 1918 to 1933. As a term, it is an unofficial historical designation that derives its name from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place. The official name of the republic remained the German Reich as it had been during the German Empire because of the German tradition of substates.

Although commonly translated as “German Empire,” Reich here better translates as “realm” in that the term does not necessarily have monarchical connotations in itself. The Reich was changed from a constitutional monarchy into a republic. In English, the country was usually known simply as Germany, and the Weimar Republic name became mainstream only in the 1930s.