It's Finally Here...German Police Volume 2

[BPA-Paul]

Hi Hugh

We are neighbours ! im in FTG Melbourne outer East .

Didnot know you you were so close, I had an idea you were going to say Hylands Bookshop, great bookshop and i will say hello to Neil.

When i get a copy i would love you to sign it, that would be great.

30 Years in Milan !! ...... Hugh, your more Italian than me

Will send you a pm, Thanks mate, Paul.

[stonemint]

Just got mine from Amazon--and of course, it was damaged.....

However, it is a fantastic book, and even having skimmed the book in its damaged state, I see 2 things I never saw before--the RAB uniforms, and a visor with a wool top and red piping for the Verkehrspolizei.

Anyway, I have to return the book, so my "instant gratification" will have to be delayed.

PS--some great contributions (both text and pics) from members of this forum!

[Mark C. Yerger]

I avoid Amazon whenever possible. Have nothing good to say about any experience. I'd rather go to the publisher or author direct. Better serice, undamaged, and rather see the money go to the creator than some overly big giant where they couldn't care less obviously. When I do buy from a dealer I prefer the small ones. Amazon is like Wal-Mart, trying to kill off everyone and then decide what you want and how you'll be treated. No thanks.

[JoeW]

Hugh, I just received my copy. The extent and detail you included in your enterprise is astounding. Congradulations.

[HPT]

Thanks Joe for your kind words which, coming from one of the greatest experts on the Police, is praise indeed.

As I posted on the 16th of this month, amongst the positive feedback are coming some disappointing - though constructive - comments on some fakes slipping between the covers of Volume 2. My attention has been drawn to some sleeve eagles, and the Police Ski Instructor's Badge (page 157).

This is very disappointing, for a couple of reasons. First, rather naively I suppose, I thought that the blood, sweat and tears (well almost!) that went into trying to get the book just right, would make our new born baby 100% perfect. Well, that WAS naive. Second, and far more important, amongst what I want the series to offer is a reliable guide to readers when it comes to checking on the originality of an item they are tempted to buy. So far the suggestion that 4 sleeve birds and one metal badge may not be of pre-May 1945 construction is not bad going, considering the huge number of badges illustrated in that book. But to me, a perfectionist, this is already too many!

So first we need to correct the record. I cannot guarantee when Volume 3 will be ready, and with it an appendix that will hopefully correct the record. But it will certainly not be for some years and that leaves the need to put out a warning asap.

I'm not really the one to manage this part of the story. Basically I write about the history, organization and leadership of the branches of the Police covered in each book and am neither a collector nor a dealer. That said, I like to think I can write sensibly about badges, etc., and describe who wore them, when and why. But I always shy away from friends at gun shows who come to me with some item they are thinking of trading for their week's (or month's or year's) salary and ask me if it's OK. Horses for courses as they say. I direct them to dealers and collectors I know and can trust, as they - not I - have the "feel" of the original vis-a'-vis the repro.

But I'd be happy to gather together all comments on our work, especially suggestions that such-and-such a badge may be (or definitely is) is a fake, and refer this to Jack, Roger &/or a recognised expert in the field in question. After careful appraisal, I guarantee to share the verdict with our readers. Now that will certainly be in the Corrections and Additions appendix to Volume 3 but, if we possibly can, I'd like to get this information (and caveats) out to our readers sooner, perhaps on this Forum.

So I'll bore everyone stiff again by asking those who get to see the book to let me know what they think about it, especially pointing to any errors they may suspect or be certain about.

It's all part of the learning process - and my sincere wish to make this THE reference on the German Police. It take a lot of work and this must not be allowed to tarnish the superb work Jack and Roger put into it.

hpt

[Dave C.]

Hello Hugh, At this point I can only image just how much effort goes into such a massive publication and I greatly appreciate all of your efforts! I would also like to compliment your willingness to make yourself approachable to everyone about any criticism of the suspect items, confusion, etc. that has creped into Volume 2. From experience, I also understand that it's impossible to be 100% all the time, especially in a field that is continually evolving as this one has in a wide variety of unique aspects. It also seems that when a police collector digs deeper into the German police they quickly become aware of the immensity of the subject, which has created collectors/members that have become, if you will, "specialists" in further defined areas other than just the police in general. So we often find ourselves relying upon others strengths for guidance as it's impossible to 100% about every unique aspect.

Hugh, your thoughts on this please > With the above in mind and in thought of providing a good place for reference of errors and or suspect items for discussion, I'd like to propose being a vacillator of kinds for others here to privately PM or email concern they may have to my attention that will be organized into a single thread that I will administer until necessary corrections appear in the hopeful event of Volume 3. Personally I think it would be a good attempted to help organize and distribute information for all sooner than later. Just a suggestion I'm tossing out there for your consideration. Thanks!

[JoeW]

Hugh, on page 98 you remark "Note: An old wive's tale persists that the comb on the back of the eagle's head is indicative of a postwar copy, which is incorrect." The attached advertisement from the Johann Tischler embroidery copy from the mid 1980s was shown on police forums with a caveat that post-war eagles with combs or cockatoo heads exist and could indicate a postwar copy. Caveat emptor. Your note is incorrect.

[HPT]

Dave

Your kind words are music to my ears. Sometimes I wonder if critics actually have any idea of just how much work goes into this kind of book. Not that I shy away from criticism: far from it, as already posted above, I will derive great satisfaction from all and any comments, corrections, suggestions and additions that come in. But sadly past experience shows that after a short-lived flutter of letters, emails and now posts to Forums like this one, interest soon ebbs away and dies.

So your suggestion is very welcome to me personally, as it could act as a catalyst to generate and keep alive a greater flow of the feedback we need and which can only advance our knowledge and understanding.

That said, I must repeat that this "Bender" Police series is a joint effort, with Jack, Roger and me making our own contributions, backed of course by that small army (in this context I should perhaps say "force"!) of helpers who we have acknowledged in Volumes 1 and 2 and hope to be able to thank again in the future. Suggestions that a few post-May 1945 items have been illustrated need to be considered first and foremost by Jack, then Roger and me, and as I've already stated - and I'm not trying to dodge the bullet here - I'm not the best one to deal with this.

I believe that any initiative you can take - and you Dave are the ideal interlocutor here on this Forum - will be a good move as it should encourage the feedback we want. That it flows in to you in PMs, so you can sort and catalogue it and then present it in an orderly and logical format, seems good news to me. But I believe we also need to be careful because, no matter how well-informed people may be, and how honest and constructive their intentions, it may just be that some incorrect comments may flow in. Again, I'm no arbiter when it comes to knowing a good fake from the genuine article. So before any suggestion is made that such and such a badge is a fake, let's be absolutely certain that is the informed consensus of who knows about such matters.

So as far as I'm concerned, the more feedback that comes in the better - and having this sorted and presented in an orderly fashion thanks to you will be ideal. We should all be grateful to you for that.

That said, hopefully we are only faced with a very few examples and so the demands on your time will not be great. In any event, all additions and corrections that do flow in will be included in an appendix to Volume 3.

Thanks so much for your interest and for being such a valuable contributor to knowledge contained in our books in particular, and made available on this Forum in general.

hpt

[HPT]

Joe

Thanks so much for this interesting input, which I'll be examining with Jack in due course.

We'll be back in touch on this Forum as soon as we can.

hpt

[Dave Suter]

Happy to see that it finally came out. Haven't bought a copy yet but looked through my kid's. I did send Jack some of my items, but it was so long ago that I don't recall what all I sent him. In any event, only one of my pieces made it into this volume, but I'm glad I could contribute something. When I first started collecting Jack was my mentor, and a lot of my favorites (mostly Heer) came from him.

[Transpspeer]

Hello, Hugh.

First of all, let me say thanks to you and John Angolia for this wonderful reference book. And here are some first-glance corrections.

page 7, line 1: "Graduate of the Virginia Military Institute in 1859";

page 807, line 2: "...for the Reichsamt Technische Nothilde"

page 783, correction to page 372 in Vol.1: "...he was then identified in this same photograph by 'Max History' in his post to Axis History Forum of 14 February 2004..."

page 719, footnote 228: "The capital of Lithuania is Talinn (Reval to Germans)...". Actually, the Talinn is capital of Estonia. The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius (Wilna to Germans).

page 316, line 1: "The Municipal Police (Gemeindepolizei, or Gempo) were the constabula-ies in the small to medium sized towns across Germany".

Regards,
Igor