BACKGROUND: The German army had a tradition, dating from the 1700's, of maintaining a separate branch of Verwaltungs Beamten (Administration Officials), attached to the army to oversee all administrative functions, thus freeing up active army Officers and allowing them to concentrate on actual military matters. The Officials were responsible for a wide variety of administrative tasks from Court Martial, Librarian, Supply, Technical and Meteorological Services, to School, Barracks, and Hospital administration. Most Official’s careers consisted of four varying grades, of high, elevated, medium and low grade with slightly differing, identifying insignia for each grade. The grade of the career was determined by the education and/or experience of the individual. During the Weimar, Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era the Officials were divided into military and civilian personnel until December 22^ND 1934 when the German High Command did away with the differentiation and consolidate all the officials into the newly formed Wehrmachtbeamte-Heer, (Armed Forces Officials-Army). Regulations of March 12^TH 1937 reorganized the Officials and instituted the new Beamte auf Kriegsdauer a.K., (Wartime Officials for the duration of the war), to be activated in times of mobilization. Originally the uniformed Officials were allotted an identifying, dark green waffenfarbe, (Branch of Service Color), with a nebenfarbe, (Secondary Color), to indicate their actual career. Uniform insignia regulations of March 21^ST 1940, replaced the assorted secondary colors with a secondary color of light grey for all Officials, regardless of career or function and altered the standard blue/green collar on the field blouses, service tunics, and greatcoats as well as on the centerband of the visor caps to blue/grey. Generally the Officials wore the same uniforms as standard army EM/NCO’s and Officers with some minor variations and the special Official’s insignia, that included "HV", cyphers, on the shoulder straps/boards, indicating, Heeres Verwaltungs, (Army Administration). In late 1939 another group of Officials designated, Kriegs-Militärverwaltungsbeamten, (War-Military Administration Officials), was established to provide administrative services in the territories occupied by the German military. Regulations of August 5^TH 1941 altered the designation of these personnel to MVB, Militär Verwaltungs Beamten, (Military Administration Officials). The MVB personnel also wore the same uniforms as standard army EM/NCO’s and Officers but with some minor variations from the other Officials as per regulations of December 22^ND 1939, that included replacing the shoulder strap/board, "HV" cyphers with a Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), national eagle cypher. In January 1944 the Army instituted a new career for Officers and certain Officials, entitled, TSD, Truppensonderdienst, (Special Troops Service). This new career used light blue waffenfarbe and did away with nebenfarben as worn by Officials in the other careers. On May 1^ST 1944 all high grade career Administrative Officials were transferred to the TSD. Of Note: The confusing array of Officials and their insignia regulations resulted in many of the regulations being understandably, misapplied or ignored. This example is a M36 style field blouse with administrative Officer’s/Official’s insignia.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Slightly mottled, field-grey wool/rayon blend construction M36 style field blouse with a lay down, blue/grey badge cloth collar, features a vertical, five button front closure with dual, metal hooks and eyes positioned at the forward neckline. The field blouse has four, pleated, patch, front pockets with scalloped button down flaps. The right breast has an Officer’s quality, hand embroidered, national eagle with out-stretched wings, clutching a wreathed, canted swastika in it’s talons, in bright, silver/aluminum wire threads with bright, silver bullion and dark green accent threads, mounted on a cut-out, blue/green, badge cloth base. The eagle is handstitched in place. The field blouse has four sets of three, vertically aligned, stitched eyelets, with one set situated at either side of the front closure and two to either side of the back panel, at the waistline. The eyelets were designed for the belt support hooks. The belt support hooks are absent. The back panel has two, short, vertical, tapering darts and a short, central, vertical, tail skirt vent. The straight cut sleeve cuffs each have a small, vertical slash to the outside seam with dual, fit adjustment, buttons to each. The field blouse has sewn on, post-March 1940, administrative shoulder boards in matte, silver/aluminum Russian braid with an interwoven, fine, dark green stripe separating the two outer and inner braids, a single, silver washed, stamped, alloy rank pip and a silver washed, stamped, aluminum alloy, overlapping, stylized, "HV", cypher indicating Heeres Verwaltung, (Army Administration), to each. The boards are mounted on a dark green wool waffenfarbe bases with light grey wool nebenfarbe, (secondary color). The secondary color is sandwiched between the Russian braid and the green base and is just visible at the sides. One of the shoulder boards, along with the pebbled, alloy screw-post retaining button have been removed from the field blouse, but are included. The field blouse has a lay down, blue/grey badge cloth construction collar with the typical, zig-zag reinforcement stitching to the reverse. The collar features the post-March 1940 pattern, light grey wool construction collar tabs with hand embroidered, pointed tip, litzen in matte, silver/aluminum wire threads with the regulation "V" patterned, dark green wire center stripes. The collar tabs are trimmed on all but the forward edge in green rayon waffenfarbe piping. The collar tabs are handstitched to the collar and a few stitches are absent to each. The collar tabs and shoulder boards indicate an elevated and/or a medium career grade Official with the equivalent rank/position of an Oberleutnant. The interior of the field blouse is partially lined in ribbed, grey, cotton twill. The lining runs down either side of the front closure with additional panels to both the upper breast and back. The lining has a vertical, patch, field dressing pocket to the right, forward, tail skirt with a single button closure and a period added, patch pocket of reed green, cotton/rayon material with an HBT, (Herring Bone Twill), weave, neatly handstitched to the upper left breast panel. The lining also has small, opened slashes at each shoulder panel and at the mid-back panel to accommodate the internal belt support hook retaining straps. The separate internal belt support hook retaining straps are absent. All five of the collar liner attachment devices are intact consisting of three, folding metal clips and two buttons. The lining to the right, front, closure panel is well marked with purple size inkstamps, the faint black inkstamped manufacturer’s acronym and location, "Ligo Ostpr. 2", presumably indicating, Landes Lieferungs Genossenschaft Ostpreussen, (State Supply Cooperative/Association East Prussia 2). The lining to the right, front, closure panel also has an additional, unknown, purple inkstamp, "K 42", within a rectangular border. Generally this type of marking is associated with the army clothing depots and date of issue, but we’ve never encountered such a marking within a rectangular border.? The field blouse is in overall good condition with minor age and usage toning, light chafe wear to the cuffs and collar edges and a few small spots of moth grazing resulting in some lost nap. The front closure, exterior pocket and shoulder strap buttons are the field-grey and blue/grey painted, pebbled alloy type and retain the vast majority of their respective paints. The cuff, field dressing pocket and collar liner buttons are the ersatz, pressed, grey cardboard type and most of the buttons appear to have their original stitching. The field blouse is roughly size 38", (96.5cm), chest.