WW2 Third Reich Customs Officials Shoulder Board

A WW2 Third Reich Customs (Zoll) Official epaulette. The Green & silver epaulette with silver and green inner sections, on a green wool field. Metal 'RZD' (Reichszolldienst) monogram .Zollgrenzschutz (ZGS) (lit. 'Customs Border Guards') was an organization under the German Finance Ministry from 1937 to 1945. It was charged with guarding Germany's borders, acting as a combination Border Patrol and Customs & Immigration service.

In Nazi Germany it was formed in 1937 by Fritz Reinhardt, a State Secretary of the Finance Ministry. It came to comprise about 50,000 officials. The Border Police (Grenzpolizei), which had the tasks of passport and border control, was different from the Customs Border Guards (Zollgrenzschutz).

Heinrich Himmler tried to bring the Zollgrenzschutz under the control of the Schutzstaffel (SS), which was unsuccessful at first. During the war, the units were used in occupied territories outside of Germany. A significant portion of younger officials were recruited to the Wehrmacht, leaving the Zollgrenzschutz with older men. After the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler, the units were taken out of the control of the Finance Ministry and placed under Amt IV (Gestapo) of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA)

Photo in the gallery of Oberzollrat of the Zollgrenzschutz [far left] with Field Marshal Ernst Rommel [middle]

Code: 19481