Why the Most Brutal Nazi Officers Got to Wear this Metal Plate



Behind the German lines of World War 2, an enigmatic emblem caught the eye. A crescent-shaped plate of polished metal hung around the neck and rested upon the chest of some of the Nazi’s most feared soldiers. Gleaming and detailed with intricate engravings, it was worn with pride, symbolizing the wearer’s unwavering commitment and chilling authority.

This emblem, known as the gorget, marked the Feldgendarmerie, Germany’s terrifying military police. Initially, in territories beneath the Wehrmacht’s control, they were charged with seemingly straightforward tasks: overseeing traffic, managing populations, and quelling resistance. But as the war intensified, the weight of their duty grew heavier.

By 1943, the bearers of the shining gorget were tasked with holding the line of discipline within the vast Wehrmacht. They transformed into the ultimate guardians of loyalty, the final bulwark against even a whisper of dissent. The meaning of the gorget soon darkened to serve as a stern reminder of the force that bound the German military’s resolve.

In the shadows, hushed voices began bestowing eerie nicknames that seemed to echo with a foreboding resonance. Terms like “Kettenhunde” (chained dogs) and “Heldenklauer” (hero-snatchers) soon spread, turning them into looming specters of a wartime Germany that was on the verge of unraveling…

As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. –

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37 thoughts on “Why the Most Brutal Nazi Officers Got to Wear this Metal Plate”

  1. Gorgets was (is?) in use in Norwegian military:
    – “Officer of the day”, responsible for the camp (red band gorget)
    – officer of the guards, responsible for the guards (green(?) band gorget)
    – inspecting officer, responsible for order and style in the camp (black (?) band gorget)
    I left the forces in 2005 and at least these where used then.

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  2. As told to me by my father who served in North Africa . Germans fought hard and comments were made by them when captured about the actions of the German Field Police. My dad didn’t believe the stories. When he was in Italy bogged down by weather , moral was very low, some UK troops refused to move etc. Enter the UK Battle Police, so what did they do to motivate the men, and maintain moral and a willingness to advance and fight. Dad tells me he had seen men tied up with barbed wire at the side of the road guarded by the Battle Police armed with pickaxe handles. Other stories circulated that they would discharge their Webley side arm near to a man`s head. Well this could well be just stories, but you don’t have to be a Nazis .

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  3. The germans were not brutal or murderous. They had very specific and harsh laws against any misconduct on the battlefield. Rapists, murderers, thieves, were all dealt with accordingly. The German was defending his homeland and his Christianity from the communists who won WW2. Now that the 3rd world is invading Europe and America is performing sex change operations on children, I'm sure we can all sit back and feel so fortunate that we're now speaking German, right?

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  4. Your thumbnail shows a MP , they had these metal signs as identification for military police
    It has nothing to do with Bering an officer or be “ special “
    Do your homework!

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  5. So the US came to Germany and eradicated Hitler but essentially just took over his role by taking over his police and continuing his scientific work…. And just happen to have non stop “conflicts” ever since… weird.

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  6. The worst were the Feldjäger they were directly from the OKW.
    The Feldgendarmerie were under control of the Division.

    Die Feldjäger im Zweiten Weltkrieg bestanden aus drei verschiedenen Organisationen:

    Die Feldgendarmerie, die die größte und bekannteste war. Sie trugen eine metallene Plakette mit der Aufschrift “Feldgendarmerie” an ihrer Uniform.

    Die Geheime Feldpolizei, die dem Geheimen Staatspolizeiamt (Gestapo Heydrich / Himmler) unterstand und für die politische Überwachung und Verfolgung zuständig war.

    Die Feldjägerkommandos, die eine Eliteeinheit aus erfahrenen Frontsoldaten waren, die direkt dem Oberkommando der Wehrmacht unterstellt waren und für besondere Einsätze eingesetzt wurden.

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  7. I wonder if they used the gorget as a plate for dining, an ashtray during card games, or as a toy boomerang. It would be interesting to see what the aerodynamic properties were.

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  8. ドイツともっとうまい付き合い方と、懸念と疑念をヒットラーへと表すことをするべきであったような気がする、我が皇国であった。ドイツとの同盟は時雨であったが、全くの敵の敵を仲間とするものでしかなかったのは、やはり基本的にドイツにおいての黄禍論的なアジア観、つまり、ヨーロッパ人においてのアジアといえば植民地か今でいう中国のことであって、大陸おいてはかつて日本人も敵であったからだろうか。
    もっと技術や戦略性を交換することは可能だったはずだが、やはり、連絡に距離がありすぎたのだろうか。
    天皇は聡くドイツイタリアとの同盟締結には将来的な危機のみを感じていたらしい。

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  9. misleading and simply wrong clickbait title. sad to see that becoming more and more frequent on this channel.

    but i guess you have to resort to such matters if your content cant convince with quality.

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  10. That metal plate was used also by NCOs and soliders, and not just SS(or "NAZI"), but also by the regular army Feldjandarmeri(or military police). So, the only difference betwen that and the normal MP band is that the WW2 german variant has a richer history.

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