Аукцион Bidspirit | Third Reich Police Long Service

Third Reich Police Long Service Award Document Named to Hauptmann Michael Finken, Berlin 1938 - A printed award document (Verleihungsurkunde) issued in the name of the Führer und Reichskanzler, granting the Polizei-Dienstauszeichnung zweiter Stufe (Police Long Service Award, 2nd Class) to Hauptmann der Schutzpolizei Michael Finken of Berlin, in recognition of 18 years of faithful service in the police. The text is dated Berlin, 29 November 1938, and bears the printed title of the Staatsminister und Chef der Präsidialkanzlei des Führers und Reichskanzlers with an ink signature reading Meissner, along with an embossed seal at the lower left. Otto Meissner served as Chief of the Presidential Chancellery under both the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, and his signature appears on a wide range of official state documents, including awards and commendations issued in Hitler's name during this period. The Polizei-Dienstauszeichnung was instituted in 1938 to recognise long and loyal service within the German police, which by that time had been progressively absorbed into the SS and Nazi state apparatus under Himmler's authority. The 2nd Class award, as here, was granted for eighteen years of service, with higher grades reserved for longer tenure. Otto Meissner's continuous role as Chief of the Presidential Chancellery across the Weimar and National Socialist periods reflects the administrative continuity that allowed many state institutions, including the police, to be absorbed into the machinery of the Nazi regime.