The following article is taken largely verbatim from "Officials", an article appearing in Kettenhunde: The Newsletter of Feldgendarmerie-Trupp (Mot.) 200, Volume IV, Number 1 (Jan/Feb 1994).  The article was authored by LTC Louis H. Brown; minor changes in grammar and organization have been made.

The concept of uniformed civilian personnel in the military is somewhat difficult to understand.  A particularly European idea, the German Army probably took the idea to its limits in institutionalization.

HISTORY

In early European armies, soldiers fought while civilians were hired on to provide certain services.  A prime consideration in this was money; armies in the 17th and 18th centuries represented a significant chunk of a state's budget.  Services and items needed only for war were an unnecessary expenditure in peacetime, and armies grew to depend on hired civilians for certain items and services.  It was usual, for example, to hire civilian drivers and their oxen teams to move artillery during campaigns, sparing the expense of maintaining the animals and drivers at all times.  It was not long before an interface between the soldier-commander and these providers became necessary in order to ensure that the commander got what he wanted.  In both the French and German armies (and no doubt others as well), the go-between was usually a civilian appointed on a royal patent of authority to provide the army with supply and services.  This individual, who gradually assumed the duties associated with what we would call a chief of supply and logistics, was generally afforded a title and a "pecking order" ranking which placed him in a relative relationship with serving soldiers.  Comte de Rochambeau (commander of the French forces sent to North America during the War for Independence) had assigned to his suite a Maréchal de camp who was the equivalent of a brigadier general; his uniform, of a distinct pattern and color, nevertheless bore the same rank distinctions as a general officer of equivalent rank.

This system, well-entrenched in the German Armed Forces, survived to the end of the Great War.  Well-developed in terms of uniforms, insignia, and authority, the officials provided the German Army many of its personnel and logistics services as well as being responsible for most supply and victualling.

OFFICIALS IN THE WEHRMACHT

Most officials (called Beamten) ranked equivalent to officers; there were some with equivalent Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (Senior NCO) ranks.  They were members of the Armed Forces according to the Law of Land Warfare, but were not "soldiers" by the German definition. As officials, their authority extended only to their specialty field -- unlike soldiers, whose authority extends to anyone whom the individual outranks.  Beamten could not hold command. They were entitled to all the customs and courtesies associated with their rank/status, however.  In the social order of the day, being an officer was the peak of the pyramid, if you couldn't be a regular officer, being a reserve officer was next best, and a very close approximation of that would have been appointment as an official.  In addition to those performing personnel, supply, and logistics functions, army chaplains, doctors, bandmasters and veterinarians were also officials, although their uniforms differed significantly from those of the other officials in being basically those of active officers with distinguishing insignia.

The main difference between officer and official status depended much on education.  Officials were by no means lesser-educated officers -- many had university degrees (which few officers did) -- but they did not meet the professional education/training requirements for appointment as officers or soldiers.  Most officials tended to remain such although if the military education qualifications were met, appointment as an officer or soldier could be made.  In 1944 the Germans began to laterally appoint all officials to regular officer ranks; how far this program went is conjectural since it was begun so late. Those taken over wore regular officer uniforms.  Several new "branches", with corresponding branch colours and insignia, were created to accommodate these individuals. Many officials, by the way, were Zwoelfender ("Twelvers" -- from the 12-year service requirement), retirees out of the Reichsheer (1919-1935).  One of the Reichsheer's  member benefits had been retraining during the 12th year of service in a civilian career -- one of the more attractive options was appointment to the Beamtenschule, a training school for government officials which allowed many to come back into the army as civilian administrators. 

It is important to point out that not all German Army civilians were Beamten; many (including women) were hired on the Civil Service scale and served in administrative and clerical positions; basically, they were civilian employees.   Women could not serve as officials.)

UNIFORMS

Waffenfarbe - the branch colour for officials was dark green, with specialties further specified by a secondary colour (Nebenfarbe). 

Shoulder straps and titles -  the shoulder straps worn by Beamten officials were similar to those worn by the Army, with the exceptions of: For General-equivalents, green "flecks" were added to the silver portions of the braid at 1 cm intervals. For Field Grade Officer-equivalents, the silver braid of the shoulder strap had a green line down the middle. For Company Grade Officer-equivalents, a thin green stripe ran between the two rows of silver braid. For NCO-equivalents, a distinctive green and silver braided strap was worn. In all cases, a distinctive "HV" monogram was worn.   Rank stars were also added to these shoulder straps.  Both the monogram and stars were in white metal for NCO and General equivalents, and in gilt for Company and Field grade officer equivalents.The "HV" stood for Heeresverwaltung (Army Administration). As mentioned under waffenfarbe, the shoulder straps worn by Beamten were underlain in dark green waffenfarbe, with a secondary colour in between this underlay and the actual rank insignia. Field clergy did not wear shoulder straps.

Unteroffiziere Equivalents Kompanieoffiziere Equivalents Stabsoffiziere Equivalents Generäle Equivalents

Beamten were not addressed by the same titles as regular officers.  A paymaster Hauptmann-equivalent, for instance, was a Stabzahlmeister; a Major assigned to the Supreme Court Martial was an Amtsrat beim Reichskriegsgericht.   Whether the average landser walking down the street would have known the titles is doubtful, but those who worked with these individuals certainly did.  Most any soldier would have recognized a paymaster - - he was an important man in the battalion since he doled out food and money.  The titles among officials of equal rank also varied by specialty, so knowing the specific title for one Beamter did not necessarily give any indication at all of another's title.

Note: graphics on the following table are for illustrative purposes. Each branch had its own secondary colour, and some branches such as Field Post Office had their own insignia in place of the HV symbol.  Reich Courts Martial officials wore no devices at all, and army clergy wore no shoulder straps.

Army Equivalent Category	Title	Translation
Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee (Junior Non-Commissioned Officers)	Unterfeldwebel-Equivalent
Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (Senior Non-Commissioned Officers)	Feldwebel-Equivalent
	Heeresjustizwachtmeister	Army court martial orderly NCO
	Futtermeister	Fodder NCO
	Magazinmeister	NCO in charge of a depot
	Reichskreigsgerichtswachtmeister	State judicial service orderly NCO
	Lagermeister	NCO in a store
	Amtsgehilfe	Administration clerical official in a department
	Oberfeldwebel-Equivalent
	Heereswerkmeister	NCO in charge of an Army workshop
	Oberfuttermeister	Senior fodder NCO
	Oberlagermeister	Senior NCO in a store
	Amtsobergehilfe	Senior administration clerical official in a department
	Präparator	Candidate
Unteroffiziere (Non-Commissioned Officers)	Specific Rank Not Known
	Werkführer	Foreman
	Mühlenmeister	Master miller
	Bäckermeister	Master baker
	Regimentssattlermeister	Regimental master saddler
	Festungsoberwerkmeister	Fortifications NCO in charge of a workshop
	Festungswerkmeister	Fortifications NCO in a workshop
	Oberbotenmeister	Senior messenger
	Botenmeister	Messenger
	Ministerialoberamtsgehilfe	Senior administration clerical official in a ministry
	Ministerialamtsgehilfe	Administration clerical official in a ministry
	Heeresunterförster	Army forester
	Obermaschinist	Senior fitter
	Drucker	Printer
	Laborant	Laboratory technician
	Heizer	Fireman
	Hauswarte	Caretaker
	Lagerwarte	Storeman
	Wächter	Watchman
	Arbeiter	Labourer
Kompanie- offiziere (Company Grade Officers)	Specific Rank Not Known
	Ministerialregistrator	Ministry registrar
	Betriebmeister	Managerial works supervisor
	Betriebsleiter	Works managerial leader
	Oberwerkmeister	Senior workshop supervisor
	Heeresoberförster	Army forester
	Heeresrevierförster	Army forestry official
	Fachschulrektor	Headmaster of a technical school
	Oberfachschullehrer	Teacher in an advanced technical school
	Gewerbeoberlehrer	Senior teacher in trade subjects
	Handelsoberlehrer	Senior teacher in commercial subjects
	Lehrer	Teacher
	Obersekretär der verschiedenen Laufbahnen (technisches und nichttechnisches)	Senior secretary of various grades, both technical and non-technical
	Sekretär der verschiedenen Laufbahnen (technisches und nichttechnisches)	Secretary of various grades, both technical and non-technical
	Heeresschneidermeister	Army master tailor
	Heeresschuhmachermeister	Army master shoemaker/cobbler
	Heeresmachinenmeister	Army master machinist/mechanic
	Heeressattlermeister	Army master saddler
	Korpssattlermeister	Army corps master saddler
	Werkstättenvorsteher	Official in charge of workshop
	Leutnant-Equivalent
	Zahlmeister	Paymaster
	Inspektor der verschiedenen Laufbahnen (technische and nichttechnische)	Official in tecnhical trade or non-technical trade
	Trigonometer	Trigonometric official
	Waffenrevisor	Armament official
	Waffenmeister	Armourer
	Wallmeister	Fortification official
	Oberleutnant-Equivalent
	Oberzahlmeister	Paymaster
	Oberinspektorr der verschiedenen Laufbahnen (technische and nichttechnische)	Official in tecnhical trade or non-technical trade
	Kanzleivorsteher	Orderly room - head clerk
	Obertrigonometer	Trigonometric official
	Waffenoberrevisor	Armament official
	Oberwaffenmeister	Armourer
	Heeresoberwerkmeister	Army workshop superintendent
	Kartograph	Cartographer
	Lithograph	Lithographer
	Photograph	Photographer
	Hauptmann-Equivalent
	Studienrat	Army education official
	Fachschulrektor	Assistant principal in a technical school
	Wehrmachtkriegspfarrer	Chaplain
	Kriegsgerichter	Judge Advocate General branch
	Stabsapotheker	Chemist
	Intendanturassessor	Officer in the commissary department
	Assessor (technische und nichtteknische)	Official on probation
	Stabzahlmeister	Paymaster
	Ministerialkanzleivorsteher	Administration official - head clerk
	Heereshauptwerkmeister	Army workshop superintendent
	Oberkartograph	Senior Cartographer
Stabsoffiziere (Field Grade Officers)	Specific Rank Not Known
	Abteilungschef im Reichskriegs-Ministerium	Departmental head in the War Office
	Ministerialrat	Ministry Advisor
	Direktor	Director
	Obermusikinspizient	Director of Army music
	Heeresmusikinspizient	Director of Army music
	Intendanturamtmann	Member of an army commisary department
	Bibliothekar	Librarian
	Direktor bei der Heeresplan-kammer	Director of the Army Chamber of Planning
	Direktor des Heerestechnischen Buros	Director of the Army Technical Bureau
	Direktor bei der Heeresfeuerwerker und Panzertruppenschule	Director of the Army Ordnance and Panzer Troop Schools
	Direktor beim Heeresarchiv Wien	Director of Army Archives at Vienna
	Direktor beim Heeresmuseum Berlin-Zeughaus	Director of the Army Museum at Berlin-Zeughaus
	Regierungsdirektor (Museum Wien)	Administration Director of the Vienna Museum
	Heeresoberpfarrer	Senior Army chaplain
	Heerespfarrer	Army chaplain
	Heeresoberforstmeister	Senior army forestry commissioner
	Heeresforstmeister	Army forestry commissioner
	Heeresforstamtsmann	Administration official in the Army Forestry Commission
	Heereslandwirtschaftrat	Councillor in the Army Agricultural Department
	Heeressportlehrer	Army sports instructor
	Major-Equivalent
	Intendanturrat	Commisariat
	Amtsrat	Senior administration official
	Wehrmachtpfarrer	Chaplain to the forces
	Oberstabzahlmeister	Senior paymaster (also ranked as Oberstleutnant)
	Heeresjustizamtmann	Army judicial service
	Kriegsgerichtsrat	Member of court martial committee
	Regierungsrat	Administration official
	Vermessungsamtmann	Survey official
	Regierungsbaurat	Construction or building administration official
	Technischer Oberamtsmann	Technical administration official
	Verwaltungsamtmann	Administration official
	Regierungschemiker	Chemistry administration official
	Oberstabsapotheker	Apothecary
	Fachstudienrat	Instructor in Technical Studies
	Heeresarchivrat	Army archival advisor
	Oberstleutnant-Equivalent
	Oberintendanturrat	Commisariat
	Oberfeldzahlmeister	Senor Paymaster
	Wehrmachtoberpfarrer	Senior chaplain to the forces
	Ministerialbürodirektor	Ministerial administration official
	Oberstabzahlmeister	Senior administration official (also ranked as Major)
	Oberkriegsgerichtsrat	Member of court martial committee
	Oberregierungsrat	Senior administration official
	Oberregierungsbaurat	Construction or building administration official
	Oberregierungschemiker	Chemistry administration official
	Oberfeldapotheker	Apothecary
	Studiendirektor	Army education official
	Oberfachschulrat	Principal in a technical school
	Fachstudiendirektor	Deputy Director of Technical Studies
	Oberlandwirtschaftsrat	Agricultural advisor
	Oberheeresarchivrat	Army archival advisor
	Oberst-Equivalent
	Oberstkriegsgerichtsrat	Member of court martial committee
	Intendant	Commisary
	Heeresbaudirektor	Director of Army Building or Construction
	Heeresmaschinenbaudirektor	Director of Army Construction Machinery
	Heeresarchivdirektor	Army Archive Director
	Heeresoberschulrat	From 1941
	Wermachtdekan	Senior chaplain to the forces, Army dean
	Oberstapotheker	Apothecary
	Oberstudiendirektor	Army education official
	Oberfachstudiendirektor	Director of Technical Studies
Generäle (Generals)	Specific Rank Not Known
	Generalintendant	General commisariat commander
	Senatspräsident	President of a court martial
	Ministerialdirigent	Administrative official (usually of Generalleutnant rank)
	Gruppenintendant	Army Group commisariat commander
	Korpsintendant	Army Corps commissariat commander
	Ministerialrat (mit den Dienstgradabzeichen des Generales)	Ministerial advisor with the rank of general
	Senatspräsident beim Reichskriegsgericht	President of a court martial
	Präsident des Heeresarchives Wien	President of the Army Archives at Vienna
	Präsident	President
	Vorstand der Heeres-Plankammer	Head of the Army Chamber of Planning
	Generalmajor-Equivalent
	Feldbischof	Chaplain-General to the Forces
	Reichskriegsgerichtsrat	Army court martial councillor
	Oberreichskrieganwalt	Judge Advocate General
	Generalleutnant-Equivalent
	Heeresintendant	Army commisary
	Generalstabintendant	General Staff commisariat commander
	Ministerial Direktor	A minister, head of a ministry
	Oberreichskriegsanwalt	Senior attorney in the War Office
	General-der-Infanterie-Equivalent
	Generaloberstabintendant

Career Field	English Translation	Collar Patch	Description
Hoeherer Dienst	Higher Services		Officer equivalents wore gold embroidered collar patches. General equivalents wore a patch identical to Army Generals with two exceptions; the field was dark green, not red, and the patch was piped, like all other Beamten patches, in Nebenfarbe.
Gehobener Dienst	Elevated Services		A patch similar to Army officers, but with dark green waffenfarbe stripes, and nebenfarbe piping, was worn by both these services. While a movement was made to differentiate the insignia of these two categories, it never came to fruition, and both services wore the same type of collar patch, as well as retaining the right to wear the collar patches of the einfacher Dienst on the Feldbluse.
Mitteler Dienst	Middle Services
Einfacher Dienst	Simple Services		Collar patches were of the same size and shape as those worn by Enlisted Men in the Army, though the insignia was generally embroidered in grey artificial silk by hand or machine.  The three bars were also grey, and the patch itself was piped on three sides in Nebenfarbe. Sometimes universal pattern Enlisted Men's collar patches with dark green stripes were substituted, but these were piped in Nebenfarbe also.

Other uniform details - Beamten generally wore the Army officer's uniform with appropriate insignia.  Because they were responsible for purchasing their own clothing, enlisted-equivalent Beamten were also permitted to wear the officer's quality uniform -- this would have included boots and breeches.  General officer officials wore general's breeches with the broad red "Besatzstreifen."  Officer-equivalent officials wore the breast eagle of aluminium thread/bullion embroidery (gold for generals) while those of the einfacher Dienst wore the enlisted eagle.

Headgear conformed to the respective officer versus enlisted patterns with corresponding insignia except that, before its discontinuation in 1942, enlisted-equivalent officials had been permitted to wear the cap known as the "officer's old style field cap" (often called a "crusher" among collectors) with white woven insignia in place of the silver worn by officer-equivalent ranks (those who owned this cap could continue to wear it for the life of the cap even after official discontinuation).  Piping on the old style and peaked caps was in dark green, as was the soutache chevron on the M-38.  General officer official's caps were piped in gold around the top of the crown and the bottom of the cap band in gold while the upper cap band was in the secondary colour.  General's M-38 caps bore gold piping with a dark green soutache.

Belts conformed to the same officer/enlisted divisions with generals showing gold-coloured buckles. 

Officials were not to wear unit insignia (number, cyphers, etc.) on their shoulder boards, nor were they permitted to wear cuff titles other than those that were considered campaign awards (e.g., AFRIKA or KRETA) in "elite" units.  Beamten had been permitted the Waffenrock prior to the war's outbreak -- officer-equivalent personnel could also wear the officer's (or general's) brocade belt, dagger, and aiguillette although at one point there was a plan to provide at least a specially-designed dress belt for officials; this never came to fruition.

WARTIME CHANGES - Officials for the Duration of the War

Another category of official was introduced after the outbreak of war; those who lacked the qualifications to be full-fledged officials but who possessed critically-needed skills were appointed as "Beamter auf Kriegsdauer" (Officials for the Duration of the War).  Their secondary colour (Nebenfarbe) was light grey for all specialties (to add more confusion, the career fields were the same as the active officials), shoulder board devices were silver coloured, and special collar patches on a light grey background piped in dark green were worn.

Career Field	English Translation	Collar Patch	Description
Hoeherer Dienst	Higher Services		The special patch in gold on a light grey background piped in dark green with gold stripe.
Gehobener Dienst	Elevated Services		The special patch in silver on a light grey background piped in dark green with dark green stripe.
Mitteler Dienst	Middle Services
Einfacher Dienst	Simple Services		The special patch in grey on a light grey background piped in dark green with dark green stripe.

Cap bands for officer's caps (both the dress cap and the "crusher"), as well as field blouse and greatcoat collars, and the soutache on the new style field cap, all were to be rendered in blue-grey.  This was the same uniform colour worn by the Luftwaffe, and in fact, Luftwaffe basic cloth was supposed to be utilized.

Example - the following examples come from the books Uniformen der deutschen Wehrmacht published in April 1939, and The German Army - Men at Arms 320 and give an idea of the complexity of Beamten ranks, titles, and career fields. 

Armed Forces Officials with the Reich Court Martial (on 1 May 1944 this became the TSD Legal Service) Nebenfarbe - Bordeaux Red, no letters worn on shoulder board Officials of the hoeherer Dienst appear in yellow
Basic (einfacher Dienst)	Intermediate (mittleren Dienst)	Advanced (gehoberen Dienst)	Senior (hoeherer Dienst)
Reichskriegsgerichts- wachtmeister	Oberbotenmeister beim Reichskriegsgericht	Reichskriegsgerichts- inspektor Reichskriegsgerichts- obersekretär	Oberkriegsgerichtsrat- beim Reichskriegsgericht
			Reichskriegsgerichtrat
	Reichskriegsgerichts- sekretär	Kriegsgerichtsrat	Reichskriegsgerichtsrat Reichskriegsanwalt
	Reichskriegsgerichts- oberinspektor	Oberkriegsgerichtsrat- beim Reichskriegsgericht Bürodirektor beim Reichskriegsgericht	Senatspräsident beim Reichskriegsgericht Oberreichskriegsanwalt
	Amtsrat beim Reichskriegsgericht

The following tables are of interest; note that all grades of apothecaries (pharmacists) were part of the hoeherer Dienst, even a Leutnant-equivalent, while a Major-equivalent paymaster (for example) was not.  The reason for this is that all pharmacists were university graduates.  In general, the Senior Career field had university education as a prerequisite; Advanced and Intermediate were for former Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (senior NCOs) with two years training at service colleges, and the Junior career field was for junior NCOs or men with little training.

Armed Forces Officials (Apothecaries) Nebenfarbe - Light Green, HV appears on the shoulder boards All belonged to hoeherer Dienst (Senior Career) Feldapotheker Oberstabsapotheker Oberapotheker Oberfeldapotheker Stabsapotheker

Armed Forces Officials (Paymasters) Nebenfarbe - white, HV worn on shoulder board   All belonged to gehoberen Dienst (Advanced Career) Zahlmeister Oberstabszahlmeister Oberzahlmeister Oberfeldzahlmeister Stabszahlmeister

Armed Forces Officials (Field Post Office) Nebenfarbe - Light Yellow, FP appears on the shoulder boards Shoulder boards have yellow line running through the braid in place of dark green. Officials of the hoeherer Dienst appear in yellow Basic (einfacher Dienst) Intermediate (mittleren Dienst) Advanced (gehoberen Dienst) Senior (hoeherer Dienst) Feldpostbot Feldpostsekretär Feldpostinspektor Feldpostrat (unter 35 jahren) Feldpostrat Feldpostbetreibassistent Feldoberpostsekretär/ Feldpostobersekretär (1942) Feldoberpostinspektor/ Feldpostoberinspektor (1942)   Feldoberpostrat/ Feldpostoberrat (1942) Feldoberpostdirektor Feldpostassistent   Feldpostamtsrat Feldpostamtmann Heeresfeldpostdirigent Heeresfeldpostmeister

Armed Forces Officials (Remount) Nebenfarbe - Goldgelb (Golden Yellow) Futtermeister Remonteamtsverwalter Betreibsleiter beim Remonteamt Remonteamtsvorsteher mit Rang als Major   Remonteamtsvorsteher

Armed Forces Officials (Military Administration) Formed 22 Dec 1939 Renamed Militärverwaltung 15 Aug 1941 Nebenfarbe - Light Grey, eagle clutching swastika appears on the shoulder boards
Basic (einfacher Dienst)	Intermediate (mittleren Dienst)	Advanced (gehoberen Dienst)	Senior (hoeherer Dienst)
Kriegsbetriebassistent Kriegsverwaltungsbetriebassistent	Kriegssekretär Kriegsverwaltungssekretär (6 Apr 1940)	Kriegsverwaltungsinspektor
Kriegsassistent Kriegsverwaltungsassistent (6 Apr 1940)		Kriegsverwaltungsoberinspektor
		Kriegsverwaltungsoberinspektor
		Kriegsverwaltungsamtsrat Kriegsverwaltungsamtrmann

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