Waffenfarbe is a
German term for colored piping on the German Uniform that identifies the branch that the soldier is apart of. Colored piping would run down the edges of tunics and
shoulder boards, on
collar tabs, and well as around the rims of
visor hats. It consisted of a different
color depending what job or
profession the
soldier performed. In this manner, an Infantry
officer could quickly and easily be differentiated from a calvary officer and so on. Waffenfarbe existed in some form or another on every uniform from the
Parade-Dress tunic right down to
Field dress. Each
branch of the German
Armed Forces has its own
classification system that has evolved over the years. There have been some waffenfarbe that have remained constant in tradition, such as White for the
infantry in the Army. One must remember, however to differentiate between branches. Their systems were mostly separate. While white waffenfarbe in the Army meant Infantry, it was reserved for Generals in the Luftwaffe.
There are
charts available online to look up specific colors of Waffenfarbe, especially for the
Wehrmacht, as that is a period often studied more than the
DDR or other periods of the German
military.
If you have a photo or uniform item with a certain waffenfarbe color to it and are unsure of what it stands for, /msg me about it and I will look it up for you.