Reichsluftschutzbund
The Reichsluftschutzbund (State Air Protection Corps) was a paramilitary organization of Nazi Germany founded in the 1933 as a branch of the German Aviation Ministry. The group's first function was to serve as Air Defense Crews during a period when Germany was forbidden an Air Force by the Treaty of Versailles. The Reichsluftschutzbund maintained a system of paramilitary ranks similar to that of the Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA).
In 1935, the Reichluftschutzbund was placed under the authority of the Luftwaffe and performed mainly non-combat support roles such as ground crew training and search and rescue. The group remained relatively small and, as a paramiliary organization, was overshadowed heavily by the National Socialist Flyers Corps.
During World War II, the Reichluftschutzbund performed in air defense support manning anti-aircraft emplacements in Germany's major cities. In 1945, the Reichluftschutzbund ceased to exist with the fall of Nazism. The Reichluftschutzbund, however, was not condemned as a criminal organization since the group was technically a branch of the Air Ministry and not a paramilitary group of the Nazi Party proper.
