Reinhard Schneider

Reinhard Schneider is a German expert and author on uniforms of the Imperial German Colonial Troops (Kaiserliche Schutztruppe).

Reinhard Schneider is a German expert and author on uniforms of the Imperial German Colonial Troops (Kaiserliche Schutztruppe).

Reinhard Schneider was born in West Berlin in 1948 and has always lived there since. In 1969 his job as a steward on the passenger ship "TS Bremen" gave him a glimpse of the wider world. After that he was a sales representative in the beverage trade, and later worked for the City of Berlin. From 1977 to 1980 he served with the Volunteer Police Reserve, a paramilitary group trained to protect West Berlin. Reinhard Schneider's interest in the German colonies and the Schutztruppen was awakened in 1980, when he met his wife, Yvonne Roscher-Schneider. She is the granddaughter of Postinspektor a.D. Dr. Max Roscher, who was the last Post and Telegraph Inspector of Togo, and on 2nd August 1914 was serving as Leutnant der Reserve and head of military intelligence. During the First World War Dr. Max Roscher participated in the attempt to repel the invading British forces, and, that effort having failed, was instrumental in the destruction of the radio station at Kamina (Togo). For many years Reinhard Schneider enjoyed painting pewter figures and building dioramas. His fascination with the colonies and tropical helmets has never waned, and to this day he relishes the hunt for a rare Tropenhelm to add to his collection. His continued interest in these areas has led to his authoring two other German-language books on the uniform topic.

Literature from Reinhard Schneider:

• Neuste Nachrichten aus unseren Kolonien in Afrika (2010)
• Die Tropenhelme der deutschen Wehrmacht. Heer, Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS, NSKK, Feldgendarmerie, DRK (2019)