History

Following the NSDAP’s seizure of power in 1933, local leaders of the SS began to recruit and train units of young men for what they referred to as "police duty". In actuality, the men were trained to deal with riots and conduct raids.

In many SS districts, units of at least 100 men were styled as so-called “Headquarter Guards”. Once trained, these units were referred to as SS-Sonderkommandos, or SS Special Detachments. When these units reached company strength they were renamed Politische Bereitschaften, or Political Readiness Detachments.

The Political Readiness Detachments would later form the nucleus of the SS-Verfügungstruppe, a paramilitary force that was at the disposal of the NSDAP leadership.

Members of a Politische Bereitschaft were issued a right collar patch that featured embroidered SS runes and the company number, except for the Leibstandarte SS 'Adolf Hitler', whose personnel wore SS runes collar patches without numerals.

On these early collar patches, the numeral was often larger or the same size as the SS-runes, contrary to the later collar tabs of the numbered regiments ('Deutschland', 'Germania', 'Der Führer').

Regiment No. 2 was raised from the South West SS District.