DRK (German Red Cross) Daggers

In our DRK / German Red Cross Daggers category, discover an exclusive selection of original DRK daggers and historical decorations from the Third Reich era. The German Red Cross (DRK) was a civilian organization under the patronage of the Ministry of the Interior. Due to its neutral status, it had to comply with the international Geneva Convention, which stated that members of the organization could not carry personal weapons, including cold weapons. As a result, a hewer with a square blunt tip was developed to avoid its classification as a weapon.

The officer's dagger of the DRK, however, was pointed and definitely classified as a weapon; it could only be worn as an attribute of parade uniform. It was instituted in 1938 for wear by persons holding ranks from DRK-Wachtführer to DRK-Generalhauptführer. The Red Cross Officer and Social Welfare Patterns were instituted in 1938. The hilts are produced of a pot metal base, having muted nickel-plated surfaces. The crossguard features an oval medallion which bears a Red Cross eagle. The bird is a closed-winged design, clutching a Red Cross symbol in the talons. A vaulted swastika is superimposed on the bird's chest. The grip is a celluloid variety being a yellow color, usually toned to varying orange shades. The scabbards are steel with matching nickel plating over pebbled panels. There are two variations. Those with rectangular-shape eyelets on the carrying bands are Red Cross, while those having round holes in the eyelets are Social Welfare. Blades are not found with maker-marks. The blade is steel, straight, double-edged, rhombic in section, without fullers, nickel-plated, with a massive rectangular heel. The grip is plastic, oval, barrel-shaped, orange, with transverse grooves. The head is oval in section, conical, rounded. The head is fastened to the blade tang with a hidden nut with two slots. The crossguard is cast, in the form of two rectangles of different sizes placed one on top of the other with rounded ends. The crossguard is decorated with longitudinal grooves. On the crossguard on both sides are oval medallions. On the front medallion is a stylized image of the German Red Cross emblem. The medallion on the reverse side is smooth. The scabbard is steel, nickel-plated, with a dotted background. The fitting consists of a thin mouthpiece, two relief smooth nuts, and a smooth small tip. On the nuts are two square rings with square holes for the portepee straps. The item can be identified as a parade-exit, service dagger for the officer corps of the German Red Cross (original name of the organization in German; Deutsches Rotes Kreuz), Social Welfare Service (original name of the service in German; Dienst Soziale Sicherheit), Imperial Ministry of the Interior of Germany (original name of the ministry in German; Reichsministerium des Innern), model (model) 1938, with hanger, general production release 1938-1943, Germany, Third Reich period (1933-1945), German production of the dagger (without hanger), release 1938-1943, German production of the dagger hanger, release 1938-1943, World War II period (1939-1945). The production of these medical officer daggers model 1938 ceased at the end of 1942-beginning of 1943, this is due to the defeat of the German army at Stalingrad, February 2, 1943. After this date, the production of all parade weapons was stopped due to the shortage of industrial raw materials and production capacities. Thus, this dagger can be dated to production release 1938-1943. The production of the dagger hanger can be attributed to the same time characteristics as the dagger itself and consider this weapon as a single set. The dagger was worn on a hanger, which was attached to the belt on the left side of the uniform. The dagger also had a lanyard, wrapped around its grip and pommel. Note:

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