Red Cross Leader Dagger with Portepee

Product Description: This Red Cross Leader Dagger is a pristine piece, that is exceptionally attractive. The blade is excellent, and very bright, with beautiful original shine. There is no manufacturer marking. The handle is beautiful, with bright and very clean metal fittings. The DRK eagle and swastika organizational emblem on the crossguard is nice and crisp. The grip is free of chips and cracks, and has toned a bit darker on the front, with a slightly more pale yellow shade to the back of the grip. There is some slight wear to the top of the pommel. The original braided aluminum wire portepee is present, and is in excellent condition, showing only slight wear, and with no major fraying or other damage. This scarce Red Cross Leader Dagger is complete with its original scabbard. The scabbard gleams brightly, with a mirror-like finish in places.  The scabbard is nice and straight, with no dents. This dagger has a great look, and shows almost no age. It’s in excellent condition.

Historical Description: The German Red Cross (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, DRK) was given organizational status by the Nazi Party in 1938. As with all official organizations, it fell under the auspices of the NSDAP, and had uniforms and regalia for formal and ceremonial wear. The first formal uniforms for the DRK were introduced in 1935, and in 1938, new formal edged weapons were introduced, including the Red Cross Leaders Dagger, which was intended for wear by officials with the rank of Wachtführer (an NCO in charge of a guard) and above. The Geneva Convention stipulated that medical personnel could not be armed, so the Leaders Dagger was not intended to be functional, but rather purely ceremonial. Production of these Red Cross leaders daggers ceased in 1940, and the short production run, coupled with the relatively small size of the organization, resulted in relatively few of these daggers being produced. As a result, they are rare today, and very sought after by collectors.

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