Swords of the THIRD REICH

n the heart of Europe, German swordsmen had played an important part in warfare since the time of the Roman conquests. By the Middle Ages, the Wupper River Valley city of Solingen had started its journey on the way to becoming the “City of Swords”. Here, trained craftsman forged, filed and fitted some of the country’s best examples of both military and ceremonial blades up to the final days of Imperial Germany. When Adolf Hitler and the “Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei” (N.S.D.A.P – Nazi Party) took control of the government in 1933, the broadbased carrying of swords was rekindled in a massive way. However, instead of weapons being carried only by the military and a few select officials, swords were added for ceremonial use by many groups as signs of nationalistic pride, rank and status. With Hitler’s overall goal of turning the German countryside into a vast military encampment, hundreds of different swords were produced to hang at the sides of military, paramilitary, civic, fraternal, welfare and other organizations