Death Head Luger Totenkopf

1928 DWM Police Death Head (Totenkopf) SOLD

This is a beautiful example of the 1914 Model DWM (Deutsches Waffen Und Munitionsfabriken Co) Manufactured Police Pistole-08 sometime in 1928 or 1928. The blank toggle has two conventional wisdom sources. One believe is that they were "Sneaks" manufactured with blank toggles to confuse the waning Allied Inspectors that was inspecting the German wartime facilities for compliance. The Death Head on the Chamber is symbolic of the early Weimar Werewolves from whom the SA (Sturm Arbeitlung) was recruited which morphed into the SS enforcement units. (1655)

NOTE: Photographs taken today with the high mega-pixel camera show more than we sometimes can see with the human eye. Magnified close-ups show us tool marks and natural surface conditions that one normally doesn't see in the ordinary handling of the weapon. Photographs are copyrighted, all rights reserved, any extraction, reproduction or display of gun pictures without the express consent of the Phoenix Investment Arms is strictly prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation. Please visit Legal (tabbed) for Conditions of Sale.


August von Mackensen; German field marshal. A type of irregular light horsemen were already well established by the 15th century in medieval Hungary. On the eve of World War I there were still Hussar regiments in the British (including Canadian), French, Spanish, German, Russian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Romanian and Austro-Hungarian armies. In most respects, they had now become regular light cavalry, recruited solely from their own countries and trained and equipped along the same lines as other classes of cavalry. Hussars were however still notable for their colorful and elaborate parade uniforms. The German Imperial units had adopted the Deathhead (Skull-Totenkopf) as their symbol and this is probably the origin in German units. Below: German Hussars on the move.


This is chambered for 9mm and has a standard 4" barrel (100mm) fixed sights and walnut grips. This WWI style Luger appears manufactured for standard issue firearm to the German Police. The extractor is marked "Geladen" on the left side and the safety is marked "Gesichert" with the safe position being downward. The proof marks indicates this Parabellum started out as part of the Weimar 100,000 man army permitted by the Treaty of Versailles.

The Death head (Totenkopf) was carved into the headspace of this Parabellum and the police sear points us to a police unit and the probability of the assignment to the infamous Einestaadtsgrupen. Above Right once can see the "67" last two digits of the serial number on the bottom of the locking lever and side plate as if this were a commercial contract gun; although configured for the police. Perhaps another deception.

The bottom of the barrel reflects the full serial number of the gun indicating this both parts are original and matching. The magazine The serial number and the suffix are matched throughout the gun and on the magazines which are numbered as police which matches the frame and the bottom of the magazine. Police guns were marked with a 1 and 2 for the primary and additional magazine. Most policemen also had a two magazine pouch that was worn but these are very difficult to find.

The right side of the receiver displays all the Imperial Army acceptance stamps. Original grips are finely cut diamond shaped checkering made from walnut or in some cases beech wood. These grips are serial numbered to the gun. The original firing pins were marked with the serial number and when manufactured the original grips were marked to the gun. Since firing pins and grips wear and break it is not unusual to find unmarked firing pins or replacement grips.

The Stormtroopers (in German Stoßtruppen, "shock troops") were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I as the German army developed new methods of attacking enemy trenches, called "infiltration tactics". Men trained in these methods were known in Germany as Sturmmann (correctly "assault man" but usually translated as Stormtrooper), formed into companies of Sturmtruppen ("assault troops", more often and less exactly Storm Troops). The infiltration tactics developed by the stormtroopers are still in use today, in one form or another. Other armies have also used the term "assault troops", "shock troops" or fire teams for specialist soldiers who perform the infiltration tasks of stormtroopers. Right: Death Head patch worn by German Stoßtruppen

Sturmtruppen overrunning a French position. The "death's head" continued to be used throughout the Prussian and Brunswick Armed forces until 1918, and some of the storm troopers that led the last German offensives on the Western Front in 1918 used Death Head badges.

The first major offensive led by the new Assault Detachment was during the first days of the Battle of Verdun in February 1916. Storm troops from the Assault Detachment were used in the first wave leading some units into the French trenches, attacking seconds after the barrage had lifted. This generally worked very well, even though it worked much better against the first trench line than against the less well-known enemy rear-area.

On April 1, 1916, the Assault Detachment was re-designated "Assault Battalion Rohr". Around this time it also increased its size from two to four pioneer companies. At the same time, work began on transforming several Jäger battalions into new Assault Battalions.


The barrel is stamped with the German Military Acceptance Stamp Adler and it is clear that the Death Head (Skull) was rolled onto the headspace above the date. We have seen several of these guns and the authentic ones are all the same 1916-1918 which must have been special issue to Pioneer or Sturm force units.


Above left the Imperial inspectors at the DWM factory stamped the receiver at each stage of their inspection. The Eagle [Alder] appeared on the receiver and on the top of the barrel in this picture meaning the gun was accepted by the military.

This Parabellum was made for the Weimar Republic [1919-1933 (Deutsches Reich)], which used the droop wing eagle and an early Waffenamt proof. The blank toggle does not hide the fact that these are DWM or [BKIW (Berlin-Karlsruher Industriewerke) as the company evolved in 1922] parts as the characteristics are hard to hide. Above the breechblock their is a raised signal marked Geladen to tell the shooter that the gun is loaded. This can be felt in the dark tactilely so all one had to do was release the safety and the noise of cocking the gun did not give the shooter away.


Totenkopfverbände SS assigned to Nazi concentration camps, Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps (in German Konzentrationslager, or KZ) throughout the territories it controlled. The term was borrowed from the British concentration camps of the Second Anglo-Boer War.

Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS), a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) of Nazi Germany during a visit to the Dachau work camp in 1936.



The Brown leather holsters were predominant in WWI but during the 1930's various units and then the entire Wehrmacht was ordered to die the old holsters and new holsters were bought in black to match all the leather. The police who wore a green uniform continued to use the brown leather and sidearm's that accompanied the occupation police were assimilated into the field uniforms.

The front and back of the holster show the excellent condition with the original stitching still intact and well cared for over the years. As seen from the slant of the belt loops this holster was designed for the angled draw giving the shoot less holster to clear if the incident required it.

The back of the holster bears the 1929 date confirming this was made during the restoration of arming of the Reich. The star stamp is the police symbol while the serial number has been changed to reflect the 4167 of the current gun. Really a price holster.

Typical German Polizei loading tools are marked on the back with the serial number of the gun. This makes the tool match the gun with the 4157.

Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler visiting a concentration camp. Note the officer to his right who is wearing the Totenkopf hat device on his shoulder. Our research does not recognize this uniform display was regulation, however he is also wearing a wound badge and the Iron Cross ribbon.

Sicherheitspolizei: The Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for their security police. In the Nazi era it was used to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo (secret state police) and the Kripo (criminal police) between 1936 and 1939. As a formal agency, the SiPo was folded into the RSHA (SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt) in 1939. The term SiPo was also used to describe security police force officials (but not the SD members of the RSHA), informally until the end of the Third Reich.


The inside of the gun is as clean and well maintained as the exterior. you can see all the matching serial numbers on all the small parts and the short sear of the post 1915 models, the thumb safety down (Safe) with the German word Gesichert (safe).

Above Left: The trigger reveals the matching number of the gun and still has the 'straw' blue under the side plate. This picture also depicts the magazine safety that was installed on the gun (since disabled). Above Right: The last two digits of the serial number appear on the sear and the rear main axel pin.

Above is the magazine safety. Ordered by the Police in 1932. The magazine safety consists of a "U" shaped leaf spring with two extensions, fitted into the left side of the frame under the grip. (Seen to the left with the hole drilled in the frame.) One of the extensions fits into the front and lodges behind the trigger while the other end fits through the frame into the magazine well. With the magazine in place the extension is pushed left and out of the path of the trigger. Removing the magazine allows the safety to move to the right so the bar moved behind the trigger and prevents it from being pulled. Rarely is this found on the Luger as they customarily broken off and thrown away because the invention by Carl Walther proved unreliable.

The Nazi Police buckle is pebble faced with the large Swastika in the middle and the Gott mit uns (God with us) stamped in the middle. Above Right: The business end of the Parabellum looking down the barrel.

It is entirely subjective to give any Luger a rating of excellent or fine, just as it is to declare it xx% blued or strawed. Few Lugers are out of the box new and these are premium priced. Bluing percentages is like Beauty, in the eye of the beholder. We strive to provide pictures so you can judge for yourself if the gun meets your criteria.

In the early days of the NSDAP, Julius Schreck, (Left) the leader of the Stabswache (Adolf Hitler's bodyguard unit), adopted the Totenkopf to his unit. This later grew into the Schutzstaffel (SS), which continued to use the Totenkopf as insignia throughout its history. As they had done with the Swastika, and the "Stechschritt" (Goose-Step March): the Nazis adopted the Totenkopf from the historical tradition and used it for their own purposes, leaving it marked with a stigma that has continued to the present day.

It is important to note that the SS "Death's Head" symbol has some differences to the original German (Prussian) Totenkopf, the original being much more archaic in appearance (see images above), with the SS version appearing more realistic. Moreover, the Prussian Totenkopf could face left or right in half-profile, but usually it was shown en face. The SS Totenkopf, on the other hand, was always facing left in half-profile.

The 3rd SS Panzer Division -

The SS Division Totenkopf was formed in October 1939. The Totenkopf was initially formed from concentration camp guards of the 1st (Oberbayern), 2nd (Brandenburg) and 3rd (Thüringen) Standarten (regiments) of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, and men from the SS-Heimwehr Danzig. The division had officers from the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), of whom many had seen action in Poland. The division was commanded by SS-Obergruppenführer Theodor Eicke. Through the Battle of France the division was generally equipped with ex-Czech weapons.

Adolf Hitler inspects the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler on arrival at Klagenfurt in April 1938.

This 1929 All-Matching DWM Nazi Death Head is a very difficult gun for the collector to find and the historical paradigm may not be an absolute answer of one theory or another but rather an evolution from the early Hussar cavalry to the Nazi Death Head of the Schutzstaffel. Any questions to josef@phoenixinvestmentarms.com. This gun may be withdrawn without notice for in-store sale. We reserve the right to sell any internet offering to a direct sale and do not warrant the availability of any firearm that do not have a cash deposit. This Luger is offered for $3,895.00 to the WWII collector.

LAYAWAYS: Sometimes our "significant other" doesn't understand the beauty, craftsmanship and investment potential of one of these investor grade weapons. In these circumstances where discretion becomes the better part of valor we will accept layaways of up to one year with at least 20% down and some activity occurring monthly to insure that after one year the sale is completed. Cancellations of layaways forfeit 33% if done within two months, otherwise 100%. You can transfer a layaway to a consignment sale at any time. See "Legal" for exact terms.

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We honor a three day return policy. We will answer any questions, send you any pictures, as detailed as you want, to insure that what we are showing you is what you want to see, before you buy it. See Legal.

FIRING ANY WEAPON NEGATES ANY CHANCE OF RETURN!

WARNING: We do not represent these guns as safe to fire. They are not test fired before sale; they are sold as collectibles only. Prior to firing you should have it inspected by a qualified individual and abide by all safety requirements.

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