THE HISTORY OF THE SA DAGGER
His goal was to overthrow the government, but he had to compete with numerous other Bavarian right-wing
groups and with his friend Ernst Roehm, a Bavarian staff officer. Roehm advocated the primacy of the military
and wanted to incorporate the party's paramilitary units, called the SA, or Storm Troopers (Sturmabteilung)
into his secret army, while Hitler insisted on the primacy of politics. In recognition for his important
service to the SA, The Rohm dagger was created.
When the French occupied the Ruhr in
January 1923, German nationalist feelings ran high, and military authorities prepared for mobilization. The
views of Roehm and the other right-wingers now seemed to be prevailing; Hitler thereupon tried to regain control
of the movement by his Beer Hall Putsch of Nov. 8-9, 1923. The putsch was aimed at capturing, first, the
government of Bavaria, and then the nation's, but the Bavarian authorities were able to suppress it.
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In early 1934, however, he faced new conflicts, mainly from within the party. The SA, still led by Roehm,
and the Nazi left vigorously opposed his alliance with business and military leaders, and a group of
monarchists was campaigning for a restoration of the monarchy. Hindenburg's deteriorating health raised the
question of his succession. Hitler survived the crisis by adopting the most radical methods. He rallied behind
himself the party leaders, the army, and HIMMLER 's SS (the Schutzstaffel, or Blackshirts), and on June 30,
1934, he struck. A number of SA leaders, monarchists, and other opponents were murdered; the influence of the
SA was drastically reduced; This event came to be known as "The night of the Long Knives".
Hitler emerged as the undisputed master of Germany. When Hindenburg died on August 2, Hitler officially
assumed the title of Fuhrer, or supreme head of Germany. Beyond its political ramifications, this night
represents a milestone in the evolution of the SA dagger.
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THE ORIGIN OF THE SA DAGGER
Hitler and the Nazi regime had an obsession with imagery and quality. This is reflected in the uniforms and
accutrements of the various organizations, military and paramilitary, created during this regime.
Blade weapons ave always captivated the imagination of people. Something about the sleek design and appearance
of edge weapons that makes these kind of items appealing to the masses, even today. Perhaps it is the remnants
of a time when our very survival depended on such things. Regardless of the reason, Hitler and his designers
capitalized in this feeling to make people feel better about belonging to a certain group. Daggers provided a
symbol as a unifying force to achieve a common goal.
LARGE PRODUCTION NUMBERS
The SA dagger is the most widely produced dagger during Nazi Germany. Production numbers reached over 1 million.
At its peak Several mom and pop type shops emerged as manufacturers of the daggers. over
200 factories
manufactured and distributed the daggers.
In some cases the company would only produce a few pieces, like handles and handguards. They would purchase
the blade and scabbard from a different company. at assembly, they would stamp their own brand in the blade.
INTRODUCTION OF RZM
As the number of organizations grew, so did the number of types of daggers. Pretty soon it was clear that
this was a logistical nightmare. There were so many companies producing daggers and dagger parts but there
was no standards for them to follow. As long as the items looked correct they were produced and sold. The
problem is that parts among manufacturers were not interchangeable.
The solution to this problem was to implement construction standards. Sizes, colors, materials, etc. All of
it needed to be controlled. The standard that was created was known as
RZM.
This explains why today it is difficult to assamble a dagger from parts. For example, if you have a dagger
that is missing the handle. you find one for sale. the color and materials look good. You purchase it
and take it home just to find out it does not fit or that it fits poorly.
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DISTRIBUTION POINTS
After a dagger was manufactured it had to be sent to distribution points where the SA members were able to
obtain the daggers. Special stores were set up as distribution points. Some of the stores were ran by
the manufacturer itself.
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Each member of the SA was entitled to wear the dagger. However, each individual would have to pay for its
own dagger. In very much the same way as we do with cars today, a person could outfit the dagger with
various options. The old addage "you get what you pay for" applied here too.
District markings were struck on the handguard to denote the location from where the dagger was awarded.
The picture shown here displays a stamp of "wf". For additional information and a list of the markings used
visit our SA Markings section .
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THE ROHM DAGGER
The Rohm dagger was created in order to recorgnize Ernst Rohm's great contributions to the SA. The dagger was
identical to the regular SA dagger except that it had the inscription "In Herzlicher Freundschaft Ernst Rohm"
on the reverse of the blade. This dagger was authorized on December 1931 and became known as the "Rohm" dagger.
Around 100,000 samples were created for distribution among its members.
Over the years Rohm's political views started to divert too far apart from Hitler's views. As a result, Hitler
charged Rohm with treason and ordered his execution (The night of the Long Knives). After this action took
place it was ordered that all Rohm daggers be eliminated from circulation. This was achieved in one of two ways;
The dagger could be destroyed or the special inscription could be taken off via grinder.
Having had to pay for the dagger, many members decided to go the grinder route instead of having to pay for
another dagger.
Dagger who still bear the entire Rohm dedication are hard to find.
Common manufacturers of the Rohm dagger include:
- Eickhorn
- EP&S
- F. Dick
- Henckels
- Wusthof
- Herder
- Aesculap
A few things to help determine the authenticity of Rohm daggers include:
- No RZM number should be present. These daggers were created before the RZM was instituted.
- The fittings should be nickel-silver instead of plated.
POST WAR PRODUCTION
At the end of the war most German cities were virtually destroyed. Daily life Things that were once taken
for granted became difficult things to achieve. Chief among the worries was how to make a living.
As the ranks of the GI's swelled with fresh troops arriving from the States to perform the duties of
an occupation force, a new industry was being created, selling souvenirs to soldiers who had money to spend.
Factories who had left over stock of daggers and parts saw a golden opportunity. They started assembling
dagger to sell to the GI's. It is generally believed that this practice took place primarily between the
years of 1946 and 1948. By 1951 the use of the swastika was banned in Germany. Therefore eliminating
production of daggers.
The SA dagger was one of the daggers known to fall in the category of post-war production pieces. Other daggers
include the SS version and the Hitler Youth Knife.
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The post-war production SA dagger usually was sold without a scabbard. The manufacturer would be BSA, whose
symbol was a cross with the letters BSA going from top to bottom as well as left to right. The blade was
manufactured in the town of Solingen. The word "Germany" is also stamped on the blade.
Note that only post-war production daggers have the word "Germany" stamped on them. This practice was not
observed in the daggers manufactured during war time.
SA DAGGER REPRODUCTIONS
Like many other German WWII items, the SA dagger has been reproduced for several years. There is nothing
wrong with buying and selling reproductions. As long as both parties know that the items is not real. The
problem occurs when the items are misrepresented as real when they are not.
INTERESTED IN BUYING OR SELLING AN SA DAGGER?
Visit the
"German WWII -> Daggers and Parts"
section of our store to see the available inventory. All items there have a money-back guarantee to be original,
unless otherwise stated. You can buy from us with confidence.
Fell free to contact us. We will make you an offer for a single item or an entire collection.
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Continued - The history of the SA dagger
While the item featured here is not for sale, similar items like it are available for
purchase in our website MilitaryItems.com
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