Interesting Nazi War Memorabilia Arrives at Cedar Post Pawn

Being located near St. George, in Southern Utah, you wouldn't necessarily think that we would see a lot of European war memorabilia come through our doors. So it was fun to see some old German WWII items come in the other day.

One of our customers brought a Nazi Youth knife and a Nazi officers dagger in to the shop. The Hitler Youth were run very similarly to the Boy Scouts, except, of course, that Nazi indoctrination was the cornerstone of the program. Hitler felt that the German youth represented the future of his Third Reich, so he formed the Hitler Jugend for boys and the Bund Deutscher Madel for girls in 1935. After passing minor exams, the boys would receive a Hitler Jugend knife. The knives had nickeled hilts and black checkered grip plates with an enamel Hitler Jugend swastika. From 1935-1937, these knives were etched with the motto of the Hitler Youth...Blut und Ehre! (Blood and Honor!) After 1937, the blades bore the RZM marking instead.

Nazi daggers are a very sought after collectible because of their intricacy and uniqueness. Nazi daggers were issued to military, paramilitary, political and social groups of the Nazi government. They were first produced in 1933 and production ended in 1942. They were part of the ceremonial dress of all Nazi officers and were worn when these high ranking officials were seen in public and at important events. The daggers varied considerably in appearance depending on which branch of the military or government they were issued for. They would have different blade markings, lengths, hanger colors, etc. These differences make it fun for sword collectors to try to assemble several different variations.

See...between reading this blog and watching "Pawn Stars", you get all the history you need!