As a Jew who lost his family in the Holocaust, I’m not about to have any Nazi memorabilia in my house. As an American, I’m not going to oppose anyone who does, for whatever reason. As long as they remain inside the law, what business is it of mine? The question is: would you buy this gun? If someone gave it to you, would you keep it? Here’s the description from rockislandauctions.com:
This is an attractive example of possibly the most historic Walther factory engraved pistol that we have ever offered for sale.
Obviously Hermann Goering needs no introduction to anyone, as he was well-known; an early WWI German fighter ace, he later joined the Nazi party and rose to the rank of Field Marschall of the German Luftwaffe.
He survived the war, was tried and convicted at the Nuremburg war trials in 1946, but he escaped the hangman’s noose by taking poison just before he was to be sent to the gallows. He was an extremely close confidant of Adolf Hitler and was considered to be in Hitler’s inner-circle for most of the war.
This phenomenal pistol was manufactured in 1939 and shows 98% plus of the exquisite engraving on all the metal surfaces. The engraving is of the highest quality that can only be done by a master factory engraver, obviously intended for a senior Nazi Party member of Hermann Goering’s rank.
It consists of the traditional deep chiseled relief Germanic oak leaf and acorn type engraving with a very fine stippled background. Each section of the pistol has been divided up into different engraving blocks or sections with the oak leaf and acorn type engraving inside each block meticulously done and certainly the quality level meets and exceeds any engraving performed in the U.S. at this time.
The left side of the slide is only marked with the larger “WALTHER” inside a banner and no other markings. The right side of the slide and front edge of the barrel has a single “crown/N” firing proof and no other markings giving the engraver the entire metal surface of the pistol to execute his skill. It has also been fitted with a very unique three-piece set of factory carved grips.
The grips are separate grip panels on each side with a one-piece, center back strap, obviously intended to ensure that the grips did not warp or crack. All three pieces have been beautifully carved in a matching traditional Germanic oak leaf and acorn pattern with the same matching beaded border.
The left grip has been inset with a larger set of gold initials of “HG”, and the right side has also been inset with a separate, gold plated and engraved “WALTHER” inside a banner.
In the middle of the right grip the Goering family crest has also been inset. The family crest was designed by Hermann Goering after WWI, and consists of a armored fist holding a large ring, which was intended to represent the nickname he used during WWI, which was “Der Eiseme” or the “Iron One”. It is complete with an original Walther marked, gold plated magazine that has been fitted with a finger extension base plate.
These patterns are very similar to several of the special order engraved Walthers shown in “Walther Volume II, Engraved, Presentation and Standard Walther Pistols” by Rankin, only this example is of the highest quality possible provided by the Walther factory.
The serial number is stamped on the right side of the frame, but it is not scratched on the inside of the slide for the obvious reason is that no engraver would misplace or mix up a superb pistol such as this.
It is also accompanied by one of Hermann Goering large gold rings that he is often seen wearing during party rallies and special presentations. The ring is huge, measuring 7/8th by 1 inch across the flat. It is also engraved with his Field Marschall seal and family crest in the middle.
Inside the ring, it is engraved “Von Deinen/Alten Kameraden” 10.4.1935.H.R.”, meaning “from your old friend”. The ring is also hallmarked inside “.750” and is stamped with a maker’s mark of “KB”.
This lot also includes a set of gold plated cuff-links that have the same Field Marschall seal and family crest on top, as well as the same hallmark and maker’s mark on the back side. The ring and cufflinks are all stored in a small blue felt box that is marked inside the lid with “Wehrrmueller/Jewelers”.
I’d buy that. Matches my pimp hat and gold platform shoes.
But do your shoes have aquariums in them?
Great Flyguy reference!
More to the point, are they made of human-leather?
I would not, and I suspect that most of the people who would are doing so for weird reasons. That being said, ultimately they did lose and Goering died, so I can conceive of someone regarding it as a trophy from a vanquished foe.
I suspect if Goering or current nazi sympathizers could choose who purchases the gun, it wouldn’t be a Jew. As that would probably piss them off, I think it would be awesome. Better if it’s purchased by somebody who sees it as a sobering reminder of history, a reminder of “never again,” and not as an object of pride.
I think the irony of a Jew owning Herman Goering’s PPK befitting of the douchebaggery that was the Nazi party. Made for an Anti-Semite, now owned and used for the pleasure and pride of a Jew. Kind of like all that cheap commie ammo… Made for combating “capitalist pigs”, now being sold and shot at coke cans and paper targets for the profit and amusement of said “capitalist pigs”.
I have worked with many Russian soldiers and soldiers from former Soviet republics and they never displayed any contempt for America or American soldiers. They did want to trade for anything American; uniforms, weapons, humvees. It’s always politicians who make people hate each other, otherwise everyone just wants to get along.
I’d buy it and keep it locked up in my safe until WWII was only as well known as the Punic Wars. It’s worth noting that Goering’s narcissism rivalled Hitler’s own, and he liked to show it off- he even considered the gold medals awarded to him by Hitler to not be good enough, so he had them replicated in platinum. This gun is nothing if not nicely-engraved.
I can only assume that such an asinine comment that, to make it clear to any others like you know nothing of Goring, has no fact in it and is made by a member of the tribe. What a pity that it’s all a lie and no jews really died in these amaginatory gas chambers: they may have gotten your grandma and then we wouldn’t have had to suffer…you!
Ernest Ranklin are you Ricky from Trailer Park Boys? Your command of the English Language is frankly laughable, your comment is so full of incorrect and poorly formed sentences that there are too many to list…… By the way what does ‘amaginatory’ mean, do you mean Imaginary? Are you also saying in your statement that the holocaust never happened? Because I can assure you it did. My Grandfather served with the Irish Guards in the second world war and saw the evil the Nazi’s performed first hand, he was on the beaches on D-Day and stayed in Europe until 1946. You’re obviously very very dumb and I’m surprised you can actually operate a computer.
Would I buy it? Yes, if the price was cheap enough. Let me expand…. Say someone had an estate sale and no idea of the real value with it’s Nazi history. Yes, I’d buy it and donate it to a WWII museum that accurately depicts Hermann Goering as the evil POS he was. Also the evil of the Nazi’s and anyone who associated with them. That would be an absolute must! If somehow the museum became run by a bunch of liberal Democrats who want to add some sort of humanity to the Nazi’s. Or they want to add some liberal BS that it wasn’t really Nazi’s fault, they did what they did because Big Bad America and company imposed such hardships on the German’s after WWI. If the museum ever got that way I’d require them to melt it down and form the molten metal in to a urinal cake holder/holders!
Second part to answer: What if I was given it for free? I do the same thing I answered above. I will be honest though….. It would very tempting to just throw out the grips and add my own, scratch off anything Nazi related, and have a super nicely engraved Walther to my gun collection. And YES; I would shoot it; especially with my Jewish friends and family. Oh and shoot the Nazi collector pistol with the cheap dirty ammo…Laughing and smiling every time it’s fired knowing some Nazi lover would have a heart attack! Reminds me of how my grandfather would fly the Nazi flag under American flag. I remember him telling me how much it pissed the Nazi’s off since it apparently was as disrespectful as using the flag as toilet paper, but on full display to everyone.
I can see that, as a Jew myself. However for me a trophy would mean more if I directly captured/killed it’s owner.
I personally would not own any Nazi memorabilia. Despite the historical relevance, they were honestly just plain evil.
And I’m fascinated with WWII. However I keep my collection relegated to the Allied and the greatest generation of all time. Boy do we need men like that now.
Ultimate white supremecist BBQ gun.
I appreciate the quality of workmanship, but it’s not a piece I would like to own. It belongs in a museum.
*packs it away and rolls it into a warehouse innadesert*
Why not? He’s not getting the money and neither is anyone else that helped (or even knew) him.
Let’s ask a slightly different question: would you own a gun you knew was used in a criminal shooting? I’m pretty sure we asked that one before and almost everyone said yes. How is this different? This one probably didn’t even kill anyone, even if the original owner did.
This. I wouldn’t buy it because I had a thing for the nazis, I would buy it as a piece of history. Because that’s what it comes down to in my opinion: a historical piece. I will admit it is a little gaudy for my tastes, but it is undeniably a work of art.
I can understand the negative sentiment about it because nazis and whatnot, but I would have no problem or second thoughts about buying that piece. No different in my eyes than buying a 98k.
I agree. I am a semi-history buff, and thats the only reason why I would get it is because of its historical value
I would not consider it “memorabilia,” more like a trophy, as in: “we kicked your ass.”
So, heck yeah.
Goering surrendered to the 36th Infantry Division, aka the “Texas Division” on May 6, 1945. I’d be tempted to deface it by inscribing a little US Army insignia on the inside.
Kinda like the snackbar who got Gaddafi’s gold-plated Hi-Power. tbh, I’d rather have that Hi-Power…
As someone whose favorite gun is the Browning Hi-Power, that right there is the missing crown jewel of my collection.
Nope. Nada.
I wouldn’t even carry this illegally in California. Or semi-legally in Iilinois.
Maybe if I was a pimp.
I don’t understand why you wouldn’t own this. I wouldn’t buy it unless I had a giant pile of F You money. I’m a history nut. That’s my excuse. But if you’re a Jew, I can’t imagine a bigger “Hey Hermann, eat my balls!” Kind of a statement than a Jew owning his ugly ass gun. That really only stands if someone just gave it to you, though.
My dad was a prison guard at Nurnberg, and was assigned to watching the prisoners in the cell block. I have his scrapbook with the autographs of all the defendants, including Goering. This would make a great addition to this collection, except there is no way I could afford it.
Tales like this are why I love reading military history. That your father could go around demanding signatures from men who once threatened most of the known world speaks volumes to the allies’ victory. The sad fact is, there’s a gaggle of fascistic, politically-correct morons who would rather see the “offensive” scrapbook torched than preserved by your family. The irony is staggeringly obvious because, you know, book burning…
I’d rather have Gaddafi’s gold Hi-Power.
http://metro.co.uk/2011/10/20/gaddafi-dead-golden-gun-souvenir-for-libyan-who-found-tyrant-in-sirte-189551/
That gun has Clinton’s prints all over it.
Although I am a fan of modern Walther products, this one I would pass on. It belongs in a history museum along with many of the things from the past that we should never allow ourselves to forget. There are plenty of people who would be perfectly fine with rounding up and putting walls around the free citizens of this country because “those people” disagree with the State. The Jews experienced so much horror at the hands of so many governments that it shocks me that many of them fail to understand the profound importance of the phrase “Never Again!”
Not a bad looking pistol, I’m both of German and Jewish descent, so as far as morals go I couldn’t look at it fairly from either side, as a gun collector, antique collector and someone who enjoys rare and unique things, hell yes id own it, its a fine example of craftsmanship, and it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to own something of that historical value, i have an 1889 .38s&w Smith revolver, something about a cool factor involved, i mean, do you have any 130 year old firearms laying around that function? Not everyone does. So for cool factor alone, where do I sign up?
I have seen officers’ pimped out Lugers (silly Prussians) less gaudy looking than that thing. Wouldn’t buy it myself, won’t judge anyone who would. If given to me, I’d immediately sell it at auction, save half the money, and spend the other half on guns and militaria. A salty, German-marked Hi-power or VIS Radom rig would look great in my display case.
People who attribute morals and agency to inanimate objects annoy me. “That gun killed innocent jewish people!” No, some degenerate shitbag operating it did who’s long since dead. If you’re so offended by having that old *gasp* NAZI gun in the house, allow me to pay you $25 to take it off your hands for good.
This. The only difference between Goering’s pistol and any other wartime surplus gun is provenance.
What if that Arisaka was used during the rape of Nanking? What if that Nagant revolver executed a Russian soldier not willing to fight? What if that P38 murdered a teenager that resisted conscription? Hell, what if that Garand killed an enemy attempting to surrender?
Its never the gun, its the hand that holds it.
Exactly we always say on here a firearm is just a tool, neither good nor evil, it’s the person who is using it is good or evil.
This is just a pistol who was once owned by an evil owner.
I would definitely own it. As a collector, to me there more of historical artifacts which can relay a story. A lot of modern historical conflicts revolves around the gun, and who owned it for what purpose. As the old adage goes, those that forget history tend to repeat it.
To put it simply, I would buy this pistol, just like I would buy a gun that was owned by Stalin, Hitler, Saddam… and yes even Bin Laden (if you could somehow prove it belonged to him). I also agree it could be an artifact from a vanished foe, which would actually be my only condition. They’re evil asses are dead.
Hell no.
And I’m of the opinion that there is no non-creepy way to be in to Nazi memorabilia.
So, is a gun simply an object? We tell the anti’s that all the time.
What is the big deal? Will owning that gun make you a Nazi? Does reading Mein Kampf make you a Nazi? Will owning a gun make you a baby killer?
It is a historic fact, that is all. I don’t see the big deal except I could not afford it.
There is nothing creepy about it. Given how ornate it is, it was probably never used except for show like a gold watch.
Making something more of it other than the fact that it is a gun is emotional and stupid.
+1
What an elitist prog attitude you have, “Why would ANYONE own an object like THAT? I certainly wouldn’t, and anyone who would is obviously inferior to my enlightened mind.” Get off your high horse.
Uh huh. Interesting how guys who say that don’t also seem to be into collecting Stalin memorabilia. Or Che Guevera T-Shirts.
So, if I own a historical item from, say, a Roman emperor, does that mean I support slavery, Gladiator games, brutality, and military conquest? No, it does not. Relics from history are props that stimulate our interest in learning history. If we do not learn history, we are doomed to repeat it, and this is not a time in history I want to repeat. Today’s Progressivism is nearly identical to the fascist movement of the late 20’s and early 30’s, and we shouldn’t burry that period I’m history just because it is uncomfortable. If I had the money to spare, I would buy it and create a mobile road show to teach as many people how an ideology that is identical to Hilliary’s led to some of the worst atrocities of the last century.
Of course and I expect you to die Mr. Bond!
If the Germans had won WW2, some auction house in Dusseldorf would be selling Patton’s sidearms.
But the Germans didn’t win. The Allies did. And now an auction house in Illinois is selling Hermann Goering’s bling.
Owning Goering’s stuff would reaffirm the Allied victory. It would be an amazing war trophy now owned by the victors and formerly owned by the vanquished. Best of all, it would make all neo-Nazis cringe.
Yeah, I’d own the fatman’s stuff if I could afford it. Damn straight I would.
That’s kind of how I look at this. It would be a nice F*ck You to those that still sympathize with the Nazi ideology. To me it would be as close to a slap in their faces as when the Allied soldiers raided Hitler’s photo albums or Goering’s wine cellar.
If you want to give the middle finger to the nazi wannabe boys buy that piece of bling and have a news crew watch you melt it down.
In the series “Justified” Raylen and his boss were creeped out by an art dealer who collected Hitlers paintings. Til they found out that he burned every one he got and his “collection” of Hitler art was a row of mason jars full of ash.
Or eventually use it to shoot fascists. 😉
I thought that was a pretty good episode. Obviously I’m not saying a person that buys an object doesn’t have the right to destroy that object if they so desire. Everybody has a different way of saying “F*ck You”.
To the victors go the spoils. I always liked this picture of easy company drinking Hitlers booze.
http://imgur.com/gallery/FcC1rsH
I think the pistol is ugly as hell though.
Agreed.
I would not buy it, and if it was given to me I would donate it to a museum, maybe the holocaust museum or the NRA museum.
While I appreciate the history of firearms, I don’t own any that I can’t take to the range and shoot the snot out of.
Respectfully Submitted
Hey, if I had that kind of money I would bid on the “Desirable U.S. Inspected and 1887 Dated Colt Model 1883 Gatling Gun with Field Carriage.” Far more practical for shooting ground squirrels, and it would be a big hit at the range.
I think it belongs in a museum myself.
As someone who is gradually moving in the direction of collecting more higher-end pieces, I wouldn’t buy such a one-off. The problems with such unique pieces are:
1. The market is relatively illiquid. You’ve got this one-of-a-kind item, and it is highly valued. It’s kind of like owning the nicest ranch in the state – how many buyers are you able to find for this? Not many. If you want to get a particular price for this, you might be waiting for a bit.
2. You have a hard time insuring it – because of the valuation issue in (1) above, and if you bought such an expensive gun, you should absolutely insure it.
3. As we become more and more removed from WWII by time, people who want to own unique memorabilia of the WWII stuff, especially the high ranking Nazi stuff, will need to establish a real, documented provenance for their items. If this pistol goes for $400K and disappears into a deep private collection, odds are that someone will use the detailed photos to try to re-create the piece and sell it to the gullible sorts of buyers.
Think I’m kidding? Look at how much counterfeit art there is out there – much of it of pieces that have disappeared into quiet private collections.
Heck, there are people who are trying to counterfeit Singer-made 1911’s out there.
Tons of counterfeit old west guns
My sister hobby to guns is militaria. Third Reich stuff is seen as taboo for obvious reasons, but people love collecting things they’re not supposed to according to cultural norms. Supply and demand kicks in, prices have shot up exponentially in the past 25 years. To fill the gap, elaborate copies flooded the market. For every genuine Nazi German item I have put down thinking it a forgery, I have passed on at least a hundred fake items being advertised as real.
The quality of some of these fakes is scary detailed, but when Waffen-SS helmets in salty dog condition go for $5,000 minimum, you bet every last item from jacket buttons to guns will be messed with, duplicated, or aged and sold as an untouched original.
I would do as Justin suggested, buy it and turn it over to theHolocaust Museum. It should be theirs to do with as they please.
Nope. Even if I had a pile of money I wouldn’t own that. Not simply due to who owned it but because I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at such a blinged-out thing, let alone shoot it. But it’s not like it’s actively celebrating the Nazi cause with swastikas and those odd-ball runes they liked to put on everything, as opposed to that CZ-75 Cold War Commemorative with the Soviet hammer & sickle and red star. I love my CZs, but I wouldn’t have that one in my house, either.
I’ve been seeing one of those Cold War Commemorative CZs at the last few gun shows. I want it but don’t really have enough disposable to get it… and there are others in line ahead of it on the wish list.
I’m surprised it’s in such good condition, considering that fat greasy bastard likley smeared his greasy hands all over it like some kind of grease mongrel. But yeah, I’d own it. War trophy.
Did he actually carry it on a routine basis? I’ve heard that when he surrendered to American troops the sidearm they took off him was a Smith and Wesson M&P.
No, I wouldn’t buy this gun because of the exact individual it was connected to. But a run of the mill Nazi era Luger? P38? Mauser? Yes. If the price was right.
I bought a West German surplus police Walther .32 in the 80’s. Always regretted letting that one go.
If I could afford it I’d buy it. I’d buy about any famous gun that I could if I had the money. There is no such thing as NAZI residue that will cause goose stepping or strongman worship any more than Jesse James’s gun would cause an urge to rob banks. I do appreciate the over the top pimped look of it too.
Let me change that to “f**k yeah” It’d be like owning Liberace’s gun (if there was one) – an over the top gesture of tastelessness that would be just plain fun.
As a history buff, I would love to know how this pistol came to be, and how it ended up at auction. Those stories end up being more interesting than the piece of artwork itself. (Wonder if it shoots straight?)
I could never afford it, so no. If I were a curator at a museum, I might consider. I would put it in an exhibit titled “And a Lot of Good It Did You, Fatboy!” Like the Luftwaffe he commanded, he was all hat and no cattle.
In the meantime, a few historical and linguistic quibbles, realizing that the errors are presumably on the part of the auction house, not TTAG:
Goering was a Reichsmarschall, not a “mere” Field Marshal. That makes him the equivalent of a six star general, and as such, pretty much the only one in the history of the world. His and Hitler’s egos had no equals, at least at that time. (As I said before, hat vs. cattle.)
It’s probably “Der Eiserne,” not “Der Eiseme.” I suppose the “rn” right next to each other looked like an “m.”
“Alten Kameraden” is plural, so it would be “old comrades,” not “old comrade.”
In case you are wondering, I am Sheldon’s stunt double on “The Big Bang Theory.”
The Luftwaffe was hardly “all hat, no cattle.”
Over 50K of our men died in the air war over Europe, including two of my paternal grandmother’s brothers. Until 1944, the heavy bomber crews were getting mauled and slaughtered on a very regular basis. The odds of completing 25 missions was near nil.
If we had been smart after we gained air superiority, we would have ordered the the USAAF to burn Germany’s cities to the ground, to give the Germans a good taste of American wrath. It would have also saved us decades and trillions of defense spending for the Russians and Chinese to see what it means to get on our bad side.
I guess you didn’t notice that we did level every major German city.
And if those 2 atomic firecrackers sent to japan didn’t get the worlds attention, a few gutted german cities weren’t.
I guess you didn’t notice that we did level every major German city.
Friendly French cities sometimes did not fare so well either.
RAF levelled cities, USAAF not so much.
USAAF was going after strategic and tactical targets in Europe; but there was collateral damage on the bomb runs.
USAAF could not area bomb in Europe for political reasons as there were too many German and Italian Americans.
We had the Pope on the phone asking him what we could bomb and not bomb for political reasons.
Your kidding right? In August of 43, the U.S. lost over 60 bombers out of 376 over Schweinfurt Germany. That represented over 600 men killed MIA or captured. On top of that over 50-75 bombers were damaged some so bad they never flew again. The British on a night mission over Nuremberg in 44 lost over 100 bombers and 700 men. The Lufftwaffe was a tiger from the very beginning, one that was not mastered until overwhelming firepower broke their back. If anything we were lucky that the buffoon Goering was in charge. If he would have listened to Galland the cost would have been far higher.
You also forget that the Germans were fighting the Soviet air force over a vast front and the German pilots racked up incredible totals. Finally 4/5 airplanes lost were on the German front, not the Japanese.
The germans had a tactical air force. They had well developed fighters and well trained and experienced airman. But they lacked a strategic air force. One of many weaknesses the german military suffered from.
They self claimed the title of “master race” and immediately set out to prove they were not.
They were the Master Baiters.
Your right about their general lack of a strategic arm. However they were certainly not “paper tigers.” Only someone who has never studied the war would spout such nonsense. If the air war over Germany was easy, I hate to see what a tough war environment would look like.
With regard to hat vs. cattle.
Never said it was easy. Never said they were paper tigers. My father, father in law, and two uncles (three USN, one USAAF) were intimately involved with the Third Reich’s well-deserved demise; one of them did not come home.
What I meant was this: Herman Goering vs. Hap Arnold.
Whose absurdly ornate pistol is being auctioned off? (Hat)
Whose air force won? (Cattle)
Nazi egomania was unbelievable then, and unfortunately remains frequently imitated. The Nazis invented the modern Olympic spectacle in 1936, but then fell prey to the people that sang “In der Fuehrer’s Face.”
Not sure I’d call Marseille, Rall, Hartman, Barkhorn, Student, Kittel, Rudel, Galland, Nowotny et al ‘cattle’, but they weren’t parts of a hat either.
Half of you own mosins, right? Pre-’45, they killed Nazis. Post ’45, they killed intellectuals and capitalists. Got mismatching receivers/bolts? It’s practically Darth Vader.
Agreed. Lots of Mauser 98s out there and we thinks nothing of it. SKS the same thing.
Goering’s pistol is a little different in that it is associated with a major historical figure. We tend to associate a little more evil with an individual as opposed to a standard infantry weapon. How many of us would LOVE to have an MP40?
mosins also killed finns, white army loyalists, red army communists, ukranians, poles, bulgarians, the list is pretty exhausting. Mine has killed deer, turtles, (very fun) beaver, possum, armadillo, and skunk.
Spoils of War. Owning their stuff is a perk of winning.
If I had the money, I probably wouldn’t buy since I’m a shooter and accumulator not a collector.
I look at foreign police handguns in the same light. I have an Austrain S&W, a German Police PP, and German Border Guard Sig P6. Their citizens (subjects) can’t own them but I can.
Kind of Ironic and a little sad.
Of course I’d own it, but could never afford it.The history and the craftsmanship are both extraordinary. I might even shoot it, because I doubt Goering ever did!
Yep- I’d buy it. Nope-I can’t afford it. I’m looking for Nazi crap to sell to whoever gives me the most $.It’s just historical memorabilia to me. And I got a buyer with deep pockets(but I doubt THIS deep). At least the Naziis stood for evil BS unambigouosly. With muslim sympathizers like Bury Soetoro he’s trying to claim he isn’t when he clearly IS. And the doofus troll is back with his inane nonsense comments…lol
Goering was known to be a connoisseur of fine art (stolen) and expensive liquors (also likely stolen) and porn.
Judging by the looks of that pistol he also had a strong pimp hand.
The piece belongs in a museum.
I’d rather own a boatload of real world weapons I could use. Especially since Hillary is about to take them all away very soon. Practicality wins every time.
We Polish boys are not especially keen on Nazi stuff either. This said, Fattie Goering’s lust for drugs and luxury left only enough time for him to screw up the Luftwaffe and the Gestapo. We could have had a far more competent enemy, say Heydrch. Bet Heydrich never owned an engraved pistol.
So let some Walter Mitty type own it for a while. It will eventually wind up in the back room of some museum.
Europe was in deep sh!t during WW2, and would have been in deeper sh!t had Heydrich not been bumped off in 1942.
Until Goring fell deep into morphine addiction, the fat man was an extremely competent leader/organizer and his Luftwaffe was the scourge of the skies.
It’s also noteworthy that Hitler was strung out on Pervitin, an early form of crystal meth. The Luftwaffe and the Heer provided flyers and soldiers with Pervitin tablets to keep them going. Hitler was injected with the stuff every day by his “physician,” Dr. Teodore Morell. It’s no wonder that the Austrian corporal was completely paranoid and delusional.
The whole Reich was run by drug addicts, psychopaths, perverts and sadists.
I seem to recall Heydrich had a Mauser HSC that wound up in a museum.
I own a model 1927 made in 1945, i dont care how many commies it beat to death as they got thrown out of a helicopter over the ocean. Its a trophy of war, plenty of these are in circulation. Now you say you are a Jew, thats on you. Plenty of people i know say they are “Catholic”, and only go to Easter and Christ Mass mass. When was the last time you went to a Synagogue? Not that i care, its you making the big deal about a piece of steel and “your” Jewish faith.
It’s not my style, even if I owned a museum. But to the victor go the spoils, so I wouldn’t have a problem owning something with provenance.
It’d be nice if Walther bought it, had it melted down and used the gold to donate to poor german kids, fill their cavities or something. Use Goering’s narcissism to do something to actually build up Germany rather than tear it down. Also, being a Catholic, im not the biggest fan of the Nazi’s, please remember it was more than just Jews that suffered under these fuck holes.
Hush! Only the 6 million matter. The 5 million Gypsies, Poles, Catholics, etc., don’t.
Kind of like how we weep for the Japanese-Americans who were persecuted here in the US during WW2, but not the German-Americans.
Centralil. I don’t recall anybody saying to ignore the non jewish victims of the nazis. Although it would be easier to be sympathetic to some of these groups if they hadn’t been so helpful to the nazis when it came time to round up and exterminate the jews for no other reason than being jewish.
And yes, some germans were put into camps during the war. Most of these were german nationals and somewhere to the tune of 10-11 thousand. Just as American nationals were rounded up and put in camps by japan and germany even though they were civilians.
But many of the japanese on the west coast were American citizens, not foreign nationals. This was a true civil rights crime laid right at the feet of FDR.
No. There’s no reason to commemorate the asshole, and further, that pistol is hideous. The dude had no taste.
I don’t judge either way, even though that pistol isn’t my thing. Nice work and all (I have a Zehner rifle with really nice engraving that was commissioned during the Berlin Airlift, so believe me, I dig the workmanship) but it’s obviously way out of my reach. Not the point, though.
It’s all about free will. I may hold that the Nazis were human beings who did unspeakably evil things, and others may deny that truth about history, but as far as that gun goes, it’s just a gun. Load gun, pull trigger, gun goes bang. It’s not going to brood over Goering’s merits or faults, it’s just going to go bang. The fact that we can openly and peaceably agree to disagree is what makes us who we are. And in that context, I’m glad for it. As mentioned above, many of the ‘progressives’ in the Democratic Party are becoming more and more like the Nazis were in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, and based on that alone, I can almost guarantee you we are going to have a civil war within a decade, and very possibly much sooner if Hillary Clinton is elected. History really has a way of repeating itself.
Tom
Are you insane???!!! This is Hitler’s car!!!!!!
Nope.
History aside its a useless caliber and slide bite to boot.
Kinda Pimpish don’t you all think in gold…..
We wouldn’t be having this discussion of it were Beria’s Tolkarev because ever cybody buys into the commies weren’t as bad even though the commies murdered an order of magnitude more.
The war winners usually get to write the history books, which is why the Bolsheviks are such wonderful people.
Actually, you would have better odds with fun and the Fuhrer than some other PC Commie and Muzrat dictators.
I’d love to have the Walther pistol that Hitler used to kill himself. That gun should be revered.
I’d also pay to own pieces of the ropes that were used to hang the bastards.
Why not? It’s not much different from getting a Mauser or Luger from the war.
Nope, nazi memorabilia holds no interest for me. On the other hand one of Menachem Begin’s personal heaters would be a cool thing to have. The closest I’d go to WWII German stuff is an Israeli Kar98k rework.
This is military memorabilia. Owning it doesn’t mean you support Nazi ideology any more than owning a Confederate Civil War military item means you support slavery. Military history buffs own items from both sides of a conflict because they are history. Period.
My wife’s grandmother has the tattoo on her arm from the concentration camp she was in as a teenage girl because her Austrian family did not support Hitler. Her mother and brother died there. She was rescued by the Americans as she was being placed on a train to be transferred, consequently she’s excited her granddaughter married an American. Owning this gun would not offend her, she would see it as a victory because an item cherished by a prominent Nazi was now in the collection of the people who vanquished him.
All depends upon who gets the ultimate cash proceeds of the sale. With that aside, the best sale result would be for some Jewish millionaire to buy it and donate it to the Jerusalem Yad VaShem Museum showing the permanent extinction of the “Thousand-Year Reich” !!! דמד
I really do think that Kaiser Wilhelm II, who died only 5 years before “The Fat One”, though no longer Kaiser nor permitted to reside, or even to be buried, on German soil, had more class.
Watch Kaiser Wilhelm II fun and frolics in the video series of The Great War and you will recognize him for the classless and clueless idiot he really was.
Indy Nidel for the win.
Always loved good old Uncle Hermann. I never saw him as much as a Nazi but rather the ultimate opportunist. I always had the ultimate confidence that he would sell his Grandmother down the river for $ 3.99.
I give Uncle Hermann some credit for his service in the German Air Service in WWI.
Hey, at least Uncle Hermann had some good taste in stolen artwork and other heisted luxury goods in WWII.
Never knew that Goering owned a Walther, since his favorite handgun was a Smith & Wesson M&P in .38 Special which he bought at a gun store in Hamburg before the war. It’s in the West Point museum now.
Goering was filmed surrendering his sidearm, not once but several times, to different American officers who each wanted to brag that he had personally received it from the Luftwaffe chief.
If I had that kind of coin I’d bring home a Holland & Holland instead. Never really wanted a gun customized for someone else. I’ll leave the moralizing about natzees to the usual suspects.
For $2500? In a New York minute.
For $250,000? Um, no, that exceeds my annual discretionary budget by a wide margin.
I’ll let somebody who buys million dollar cars have it.
Use it for a BBQ gun?
Yep, it’s possibly the most ornate factory Walther in existence, no different from having a gold filigree Holland and Holland that was originally made for a elephant hunting Sultan.
If I had the money, I would purchase it and turn it over to the Israeli embassy. I’ll let them decide what they want to do with it.
That’s actually a good outcome.
Let’s put this into another perspective. The San Bernardino Muslim terrorists used AR rifles to slaughter people. The racist shooter in Dallas used a Tavor. Does that mean that we should now eschew all ARs and Tavors? I mean after all, they were used to commit atrocities, and honestly probably more that fat boy ever used his pistol for. But even if he did, it is an inanimate object like the truck the Muslims terrorists used in France or the front end loader the Palestinian terrorist used in Jerusalem to run over an Israeli family.
The pistol is an instrument used by an evil person, but in and of itself is not evil. It is instead a symbol of a defeated enemy. There is no glorification of evil in owning the weapon of a vanquished enemy. They do not benefit in any way from it, because they are dead. And well they should be.
Being a PPK, the most delicious revenge would be for the head of Mossad to carry it.
Saddams Glock 18 would cool but this need an re open of the 86 closed register ………..
I view this as history that should never be forgotten. I would own it and use it as a teachable moment. I own multiple relics from the Communist era and I`m passing them on to my son so he can use to teach others about the destructive force government can become.
If goering doesn’t benefit from the sale why not? What matters to me is do I think the gun is beautiful and can I afford it. I don’t care if the gun was used for evil. All guns are inanimate objects.
I share the strongest scorn for Nazis and especially the Nazi leadership, but I see nothing wrong with dividing up his valuables and putting my non-Germanic fingerprints all over them. It seems fitting to part this guy out like an old Mazda, and for our own amusement and hobbies.
Would have no interested in owning. For same reason as no interest in dating Kim Kardashian. Tacky/ugly trash. Over priced slutage. And know where it’s been.
That was actually really well said and made me smile when I read it. +1
🙂 Nice one
No. I would buy a Luger, Karabiner 98, or G43 that still had its Nazi markings, but that is as far as I would go. I have no love for the Nazis, but I like historical pieces. The Germans made some interesting firearms. If I had a chance to own one, I wouldn’t pass it just because it still had Nazi markings.
Something owned by a prominent Nazi is a different story. At that point, the history of the man and the history of the gun are intertwined. It’s hard not to see the gun as a bit of Nazi iconography, or iconography of Goering in this case. There is something distasteful about it.
Not sure. Can we get a review? How accurate is it?
Nope. If I had that kind of money for a collectible I’d have a lot more Zeppelin badges and Imperial German Navy memorabilia.
I’d like one with my own initials on it.
Holy shit, that’s baller.
I would definitely purchase this if I had the money…. I hate Nazi’s but appreciate history and also appreciate the gunsmiths art in general; this is just about as good as you will get craftsmanship wise from a ‘modern’ firearm. I would buy it, appreciate it for what it is then leave it in my will to the Imperial War Museum here in Great Britain.
Would I buy it? Yes. The Walther PPK is a great gun, and this is an exquisitely made piece.
I am a person who lost family to the Nazis. However, this pistol never killed them. It never wanted to kill them. Guns, as I hear fellow gun owners so vehemently proclaim, do not have minds of their own. Is it connected to a violent and racist regime? Yes. Is it responsible for said regime. No. It is a machine. A well-made one, yes, but still a machine. Nothing more.
Dear Sir/Madam;
My late father brought home some items from Germany after WWII. One of the items is a pamphlet about the Luftwaffe and it happens to be the personal copy of Hermann Goring. It was taken from his private train car in Munich in June of 1945. I listed it on Ebay as item 323233839296. It may be the only one in the world. Would you or anyone you know of have any interest in this item?
Regards;
Robert K Cooper
Garland, Texas