In House Shipping:
The “Sturmabteilung” (SA), formed in 1921, was the original paramilitary branch of the Nazi party. Composed of Great War veterans and Freikorps members, the “brown shirts” of the SA were the brawling party thugs of the Nazi Party, frequently clashing with Communists in the streets during those hectic days in post-war Weimar Germany. With the Nazis gaining power in 1933, a dress dagger heavily steeped in Ancient Roman design was introduced for SA members to wear with their iconic “brown shirt” uniform. The SA was a massive organization, with an eventual strength of close to 3 million men, and the demand for these daggers was equally intense. They were produced by 123 different makers, from larger factories to small, cottage-industry workshops. The SA dagger featured a brown hardwood grip with an enameled SA emblem and the German national eagle inset at the left side. The blade was etched on the left side with the motto of the SA, “Alles für Deutschland”, and early on, some of these daggers carried a presentation inscription by SA leader Ernst Röhm on the right side. They were only presented to SA members with uninterrupted service from December 31, 1931, or those who transferred to the SA from the Hitler Youth prior to 1932. After Röhm’s arrest and summary execution on the “Night of the Long Knives” on June 30, 1934, SA members were ordered to remove the Röhm dedication inscription from their daggers. These highly collectible daggers are known today as SA “Ground Röhm” daggers. This German WW2 SA Early “Ground Röhm” Inscription Dress Dagger is in Good Condition, with some loosening to the blade and handle system, some loosening to the guard, moderate loosening to the pommel, some light sharpening to the blade edges, some cleaning, scratching, pitting, and scabbard wear at each side of the blade, the Röhm inscription having been neatly ground away from the right side of the blade, some light hairline surface cracking along the top edge of the right side of the handle, a small chip in the lower left side of the handle, all of the enamel finish having chipped away from the SA roundel at the lower left side of the handle, and with some overall age wear evident. Otherwise, the dagger is in fine shape, with no other damage. Most interestingly, it features a bright 8 3/4” double edge dagger spearpoint blade with the classic SA motto “Alles für Deutschland” (translating to “All for Germany”) crisply etched along the left side, the Röhm inscription having been neatly ground away from the right side (the faint remnants of the bottom of a few characters remain visible), and the maker’s name at the reverse ricasso having been removed in the grinding process, suggesting the removal of the Röhm inscription was performed by an SA man himself rather than at a factory. It boasts the original, early nickel guard that’s marked “Sa” in inverted fashion at the right side, denoting issue in SA Group Sachsen, sports a mellow brown hardwood handle with the traditional German national eagle inset in inverted fashion at the middle left side and the familiar SA roundel inset in inverted fashion at the lower left side, and carries a matching, early nickel pommel and securing nut. It’s complete with the original German WW2 SA Early Brown Anodized Steel Scabbard in Good Condition, with moderate finish abrading, some pitting, and some patina to the body, heavy denting to the “ball” portion of the end tip, some light spot denting to the sides of the throat, some stripping to the screw heads of the throat and end tip, some light scratching to the metal throat and end tip, and with some overall age wear evident. Otherwise, the scabbard is in fine shape, with absolutely no cracking or other damage. Most interestingly, it retains approximately 25% of the original brown anodized finish on the body, exhibits the original nickel throat and end tip, the former bearing the original hanging ring at the upper left side, and the set is a fine example of a very rare, original German WW2 SA Early “Ground Röhm” Inscription Dress Dagger.