In a video I made recently called Reich Chancellory Relics, link in the end screen, I said that Red Army troops conducted the hunt for souvenirs slightly differently from their Western Front allies.

Red Army troops were primarily interested in mobile wealth and objects of monetary value and also often fixtures and fittings and household items that they could take back home to the Soviet Union with them.

They did however like their German firearms, especially German pistols.

Like British and American soldiers, Soviet troops wanted Luggers and also P38s and carried and used those trophies in battle.

It is easy to see why the Luga was such a desired firearm when one compares one to the Soviet sidearm, the Tokarev TT33 semi-automatic pistol.

This T33 dates from 1945 and is a very basic and crudely made affair in comparison to the expensively made and highly finished German pistol.

However, one item that Red Army troops couldn’t resist was not one you would think that would have attracted them.

Unlike British and American soldiers, Red Army men had little interest in things like German helmets, caps, or uniforms or German medals.

After all, hoarding such items festoned in swast stickers might cause you to be seen as politically suspect in the hypers suspicious Soviet Union of the period.

Here we see a Soviet officer examining Vafan SS tunics found in a locker in Berlin at war’s end.

I should imagine the SS colonel’s tunic he holds was tossed unceremoniously on the floor moments after this photo was taken.

Valless trash to him, but of course with the passage of time of immense value today along with the visor caps on the shelf above worth a king’s ransom in 2025.

Of course, large quantities of German equipment and regalia were gathered up and sent to places like Moscow for official purposes.

This pyramid of German helmets is helping to celebrate the victory of Stalin over Hitler, nothing more.

So, what German trophy did Red Army soldiers appear to genuinely hunt out and even wear on their uniforms, swastikers, and all? The answer is the dagger.

In particular, the SS Honor Dagger issued to members of Himmler’s Black Knights, an almost holy object among SS members, with many ending up hanging on the belts of Soviet soldiers, particularly during the advance into Eastern Germany.

Many, many photographs exist showing Soviet troops wearing SS or SA daggers, and they appear to have been worn all the time, hanging from their belts and probably used as knives by these soldiers from the east.

So why SS daggers? Probably because in World War II Soviet propaganda, the Vaffan SS was seen as the greatest enemy of the Soviet people, the military arm of the hazed Nazi party, known in the USSR for its brutality against both prisoners of war and Soviet citizens and his fighting prowess.

Taking the symbol of such a military force as a trophy was a powerful FU to Hitler.

The daggers are quite striking, black and silver and adorned with runic symbols and death’s heads.

Eye-catching and nice replacement for the typical standard work knives issued to Red Army soldiers during World War II.

They would not, however, have obtained such weapons in battle, for the SS dagger was not carried by SS troops in the field.

Rather, they were left at home or in barracks.

And earlier in the war, they were worn as part of walking outdress and sometimes in full dress uniform on special occasions.

But as the Red Army overran towns and cities in Eastern Germany and of course military facilities, these objects were found and kept.

I must point out to you that the SS dagger was not simply an adornment to the uniform of the SS.

It was an object imbued with significant and almost mystical reverence by SS men and its award and wear was governed by very strict rules and regulations.

The SS service dagger or dintok was introduced in December 1933.

It is in the style of 15th to 17th century German sidearms usually colloially referred to as the holbine style.

The dagger was presented to the SS man on completion of basic training and the SS man had to pay for it usually in installments.

In 1934, the SS forbade the private purchase of SS daggers or any trading of them on the open market.

An SS man would be punished if he disposed of or lost his dagger.

If a man was dismissed from the SS, he had to surrender his dagger.

They were made by the best German firms and the early ones had a dark blue black anodized steel scabbard and nickel silver fittings.

Later ones had black painted scabbards and plated steel fittings, but the high quality finish was maintained.

In 1940, due to wartime economies, the 1933 patent SS dagger was withdrawn from production.

The dagger was suspended from a single metal and leather strap from the belt.

A more ornate version known as a chained dagger was introduced in 1936 for award to men who had joined the SS prior to Hitler coming to power on the 30th of January 1933.

A group called the old guard.

It was suspended from a chain of octagonal plates ornately embossed with death’s heads and SS runes and a scabbard mount with swastikers.

These were all privately purchased.

Additionally, 9,000 special so-called Rome SS Honor daggers were distributed by SA Chief Ernst Rome in 1934 to members of the SS Old Guard.

They were 1933 pattern SS daggers inscribed in German on the blade in heartfelt comrade ship Ernst Aome.

So in these photographs we see red army troops wearing both SS and SA daggers of various descriptions.

It is difficult to determine which exact dagger we’re looking at due to the fact that the photographs are black and white.

SS daggers were of course black and silver with SS runes whereas SA daggers were brown and silver with an SA symbol in the handguard.

It is clear that they were using these trophies as practical knives.

a number where the more common SA dagger, which was produced in very large numbers for the brown shirts before the war, and today is extremely common in comparison to SS daggers.

And of course, genuine SS daggers are worth considerably more than the SA ones.

Additionally, Red Army soldiers were to be found wearing dress daggers from other branches of the German armed forces, as we see here in these photographs, likewise looted from barracks and private homes.

The occasional sword was also taken, though I doubt it was worn, as the dagger is a much more practical and comfortable weapon to wear.

All these bladed weapons evidently had some value to the Soviet troops that wore them and allowed themselves to be photographed wearing them.

They signaled victory over the fascist beast in the Great Patriotic War.

I imagine a lot remain in Russia today as family heirlooms handed down through families from the original veterans, most of whom have now of course passed on.

Many thanks for watching.

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