I think it inevitable that from time to time, questions and articles will find their way to the DDR Forum pursuant the NVA Parade Honor Dagger and the Ceremonial Sword. There were a variety of combat bayonets produced and questions will continue to be raised about them as well.
SEGMC, founded Oct 1993 by Lee STEWART, and its 28 published additions of Die Nationale Volksarmee, offered a gold mine of information about the collecting of East German military memorabilia to English speaking NVA Collectors, not to be found anywhere else, then and now. The magazines are amazing given the information appearing in them was gleened by members prior to the internet being what it today is. That they were able to find the information and then publish it in a very professional and useful format to its membership, is still today a task and endeavor that continuously impresses me as I now and then gleen over various articles in the different publications. The amount of information the researchers were able to develop and pass on is rich and amazingly thorough, even by today's standards. There are mistakes to be found for sure, but they are miniscule to the immense voluminous and accurate information that also is to be found in the 28 editions that were published.
There are a total of three articles that are specific to the NVA Parade Honor Dagger, which can be found in editions 13, 16 and 17.
The information about which Kevin has so graciously scanned and reprinted from 16 and 17 address the General / Admiral Parade Honor Dagger.
Edition 13 addresses the Parade Honor Dagger worn by Field and Company grade NVA Officers.
The question posed by DTS with respect to the accompanying photos to the above referenced article Kevin was gracious enough to scan and reproduce for our members is in my opinion of importance, if the membership is to fully gain from Kevin's efforts, the knowledge the article is intended to impart.
I want to again reiterate thanks to the author, Charles LARSON and give additional credit to sources upon which he relied for research, which were:
Kurt GLEMSER; Sylvia Von LAIS; Klaus ULRICH and Manfred KUNZ.
Here then are the photos upon which DTS inquired:
The first three photos are of a dagger reportedly acquired before the fall of the wall. It is double inscribed, first in script on the sheath, and again in italics, on the blank shield on the other side of the sheath, which presumably was meant for this purpose. It reportedly is a variant issued to to some General Officers.
Personal Note: Even though this dagger reportedly was acquired prior to the collapse of the wall, I personally question that an NVA Honor Dagger (supposedly issued to the top graduating student) would need to be twice inscribed, and in two different syles.
The last two photos are of what is described as a Parade Honor Dagger, issued to the Top Graduating NVA Academy Officer Student.
It reportedly has been confirmed with former employees of the factory that originally produced the daggers, this was never "Officially" done during production, at the factory.
I have what I believe is a decent colletion of DDR NVA edged weapons, and all are blank - no inscription anywhere on any part of the weapon. I have been offered inscribed edged weapons (always at a premium price), and have always turned them down. That is my personal preference, and members are welcome to draw upon their own conclusions based upon their own resources and personal knowledge, and acquire or not, one or more of these Parade Honor Daggers bearing inscription and engravings.
Again, the first three pictures are an example of what is identified as an example of a "Presentation" Parade Honor Dagger that was presented to a General or Admiral of the NVA.
SEGMC, founded Oct 1993 by Lee STEWART, and its 28 published additions of Die Nationale Volksarmee, offered a gold mine of information about the collecting of East German military memorabilia to English speaking NVA Collectors, not to be found anywhere else, then and now. The magazines are amazing given the information appearing in them was gleened by members prior to the internet being what it today is. That they were able to find the information and then publish it in a very professional and useful format to its membership, is still today a task and endeavor that continuously impresses me as I now and then gleen over various articles in the different publications. The amount of information the researchers were able to develop and pass on is rich and amazingly thorough, even by today's standards. There are mistakes to be found for sure, but they are miniscule to the immense voluminous and accurate information that also is to be found in the 28 editions that were published.
There are a total of three articles that are specific to the NVA Parade Honor Dagger, which can be found in editions 13, 16 and 17.
The information about which Kevin has so graciously scanned and reprinted from 16 and 17 address the General / Admiral Parade Honor Dagger.
Edition 13 addresses the Parade Honor Dagger worn by Field and Company grade NVA Officers.
The question posed by DTS with respect to the accompanying photos to the above referenced article Kevin was gracious enough to scan and reproduce for our members is in my opinion of importance, if the membership is to fully gain from Kevin's efforts, the knowledge the article is intended to impart.
I want to again reiterate thanks to the author, Charles LARSON and give additional credit to sources upon which he relied for research, which were:
Kurt GLEMSER; Sylvia Von LAIS; Klaus ULRICH and Manfred KUNZ.
Here then are the photos upon which DTS inquired:
The first three photos are of a dagger reportedly acquired before the fall of the wall. It is double inscribed, first in script on the sheath, and again in italics, on the blank shield on the other side of the sheath, which presumably was meant for this purpose. It reportedly is a variant issued to to some General Officers.
Personal Note: Even though this dagger reportedly was acquired prior to the collapse of the wall, I personally question that an NVA Honor Dagger (supposedly issued to the top graduating student) would need to be twice inscribed, and in two different syles.
The last two photos are of what is described as a Parade Honor Dagger, issued to the Top Graduating NVA Academy Officer Student.
It reportedly has been confirmed with former employees of the factory that originally produced the daggers, this was never "Officially" done during production, at the factory.
I have what I believe is a decent colletion of DDR NVA edged weapons, and all are blank - no inscription anywhere on any part of the weapon. I have been offered inscribed edged weapons (always at a premium price), and have always turned them down. That is my personal preference, and members are welcome to draw upon their own conclusions based upon their own resources and personal knowledge, and acquire or not, one or more of these Parade Honor Daggers bearing inscription and engravings.
Again, the first three pictures are an example of what is identified as an example of a "Presentation" Parade Honor Dagger that was presented to a General or Admiral of the NVA.
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