Deutschland Erwacht Penknife

Two versions of the Deutschland Erwacht ("Germany awake") penknife, a reproduction which has been reputedly struck from the original dies of the Henckels firm, Solingen. The original emotive behind these knives was that they were sold during the years preceding and including 1933 as fund raising ventures providing income both for the manufacturer and the NSDAP who permitted usage of their emblems.

The private manufacture and sale of items bearing the swastika was forbidden by law,
following the establishment of the NSDAP government - the emblem being the official National Crest. The usage of it on badges, insignia, edged weapons, etc., etc., was only upon condition of government approval.

It is possible that the sale of such penknives as these illustrated was curtailed after 1933, and that they were not manufactured again until the dies were re-set during the mid-1960s. Photos: David Delich

Frederick J. Stephens, "Deutschland Erwacht Knife", Reproduction? Recognition!, 1976