Description
Here’s a very nice, very rare one for you dagger fans. A Chained NPEA (National Political Education Institute, or Nationalpoltische Erziehungsanstalt, known as “NAPOLA”) Leader Dagger by maker Karl Burgsmüller with a superb blade! Starting at the top we have a nice solid grip free of cracks and chips with no repairs. The aluminum grip eagle is very nice, showing only very minor wear under the loop. The blade on this dagger is about as good as it gets, with a strong cross grain and a nice shiny surface free of the oxidation spotting we see on a lot of these blades. It’s not perfect, but on a 10 scale we’d rate it a solid 9. The motto is nicely acid etched with a deep dark gray tone that has survived the decades. On the reverse we see the type 2 maker’s mark for “Karl Burgsmüller, Berlin”, also with a nice dark gray tone. The scabbard, like the rest of this dagger, is stunning! The original olive green body paint is approximately 97%, with only a couple scratches to note and no rust along the body surface. The plated throat fitting and center band are free of rusting and only show normal wear, but no dings. The throat fitting does show a small area (less than the size of a dime) where the plating is beginning to bubble (lift). The tip fitting shows a good amount of rusting, likely from decades of storage with the tip fitting in contact with occasional moisture. The chain is original to the dagger, and is in overall excellent condition, with the hook release still nice and springy. To not as we see often on issued Luftwaffe 1st model daggers the chain has been period shortened 1 ring on each side. This is an exceptional dagger, and one that is seldom found with all original parts. Regardless of any light issue this dagger has from storage wear, it would be very hard to find another, let alone upgrade to a better example!
Note – The National Political Educational Institute (Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt) was an SS-run organization established for the purpose of training future leaders for the Reich. A number of NPEA schools were set-up throughout Germany and many of its occupied countries, with most leaders and instructors coming from the SS. There were three forms of Political daggers associated with the NPEA. The Student version, the Staff Leader and the Chained Leader. The Student version had no insignia in the SA style wood grip. The blades were etched with the motto of the NPEA, Mehr Sein als Scheinen or “Be More Than You Appear”. The Staff Leader versions were identical to the Student, except there was a National eagle design in the grip. The Chained Leader was worn by instructors and leaders of the NPEA. The dagger itself had the National eagle in the grip but was otherwise the same as the Student version. The scabbard was olive drab, having three nickel plated mounts. The upper and center scabbard mounts carry a chain hanger.
