A German -Arab combination dagger

ariel · 19th March 2006, 05:52 PM

The handle looks Moroccan, but...
There were Islamic units in the German military during WWII.
The former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj-Amin el-Husseini, spent the entire WWII period in Germany, hobnobbing with the Nazis. He tried to push them into invading Palestine. In exchange, he helped them to recruit Muslems into Nazi service, and an SS Division " Hanjar" (yes, fellow weapon lovers, a name for a dagger....) was formed from the Bosnians and those lovelies were slaughtering Serbs like chicken. BTW, the recent President of Bosnia, Alija Izetbegovic was, in his youth, a member of "Hanjar". Another Nazi unit was an Albanian "Skanderbeg" SS Division (operating mainly in Kosovo).
The then Moroccan King, Mohammed V, tightly collaborated with the Nazis , too. Morocco was officially a protectorate of the ostensibly independent Vichy Republic, but ... let's play "Casablanca" again, Sam...

Whereas it is possible that this dagger was a post-war creation ( much SS booty was left in North Africa), I am wondering : could it be of the vintage WWII production, a pro-Nazi Muslim uniform, decoration etc, etc.
There are quite a few WWII collectors, especially of Nazi memorabilia. Can anybody ask around?

19th March 2006, 05:52 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	The handle looks Moroccan, but... There were Islamic units in the German military during WWII. The former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj-Amin el-Husseini, spent the entire WWII period in Germany, hobnobbing with the Nazis. He tried to push them into invading Palestine. In exchange, he helped them to recruit Muslems into Nazi service, and an SS Division " Hanjar" (yes, fellow weapon lovers, a name for a dagger....) was formed from the Bosnians and those lovelies were slaughtering Serbs like chicken. BTW, the recent President of Bosnia, Alija Izetbegovic was, in his youth, a member of "Hanjar". Another Nazi unit was an Albanian "Skanderbeg" SS Division (operating mainly in Kosovo). The then Moroccan King, Mohammed V, tightly collaborated with the Nazis , too. Morocco was officially a protectorate of the ostensibly independent Vichy Republic, but ... let's play "Casablanca" again, Sam... Whereas it is possible that this dagger was a post-war creation ( much SS booty was left in North Africa), I am wondering : could it be of the vintage WWII production, a pro-Nazi Muslim uniform, decoration etc, etc. There are quite a few WWII collectors, especially of Nazi memorabilia. Can anybody ask around?