Lot 276

WWII German Diplomat Dagger Identified to Franz von Papen

Previous image preload Next image preload

WWII German Diplomat Dagger Identified to Franz von Papen

Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000

Starting Bid: $18,000

(0 Bids)

by Rock Island Auction Company
August 21, 2026 9:00 AM CDT
Live Auction
3600 Harwood Road
Bedford, TX, US 76021

Well-Documented World War II German Diplomatic Officer's Dagger, Sheath and Party Membership Book, Inscribed and Identified to Franz von Papen, Hitler's First (and Last) Vice-Chancellor, with Supporting Texts Designed by Joachim von Ribbentrop for issue to officers of the Foreign Office, the diplomats and administrators of the Office received very similar sidearms, distinguished by the head of the Reichsadler on the guard; "Collecting the Edged Weapons of the Third Reich" by Johnson notes the head for the diplomat dagger as facing right, while "Daggers and Edged Weapons of Hitler's Germany" by Atwood notes the diplomat dagger head as facing left. An included grouping of documentation states that this dagger, as well as the included NSDAP membership book, as the personal property of Franz von Papen; these documents include 1) a signed 2009 letter from Bill Shea (noted militaria dealer, author, and operator of The Ruptured Duck) which notes the grouping as being from von Papen 2) the book "World War II German War Booty: A Study in Photographs" by Johnson, which features both the dagger and membership book on page 104, and 3) a copy of Shea's own book "The Stories Behind the Treasures of World War II: The Making of a Collectorholic, Volume II", which pictures both the dagger and the membership book in a two-page spread starting on page 433. The narrative, as related by Shea, is that the dagger, book, and a (not included) diplomatic uniform were looted from von Papen's home by a GI, who later sold the dagger and book to a dealer on the West Coast on an unspecified date (the uniform was reportedly left at the house of the GI's sister, who got tired of holding on to it and flogged it off at a church bazaar in the greater Chicagoland area), who in turn supplied the item to Shea. Born in 1879 in Westphalia, Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen was a child of wealth and privilege, educated in military academies and commissioned as a cavalry officer before receiving appointments to the German General Staff and the diplomatic service in 1913. Serving as a military attache in the United States and Mexico, von Papen was involved in questionable dealings prior to the war, such as arranging arms sales and organizing European volunteer fighters for the Huerta Regime. At the start of World War I, von Papen tried negotiating arms deals with the Americans, but was effectively foiled by Britain's Royal Navy from making any actual deliveries, and instead pivoted to sabotaging the Entente Powers by various means, running interference on arms deals, hiring goons to blow up businesses owned by Entente citizens, buying out war-relevant industrial supplies en masse, aiding Indian nationalists with arms smuggling, and plotting incursions into Canada. He would be declared persona non grata in 1915 after British intelligence tipped the Americans off about his abuse of his diplomatic post, but continued his shenanigans covertly, attempting to play kingmaker in Mexico and supporting the Easter Rising in 1916. Returning to active military service, von Papen would see action at the Battle of the Somme and at Vimy Ridge before heading to Turkey for the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. Briefly living as a gentleman farmer after World War I, von Papen took command of a Freikorps unit during the Ruhr Uprising in 1920, which in turn put him on the radar of political operators who thought he could do well in office, leading to an election to the Prussian Landtag. This would set him on a course to possibly one of the worst political blunders in Western history, when von Papen, by 1933 an ineffectual and failed ex-Chancellor of Germany who had spent his term struggling to form a coalition between his party and Hitler's NSDAP, sold President von Hindenburg on the idea of a "Government of National Concentration" with Hitler as the Chancellor and von Papen as the Vice-Chancellor, using soft power and manipulation to keep Hitler boxed in and under control by the more conservative elements of the German establishment. By Autumn of 1934, the Reichstag Fire, the Night of the Long Knives and the death of Hindenburg would cement Hitler as the uncontested leader of Germany, setting the stage for the Holocaust and World War II. Returning to diplomatic work, von Papen would be appointed to Vienna, where he would serve as a major driver of German efforts to undermine Austrian sovereignty in preparation for the Anschluss, and later to Turkey where he would work to keep them neutral in the war, mostly by threatening to have the Luftwaffe bomb Istanbul if hostilities broke out. Reportedly, as early as 1943 von Papen came to the conclusion that the war would not end well for Germany, leading to a failed attempt as private negotiations with the U.S. via the OSS to back him as the post-Hitler leader of Germany; Roosevelt didn't bite. Asked to leave Turkey in 1944, von Papen received no further diplomatic postings, and would be captured by the Allies in April of 1945. After the war, he would be one of the first 24 defendants at the Nuremberg trials, alongside a number of high ranking Party officials, bureaucrats and military officers, formally indicted on Counts One (participating in a conspiracy for crimes against peace) and Two (planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression). The tribunal would describe von Papen's actions in Austria as "offenses of political morality", but his general lack of connection to the "brain trust" behind Germany's wars of aggression and the general perception of antipathy between himself and Hitler led to a deadlock, and eventually acquittal of the charges; he would be one of only 3 defendants to make it through the trial alive and without penalty. In Shea's writings, he speculates whether things would have gone worse for von Papen if the booklet identifying him as a literal dues paying member of the NSDAP had been in Allied custody in Nuremberg instead of sitting at the bottom of a GI's duffel bag. A post-Nuremberg denazification trial run by West Germany sentenced him to hard labor, but released him on appeal in 1949. For the remainder of his life von Papen would try to argue against the perception that he was to blame for Hitler's assumption of absolute power, pointing out that the NSDAP as a political force owed as much to the general population of Germany as it did to any individual political or industrial shot callers, though the general consensus is that his hands certainly aren't clean. He would hold no further political or military post, and would pass on in 1969. The dagger measures 14 1/2 inches overall with a 10 inch blade bearing the "scales" trademark and "Alcoso" address on the reverse of the blade, darkened silver plated furniture, right-facing eagle on the guard, imitation pearl grips, silver wire portepee, and a pebble grain pattern metal sheath. The sheath is engraved with the initials "F.v.P." between the suspension bands. This engraving is clearly visible in the supplied published sources. The membership book measures 4 inches wide by 5 1/4 inches tall, bearing von Papen's photograph and signature on the inside. Also included with the lot is a 1953 dated English language copy of von Papen's Memoirs.

Manufacturer: None

Model: None

Class: Other

  • Condition: The dagger is extremely fine, with slight play in the guard, a few light nicks and spots on the blade, mild wear on the portepee, and an appropriate darkened patina on the furniture. The membership book is fine and shows some wear and staining on the cover, with the binding still strong and legible pages. The Memoirs show wear appropriate to age, with both of the modern reference books in very good condition. An extremely rare and historic pair of artifacts from a major player in the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Rock Island Auction will contact you shortly after the auction has completed. We will arrange for shipping and or pickup.

Rock Island Auction Company

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 30% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $199 $10
$200 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000