What does "P.P.K." mean?
 

While researching Weimar police unit marks, I have run across reference to a Model 1914 Mauser, s/n 250756, with a 1920 property stamp and two unit marks: â??P.P.K.736â?� in the pocket on the right side of the frame and â??PBg.24.â?� on the front grip strap. Apparently, neither mark is canceled. The mark on the grip strap is consistent with the 1932 Prussian police marking orders for the police academy at Burg in the province of Sachsen. I have no idea what the other mark means. I suspect it is Prussian, applied prior to the 1922 Prussian marking orders, and probably represents a unit in Sachsen Province. This last speculation is based on the positive identification of the second mark and the assumption that these pistols were unlikely to move from state to state or province to province. Iâ??m also inclined to believe it is a police mark because of the â??Pâ?�s and the fact that the second mark is police. However, all this is very speculative. I have looked at a map of the province in 1925 and there are several towns beginning with â??Kâ?� but have no further clues. Any ideas?

Don, G�¶rtz shows P.P. as "Pommern". And P.K. as
"Kiel police School". These are the only references I can find.

Noll, lists P.K.D or P._.K.D. as "Pionier-Abteilung der Kavallerie- Division" or Engineer Detachment of a Cavalry Division. Also a scriptic
P.K,x. as Passenger Vehicle Depot of x Army Corps.
Ron

I would think that the P.P.K means PolizeiPr�¤sidium K�¶ln, Police main quarter Cologne..

Hi Don,

Please note that the layout of some German districts changed during the 1920s and 30s. This meant that some police offices suddenly found themselves in different states. Examining the maps of German states during the Weimar era could explain a lot.

Ron, Matthias and Gerben,

Thank you very much for your responses. The maps I have been using are at http://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Deutschland/index.htm and are purported to be Weimar Era, circa 1925. I'd be very interested in your opinions of their accuracy. Regardless of province boundaries, the distance between K�¶ln and Burg seems rather far for the pistol to wander (but, of course, not impossible).

To complete this thread, on Jan Still's forum, Klaus Schad has identified this mark as Polizei Pr�¤sidium K�¶slin, in Pommern Province. Since the abbreviation in the 1922 marking orders for K�¶slin is "K." and that for K�¶ln is "K�¶", I'm inclined to favor this one. It looks like this pistol traveled a bit!

Thanks again for all the help.

Klaus is certainly a reliable source for the information you sought...

I agree with your assessment about the Luger doing some traveling... if only they could talk!

I am inclined to agree with Don M. Especially impressed with a five (? umulot ?) post.

Thankfully, my browser has copy and paste capabilities!