"GERMANY" import stamps

[Bill_in_VA]

I have a 1915 DWM military P.08 that's stamped "GERMANY" on the lefthand side of the frame.

As I understand it, the "GERMANY" stamp on so many of the commercial P.08s was one required by the US government for pistols imported into the US through the inter-war years. I presume the same goes for surplus military pistols imported during that same time. I'm curious about those pistols - the surplus military pistols imported from Germany to the US in the period between wars.

As I understand it, the Treaty of Versailles severely limited Germany's military small arms production and placed numerical limitations on the military's possession of small arms (i.e., they can only have so many pistols, rifles, MGs, etc...) and this is why DWM began producing the alphabet Lugers: the alphabet Lugers were intended for the commercial market, not military contracts and were manufactured in .30 cal. and less-than-4-inch barrels to stay in compliance with the Treaty of Versailles.

I also understand that in the immediate post-war period entire units simply disbanded and went home, often with their issued arms. Thus, under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and as means to account for those small arms possessed [lawfully by the German government] versus those small arms apropriated by ex-soldiers, owned by civilians, etc... the "1920" property mark was applied to those small arms retained by the German government to arm their home defense force, police, postal workers, etc... and any military-marked small arms not stamped with the "1920" property mark were contraband.

(Am I on target, so far?)

If that's the case, what accounts for ex-military P.08s with a "GERMANY" import stamp? Obviously these weren't captured by GIs, nor did they come through France, Great Britain, etc... through arms dealers (Sam Cummings' grandfather? ) Were there German surplus arms dealers? Was DWM/Simson gathering and selling surplus military pistols for sale on the secondary international (i.e., US) market?

In other words, how/why did these guns come to have the "GERMANY" import stamp applied, and by whom?

Edit: I cross posted this on Jan Still's site.

[Dwight Gruber]

"I have a 1915 DWM military P.08 that's stamped "GERMANY" on the lefthand side of the frame... As I understand it, the "GERMANY" stamp on so many of the commercial P.08s was one required by the US government for pistols imported into the US through the inter-war years. I presume the same goes for surplus military pistols imported during that same time."

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ht=export+mark

"As I understand it, the Treaty of Versailles severely limited Germany's military small arms production...and this is why DWM began producing the alphabet Lugers...and were manufactured in .30 cal. and less-than-4-inch barrels to stay in compliance with the Treaty of Versailles."

Not just Alphabet Commercials. All commercial production from the end of the war--including 5-digit serial numbers from the mid-76xxx through about 92xxx--were made in .30 cal. Although the commercial market was a convenient rationale, the real reason for WM's "commercial" production was to retain the potential capability of manufacturing the military P08.

"...the "1920" property mark was applied to those small arms retained by the German government... and any military-marked small arms not stamped with the "1920" property mark were contraband."

True, but the immediate reason for the property stamp was to identify materiale already in government hands. The pertinent law in 1920 required German citizens to surrender their weapons, for which they were paid a bounty. The property mark was instituted to circumvent people stealing arms from government warehouses and the like, and then turning them in for money.

"...what accounts for ex-military P.08s with a "GERMANY" import stamp?...Were there German surplus arms dealers?...In other words, how/why did these guns come to have the "GERMANY" import stamp applied, and by whom?"

"Surplus arms dealers" would be a bit of an overstatement. Institutionally, Germany was forbidden to export "military" arms. However, any U.S. gun dealers who found an arrangement to buy surplus German arms would have to have them stamped before they entered the country.

--Dwight