The German economy went through a depression during the early 1930's. The German government created an organization called the RAD to boost the economy through employment generated by the inception of massive public works projects. As a result of such effort the German infrastructure was rebuilt producing things such as the Autobahn.
It is about this time that Hitler had launched an expansion of the armed forces. Service in the military was deemed mandatory. The RAD was employed as a means to breach the time between graduating from school to entering military service.
Service in the RAD included military style drills such as marching, obeying orders, etc.
It was 1934 when all members of the organization were authorized to wear a dagger. However, in 1937 a new dagger was introduced to be worn by the RAD leaders. That dagger is featured on this page.

The back of the handle shows where the material has been chipped. The picture to the right illustrates the type of screw employed to secure the handle to the tang. Notice that the screw configuration is the correct type where the screw fixing is not present on the obverse side of the handle.

The manufacturer's marking is clearly visible on the side of the blade. Also present is the RAD's motto "Arbeit adelt" which translates to "Labor ennobles".

The tip of the blade is a very characteristic "bowie" style. The whole scabbard is a bright silver color. The condition of this example is near mint showing no dents.

The Celtic swirl pattern that adorns the scabbard shows very clearly on the bottom left picture. A full view of the hanger is seen on the right hand picture. The hanger is made from leather and had a reputation of breaking very easily due to the weight of the dagger. Therefore, many RAD members opted not to use the hanger making it possible to find examples in mint condition such as the one featured here.

A closer view of the hardware for the hanger is shown in the following photograph. The main components consist of two square buckles and two metal hooks that help secure the dagger to the belt of the uniform. The hanger is a difficult component to obtain.