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.
In 1934 a dagger was issued to be worn by all members of the RAD organization. That dagger is
featured on this page.
The RAD dagger is shown in the scabbard and outside the scabbard in the pictures
below. This is one of the heaviest and most rugged daggers of the third reich.
The blade is very heavy duty and can hold an edge.
The scabbard of the dagger is fairly ornate outfitted with two large nickel fittings;
one on the neck of the scabbard, which portrays a Celtic swirl pattern, and one on the tip. The RAD symbol is prominantely located
on the fitting at the tip. The top fitting comes with a loop for hanging from a belt.
The dagger contains a serial number in two places, the top of the scabbard as shown below,
and the handle. The fittings are attached to the scabbard via screws. The picture below on
the right provides an example of how that was done.
The serial number is only located on the left side of the handle. The two pictures
below illustrate the way in which the handle is held together. The right side looks
like a regular screw while the left side is closer to a nut. The handles are made of
stag.
A unique characteristic of the RAD dagger was the angular shape of the blade tip.
The blade was marked at its base with the name of the manufacturer and the RAD letters.
The blade has a blood groove on both sides. The right side contains a couple
of German words. The blade shown below has been sharpened on a wheel. This is
unfortunate because it reduces the value of the piece. Daggers should never be
sharpened.
The blade displays the RAD's motto "Arbeit adelt" which translates to "Labor enobles".
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