General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: Items Stolen from Erich Topp
Posted by:
Ken Dunn
()
Date: August 13, 2009 10:14PM
Hi Robert,
This may not be a complete list of the items that were stolen from Erich Topp in August 1999 but included were his Honor Dagger, Knights Cross with oak leaves and swords and citations.
The Honor Dagger was not just an ordinary Naval Officer’s dagger. Only seven Honor Daggers were ever awarded.
From Lumsden, Robin. Edged Weapons of Hitler’s Germany. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Company, 2001. ISBN: 0-7603-1131-5. Copyright: Robin Lumsden, 2001:
“On 20 April 1938, naval Commander-in-Chief Grossadmiral Erich Raeder created the Kriegs¬marine-Ehrendolch to recognize exceptional merit on the part of his officers. Designed by Paul Casberg, the Honor Dagger was produced by Carl Eickhorn and had the pommel swastika inset with seventeen diamonds. The grip was bound with gilt oak leaves, the quillon block was larger, and the scabbard was decorated with oak leaves and acorns. The rose-pattern Damascus steel blade bore a suitable presentation dedication.
The first Honor Dagger was presented by Raeder on 31 December 1939 to Vizeadmiral Conrad Albrecht, who had successfully directed Kriegsmarine operations against the Polish fleet. By the end of 1942, a further five examples had been conferred upon Günther Prien of U-47, Erich Topp of U-552, Reinhard Suhren of U-564, Naval Armaments Quartermaster Carl Witzell and Admiral Alfred Saalwachter.
Raeder's successor, Karl Dönitz, gifted a seventh on 9 May 1944 to Albrecht Brandi of U-967. No further awards are known to have been made.
Exact criteria for presentation of the Honor Dagger were never published, and distribution appears to have been at the personal discretion of Raeder and Donitz. However, it is noteworthy that Prien was given the dagger upon his receipt of the oak leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, while Topp, Suhren and Brandi got theirs when they won the swords to the Knight's Cross. As the war dragged on, and the holding of senior military decorations became less uncommon, so bestowals of the Honor Dagger tailed off.â€
There is a photo of the one presented to Reinhard Suhren in the above book.
Of course a Knights Cross with oak leaves and swords was quite rare too but not as rare as the naval Honor Dagger.
As far as I know none of the items have ever been returned and the culprit has never been caught.
Regards,
Ken Dunn
This may not be a complete list of the items that were stolen from Erich Topp in August 1999 but included were his Honor Dagger, Knights Cross with oak leaves and swords and citations.
The Honor Dagger was not just an ordinary Naval Officer’s dagger. Only seven Honor Daggers were ever awarded.
From Lumsden, Robin. Edged Weapons of Hitler’s Germany. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Company, 2001. ISBN: 0-7603-1131-5. Copyright: Robin Lumsden, 2001:
“On 20 April 1938, naval Commander-in-Chief Grossadmiral Erich Raeder created the Kriegs¬marine-Ehrendolch to recognize exceptional merit on the part of his officers. Designed by Paul Casberg, the Honor Dagger was produced by Carl Eickhorn and had the pommel swastika inset with seventeen diamonds. The grip was bound with gilt oak leaves, the quillon block was larger, and the scabbard was decorated with oak leaves and acorns. The rose-pattern Damascus steel blade bore a suitable presentation dedication.
The first Honor Dagger was presented by Raeder on 31 December 1939 to Vizeadmiral Conrad Albrecht, who had successfully directed Kriegsmarine operations against the Polish fleet. By the end of 1942, a further five examples had been conferred upon Günther Prien of U-47, Erich Topp of U-552, Reinhard Suhren of U-564, Naval Armaments Quartermaster Carl Witzell and Admiral Alfred Saalwachter.
Raeder's successor, Karl Dönitz, gifted a seventh on 9 May 1944 to Albrecht Brandi of U-967. No further awards are known to have been made.
Exact criteria for presentation of the Honor Dagger were never published, and distribution appears to have been at the personal discretion of Raeder and Donitz. However, it is noteworthy that Prien was given the dagger upon his receipt of the oak leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, while Topp, Suhren and Brandi got theirs when they won the swords to the Knight's Cross. As the war dragged on, and the holding of senior military decorations became less uncommon, so bestowals of the Honor Dagger tailed off.â€
There is a photo of the one presented to Reinhard Suhren in the above book.
Of course a Knights Cross with oak leaves and swords was quite rare too but not as rare as the naval Honor Dagger.
As far as I know none of the items have ever been returned and the culprit has never been caught.
Regards,
Ken Dunn
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Items Stolen from Erich Topp
|
RFuhler | 08/07/2009 01:15PM |
|
Re: Items Stolen from Erich Topp
|
Ken Dunn | 08/13/2009 10:14PM |
|
Re: Items Stolen from Erich Topp
|
RFuhler | 08/14/2009 02:48PM |
|
Erich Topp's honorary dagger located?
|
cornicularius | 12/04/2009 01:35PM |
|
No, it's not the one :-(
|
cornicularius | 12/04/2009 11:38PM |
|
Re: Items Stolen from Erich Topp
|
John Sarviss | 05/10/2023 05:51AM |