Gentlemen:

Anyone interested in East German handgun holsters?

I find them interesting and collect ones marked to the Volkspolizei. Some DDR holsters were reissued WWII period holsters but most were newly manufactured. The DDR Volkspolizei continued to use the Walther PP and newly manufactured some PP at the Ernst Thälmann facility in Suhl in the 1950s.

here is an example of a DDR Volkspolizei holster for the Walther PP. This holster is in black and is MdI marked for the East German Ministry of the Interior indicating it is a police holster.

George

Here is another example of the same PP holster that was manufactured in brown for the police. These particular holsters are difficult to find because the PP was replaced by the Makaraov in the late 1950s.

Anyone with other DDR holsters to show?

George

Here is one of the standard brown leather Makarov police holsters. One can see the difference in the PP holsters above and the Makarov holster shown below.

View of the police markings inside the Makarov holster. The Polizei Makarov is dated 1964 as is the holster. Notice the leather flap that covers the butt of the pistol. This flap was added to DDR holsters to solve the problem of losing magazines while the pistol was in a soft holster. These flaps are not found on WWII period soft German holsters.

George

Another DDR Volkspolizei holster. This one is for the P38.

This holster is quite similar to the wartime P38 holster and some early East German holsters seem to be wartime reworks or made on the same lasts as the wartime holsters. This holster is immediately identifiable as East German by the butt flap that was added to address loss of the magazine from the pistol when it was worn in a soft holster. Notice the Ministry of the Interior markings and the date code stamped on the flap.

George

George:
I have a PP holster in brown this appears to be exactly the same as the example you picture above(pic 2). Mine has the butt flap and is marked "Mdl IIIH on the inside of the flap
Jim

Jim,

The date code indicates that your holster was made in the third quarter of 1984. Police issue of course because of the "MdI" markings. Military issue would be stamped with "NVA" markings.

These PP holsters are becoming a little hard to find as most of the holsters that came in after the fall of the wall were the more numerous Makarov holsters. The black ones are also harder to find than the brown ones.

George

Here is a Makarov holster I own: Notice a part of the folded over end flap under the main flap.

Here is a view of the bogus "SS" stamp inside the flap that George mentioned above:

A clearer view of the bogus stamp:

This holster is code dated 1975. Just a few years after the end of the war.

The best thing about the stamp is that it says it is a fieldcap. Darn funny looking cap.

Yes it's a field cap stamp. But it's an SS field cap stamp!!
Jim

Thanks for posting that p38 holster pic ORPO.I think the example in the Ryton book is the same type.

The P38 style holster with the upward folding flap and overlapping top flap is called an Aunschat system holster. The Makarov holster seems to be refered to as a drop-in holster but I think that is a collector term. Interestingly, early East German Makarov holsters were made with a downward securing tap instead of the later upward tabs. Here is an earlier style Volkspolizei Makarov holster that is made in this manner.

Not DDR but Cold War Period West German in my collection:*
The is a P1(P38 with a lightweight frame) with it's original holster that was issued to the military and police:

*I hope I haven't changed direction too drastically here George.

Please note absence of any belt loops on the back of the holster:
It is stamped on the back in extremely small letters as follows:

1095/12/120/6169
Pistol Kal 9MM
BIIG 3/59

This one has a rather ingenious inside arrangement that can be seen with the flap open:
The belt actually slips through the two inside straps and down behind the inside flap:

ORPO
I have two. One is an E German MaK holster marked NVA. The other is a p-38 soft shell. It is stamped Wunderlich Berlin 1963. Inside is stamped PRB and a letter or symbol I can't make out. Is this military issue?

Jim,

I think it is interesting to see the different kinds of holsters that evolved in West Germany and East Germany. Some are almost identical and some, like your P-1 holster, are quite different.

Brickie,

Your NVA marked Makarov holster is military issue for the National Volks Armee of the DDR. Your P38 softshell is West German issue, probably to the Berlin Police. The difference is that your holster does not have the extra flap to protect the magazine. Here is an example of your holster by the same maker also dated 1963.

Maker markings and date on the fold up flap.

Here is a view of the back of the Wunderlich holster showing the belt loop. There are also two D rings that allow the holster to be worn on an inside belt and passed through the lower tunic pocket so that the pistol is accessible when worn without an exterior belt. This is a dead giveaway that this is a West German Polizei holster.

ORPO
Thank you for the information and the pics.

Another variation DDR Makarov holster. This one is white for the Vekherspolizei. These white holsters were worn by traffic policemen on their white belts.