Von Runsted's pistol

[Jim tooley]

Hello. Your expertise has been valuable to me in the past and I am hoping you can help me again. A now deceased patient of mine who was in the 36 th infantry division 141 infantry regiment company A US army told me one day that he was the leutenant that Von Runstedt surrendered to at Bad Tolz. He said that he was the ranking officer of a recon party that came across a field hospital flying the white flag and when asked where the ranking office was he was led to von Runstedt who subsequently presented him with his pistol in surrender. The gun is a CZ P27 and is in the possession of this man's son. I have seen photos of the weapon. My question is are there any means besides the word of this esteemed gentleman to prove that in fact the pistol was carried by Von Runstedt. Thanks for any advice on this matter. Jim

[SteveR]

Esteemed officers have been known to bullshit folks also.

[zwerge]

Esteemed officers have been known to bullshit folks also.

Aint it the truth.....

[AZPhil]

Are there any bring back paperwork with this pistol?
You would need to find a pic of Von Runstedt wearing this type of holster and pistol to even start to think this is what Von Runstedt carried.

Semper Fi
Phil

[Wagriff]

A few factors to consider...IF he was the Lieutenant who took Rundstedt's surrender at the field hospital Bad Tolz where he was recovering from a heart attack, it Should be possible to find record of this man doing this. And IF he Was the man in the records who took the surrender, I can see no reason to doubt his story of the pistol.

If no record of this man's name can be found accepting the surrender, then there is little or no credibility for the story. Personally, I'd Like it to be true, as it would be interesting to see the CZ27, but, sadly, most stories turn out to be just that-stories.

[Dean]

Great discoveries have to start somewhere, no matter how arbitrary they may appear at first. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until proved otherwise, but never hold your breath.

[MarkV]

Unfortunately, without some specific proof linking von Rundstedt to that specific pistol; that the gentleman you know was the officer who accepted it in surrender and that the pistol he has is the same pistol, all you have is a wonderful story. True or not, without that proof the value of the pistol is unchanged from any other similar pistol of the era. Value is based on documentable fact.

That said, there are always people who will pay more for the possibility that the story "may" or even "probably" is true. The downside to that is that there will never be any fact behind the valuation and will always be what someone is "willing" to pay - not what historical valuation sets as the value.

In the end, as others have said, short of documented proof it is always safer to buy the pistol and not the story.

Just my own $.02.

[stuka f]

I have mentioned it several times on thise same forum, you might solve one of the mistery larceny of the century!
von Rundstedt's personal pistol was exibited at the Belgian Military museum as a part of the collection,and disapeared in the early 90' ties.
I am very intresting to see that pistol!
cheers
|<ris

[stuka f]

....or did he surended more then once???
....did he carried two personal pistols.........???????
|<

[Scout]

All of what the esteemed gents above have already answered.

...A small addendum; Rundstedt was an old an relatively esteemed war horse, who served well before WWII.
He would most likely have gone to war with a German produced handgun and not have been issued a gun from the occupied territories.
Circumstances of course dictate, which gun one has and Rundstedt might of course have gotten a replacement handgun at a later date.
Or been issued several - the possibilities are legion.

I have mentioned it several times on thise same forum, you might solve one of the mistery larceny of the century!
von Rundstedt's personal pistol was exibited at the Belgian Military museum as a part of the collection,and disapeared in the early 90' ties.
I am very intresting to see that pistol!
cheers
|<ris

stuka f; just to make sure - was it a CZ27 handgun which disappeared from the museum, do you know?