Awesome reference here...I will definitely ask them and post the findings here...thanks much!
Awesome reference here...I will definitely ask them and post the findings here...thanks much!
Great News!!! I just got a response from the Hessian State Archives below. They managed to have info on BOTH names. It appears that the last name is "Kottmann" not "Kothmann" as we originally thought. Thanks again Kilian for referring me to the Hessian State Archives as this was some great info! Here is their response:
"Dear Mr. Pitchford,
I managed to find some information about the two men mentioned on the dagger. First of all, the inscription reads: Der Sturm 1/115 Heinrich Kottmann seinem Truppf. K. Fritsch“
Truppführer Karl Fritsch was born 10. August 1911 in Bad Neuenahr and lived then in Darmstadt. Other than that I found a gun licensce that allowed him to carry a handgun with his uniform.
Heinrich Kottmann was stabbed to death on his 18. birthday by a Marxist in 1928. He was later celebrated as a martyr and the first hessian SA-Man who died for his beliefs. The Sturm 1/115 was named after him."
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Last edited by benpitch; 03-27-2024 at 02:51 PM.
Impressive Profile Information
Regards Larry
It is not the size of a Collection in History that matters......Its the size of your Passion for it!!- Larry C
One never knows what tree roots push to the surface of what laid buried before the tree was planted - Larry C
“The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” - Winston Churchill
Maybe best to remove the contact details from your post, to avoid the man becoming inundated by spambots.
Kilian, I thought the same and just removed his contact info. Good call..Again many thanks for all your knowledge and help!!
Ben
Really interesting information
-TJ-
It's odd that they inscribed this Puma dagger with "Westmark" gau marking for the 1st Hessian SA -man. Wouldn't it make sense to inscribe on a He marked Dagger?
Originally the SAmann received his dagger in the Westmark Gau and may have been transferred to Hessen Gau.
The only change to be seen would be the collar piping color , rank insignia and Kepi.
It is not the size of a Collection in History that matters......Its the size of your Passion for it!!
One never knows what tree roots push to the surface of what laid buried before the tree was planted - Larry C
“The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” - Winston Churchill
Interesting Larry...thanks again! As always much appreciated!
Ben
So these daggers were issued by the SA and not private purchases. Correct?
Either way, if the dagger was issued to him, or bought by him, while the man was in Westmark and went with him to Hessen, that would suggest that the Sturm gifted him a botched etching on his own dagger. That seems odd to me.
There must be a better explanation.
On a side note regarding this Kottmann, after which Sturm 1/115 was named: I found a German language Wikipedia page, where he is mentioned in a listing of SA members who died as “martyrs” pre-WW2. It appears he was stabbed by a fellow Nazi in a pub fight and died the next day of his wounds. Propaganda preferred to blame it on Marxists. Misinformation is not a modern thing.
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