Hermann Göring’s Greatest Rifle Presented by the City of Suhl (Item GOR 11-3)

DESCRIPTION: Here, finally, is the item that can be called the best, the finest and most wonderful item of Third Reich history that has ever turned up. Considering its fantastic historical significance, its beauty and the masterpiece of a weapon that it truly is! Several master artisans at the top of their trade were involved in producing this state of the art rifle; no expense, nor time was spared in producing this weapon. The only comparison today with the engraving on this gun would be the work of master engraver Henrik Fruehauf in Schleusingen Germany. A few years ago, Herr Fruehauf wrote an article in an American gun magazine. The title and subtitle of the article was Richard Werner’s Masterpiece (What else could it be?). He noted that the Autumn 2000 Waffenschmied Journal showed a J.P. Sauer & Son shotgun action on the cover and he said he had a story to tell about that unusual piece. He then goes on to relate that he, through tedious persistence, was able to come up with imprints and photos of guns and engravers of the last 100 years in the city of Suhl, Germany and just a short time ago he was able to add to this collection information about Richard Werner and his son Paul. He retrieved a photo of that aforementioned shotgun action that was masterfully engraved by Richard Werner. 

Werner was born in Berlin in 1863 and died in Suhl in 1940. He started his career at the Reich's-mint in Berlin and was later an independent master engraver at the J P. Sauer & Sohn company in Suhl. He trained August Heym, and August Rol, two outstanding engravers. Richard Werner’s son Paul was also an engraver at Sauer and later had his own business. The shotgun shown in Fruehauf’s article has a crown of royalty and initials in gold and a monogram on the trigger guard. It was determined that this was most likely made for a German Royal house between 1900 and 1920. The years were determined by the shape of the action. The workmanship of that shotgun is very comparable to that of the Göring rifle that is featured here.

From circumspect extrapolation, we believe we can pretty safely assume that it was Richard Werner who did the exquisite engraving on the rifle. We will borrow the words of the subtitle of Henrick Fruehaufs book to say “Who else could it be?”  If the weapons city of Suhl wanted to present a special gun to this man the  favored patron of the shooting sports would they have used any other when Richard Werner? It wouldn’t be tortured reasoning to make such an assumption.  Another assumption but well founded is that the gun maker was a special model and was begun as a basic J.P. Sauer rifle. But anything but basic is the fact that it was not made in the factory and the gunsmith was very probably August Peter who was an independent master gun maker in the city of Suhl. He made almost all of the special models for the Sauer Company. We have deduced that the construction of the weapon began in 1933 but was not finished until 1934. There is some information that the gun was born as a model # 33 Sauer before it was modified and it is more than probable that August Peter did the modifications, once the city of Suhl decided to present the rifle to Hermann Göring. There is no manufacturer's name on the gun but the absence of a name is not at all unusual. In the 20’s and 30’s in the city of Suhl, the presentation gun trade for the most part was pursued by a professional gun guild whose members were dedicated to not only making the weapons but also making positively sure that the precision and quality was worthy of the city and the gunsmith trade within Stadt -Suhl. The guilds were known to bring together the greatest of the craftsmen engaged in this noble and prestigious occupation once a special presentation piece was planned.

They all had separate specialties; for instance, one man might produce rifle barrels while another was a wood carver (Par-Excellence,) and he might have produced stocks while still another was a master engraver and did the wonderful artistic décor. That would be the most outstanding feature of the grand project to be undertaken. In this way a weaponry masterpiece would be the result and it would be an exemplary, meritorious production worthy of presentation to Kings, Princes and nobles of the landed gentry and in this case a greatly admired political leader and respected environmentalist Extraordinaire!

Generally in this case there would be a ceremony of presentation befitting the dignified occasion usually sponsored by the mayor and city council. We certainly believe this had to have been the case when Göring received this elegant gift that can only be called a Suhl masterpiece. History records that Hermann was like a boy with his first B-B gun, when the city would always give him an outstanding gun on each Christmas day. He loved the weapons and doted over them like a lioness with her cub. Nothing could be a greater gift to “Unser Hermann” (Our Hermann). It has been suggested and it is probably true that he or an aide might have dropped a bit of a friendly hint about his preferences when this the grandest of German holidays approached.

Göring was as we have indicated beloved of the German common folk and all classes. He was greatly admired because of his bravery in the air war in World War One (he was a fighter ace with 22 kills). They also liked him for what has been noted by historians as his common touch, regardless of his high offices. He also had a gift of a frolicsome good humor and the upper classes held him in high esteem not so much because of his Prussian aristocratic background but because of his promotion of the arts and his introduction and enforcement of the hunting sports and the important and sensible game laws he promoted and legislated. The now famed “ReichsJadgesetz” hunter's protection  law of 1934 was instituted also in the same year that this rifle was presented to the Reichsjagermeister and it does emerge as more than a coincidence that the “finest ever” Suhl built hunting rifle would be presented to him in the end of that auspicious and meaningful “year of the Hunt”!

The Rifle: This utterly magnificent rifle was produced in Suhl, the city long associated with the production of guns of warfare, sport, and hunting, going back to the age of the early Renaissance. Suhl was the major producer of cannon throughout the seventeenth and subsequent centuries. A major arms company that was located in Suhl for almost 200 years was J.P. Sauer and Sohn GMBH. The major producer of hunting rifles, shotguns and pistols. Other well-known names in Suhl included Simson (BSW) Gustloff Werke, and Merkel but of all of these mentioned, it would seem appropriate that the city fathers would pick a rifle from J.P. Sauer and Sohn for the basic beginnings for this very special weapon to be presented to Hermann Göring who was known to be the successor to Adolf Hitler in the event of Hitler’s death.  He at that time was the Minister President and Minister of the Interior of Prussia and the Minister for Aviation and he was the founder of and chief of the Gestapo (later turned over to Himmler). He wore many hats in his grand bevy of offices in the Third Reich. He was literally a human dynamo! But also he has been called the last Renaissance Man alluding to his very considerable interest and participation in the collecting and preservation of Germanic art and culture.

Of the greatest importance to the saga of the rifle we review here is that in 1933 Hermann Goring was appointed and given the title of Reichsjagermeister (Master of the Hunt) by Hitler and this among all the of the titles he bore, was his favorite office and he excelled in this work of enacting laws and regulations for the protection of the German forest and animals. Many of the game preservation laws and environmental policies that he personally initiated are still in use today. The city of Suhl particularly admired him and his preservation endeavors for many reasons just as the German public did in those years. The populace called him “Unser Hermann.” The city fathers of course did not miss the business opportunities presented. Now that Germany, the land that from time immemorial has loved the hunting sports was even more enamored with it due to the great General Göring’s promotion of the hunting sport. Gun sales soared in 1933-1935.  We understand that presentations of special and more common guns were presented to him by the city and even directly from the gun manufacturers themselves on several occasions but especially on Christmas. We know of the Merkel 8 x 57 cal. rifle shotgun combination that was presented by the city to him in Christmas of 1935. There is some information from several sources put forth in Germany that Göring among his many guns had about 27 that were given to him by the city and companies of Suhl. However this one remains without a doubt the ultra-finest that has ever been found to date. There are pictures of him with a rifle that looks to be the very one and we do present some of them. For now this is circumstantial supposition but in a few pictures of him it really seems to be the one -- and why not? Surely he would want to be pictured with his favorite hunting piece and almost assuredly this would just have to be the one!

*We would particularly direct your attention to the picture of Generalfeldmarshall Göring with an assemblage of German and Italian officers as the Chief Italian Air Marshal Italo Balbo sights in one of his host's double rifles at Carinhalle in 1938. In other pictures of him in hunting dress almost invariably you can see a double over and under rifle and looking as closely as possible one can at least speculate that we are looking at the very same gun as this one we address here. 

Nomenclature:
#1 the basic rifle- - We have pretty much established is a J.P. Sauer in its initial manufacture.
#2 the engraving was by the master artist Richard Werner including the work on the side plates, under carriage, trigger guard and opening lever and the section it rests upon.
#3 there is also etched engraving on the barrel seat and rear sight platform.
#4 the barrels are marked ‘Special Gewehr Lauf Stahl which translates roughly to (special rifle run) or probably a more understandable translation would be ‘special rife production steel’. It also says on the barrels Fried Krupp. A. G. Essen and practically everyone would be familiar with the world famous Krupp industry in Essen. This conglomerate is a prominent 400 year old dynasty famous for their steel production. The underneath portion of the barrels have the serial no 268615 accompanied with some sort of proof marks, there is also two S letters intertwined. The three ring configuration of Krupp is also seen here. It looks rather like the Olympic rings (minus two); these marks are also on the side rails of the interior.
# 5 the rear sight- This is an interesting innovation that shows up in this rifle for the first time in 1934, the year that this rifle was presented, the sight was patented on the 7th of July 1934 and was invented by Ludwig Schiwy in Berlin. What it was designed for was to vastly improve the hunter's ability to sight in on running game. It is comprised of three dovetail shaped cutouts, the two side notches (left and right) gave more side visibility on hastened running shots while the center notch was still usable in the normal way for shooting at standing targets.  We have a copy of the Schiwy patent papers from the 1934 Reich's patent office. Ludwig Schiwy was, also one of Görings favorite gunsmiths and could possibly been one of the men who helped to produce the Suhl masterpiece.
# 6 the high luster wooden stock is probably of oak with absolutely beautiful graining and pistol grip checkering.
# 7 The emblem or Wappen on the pistol grip is probably silver and engraved all around a central crest that is overlaid in genuine gold and is the familiar Goring family crest with the wings and armored knights arm holding the Golden Ring. Under this configuration is another crest that is in a shield with the ring held again by the armored arm. 1 ½ inch high and 1 ¼ wide. The entire plate might be gold but all around the center crest it is blackened to bring out the sharp detail. Another 5 ½ inches down from this is a small brass plaque and in this plaque it is written as follows -

“Dem Schirmherrn der Deutschen Jagd
die Waffenstadt Suhl Weihnachten 1934.“

(This translates to The protector of the German hunt from the weapons city Suhl Christmas 1934)

# 8 The end of the stock has a rubber butt plate. We do not know if this was original equipment when the gun was to be presented but one thing we do know is that if this gun was fired 3 or 4 times in succession it would seriously abuse one’s shoulder if the rubber butt plate was not there. I can testify to that (I have fired it). This weapon with its 9 x 74-R shell packs a ‘super wallop.’  Göring undoubtedly used it for hunting big game, moose and bison on his private game preserve at the Reichsjägerhof Rominten near the border of Poland. Interestingly Görings favorite game animal was the Polish bison or “Wisent.” It was in the Polish Bilowieya forest that Göring hunted these European bison. In 1938 he is known to have hunted these great animals along with the Polish president Mosciski but after the forest fell into German occupation in 1939 Göring who was now the Field Marshal intended to make the Bilowieya forest into the biggest international hunting reserve in the world. Later he imported many of these magnificent creatures to Rominten in the Rominter heath *Note: the engraved Bison on the trigger guard of the rifle and the engraving is so fine that you can distinctly see the difference in this Bison and the Buffalo of the American plains although they are definitely related.
# 9 the rifle remarkably is still in its original crocodile skin case as presented by the city. In this case besides the gun are two rifle scopes that precision fit on the weapon snuggly and firmly with claw mounts. They are both by the firm of Carl Zeiss in Jena. One is a large one for long distant shooting and the other for shorter distance targets or game. The large one is marked with the company name and it is named Zielvier with the number 48203. The smaller is marked Zielmar number 47982. Also in the case is the rifle sling, gun cleaning patches and some yellow amber like material in a box. The box says ‘Horrido.” This is the traditional word expressed in a shout by the German hunter as he begins the hunt. This is the name brand for the box of cleaning material or it would seem so.

When one ponders all the famous names involved in the manufacture and décor of this gun and its accessories it comes to mind just how important Herr Göring was to the Suhl city government and the weapons industry and it looms most obvious that they would present him a rifle that in its presentation would excel over all others ever produced and this is It!  J.P. Sauer, Richard Werner, Fredrich Krupp, Carl Zeiss in Jena Ludwig Schiwy, the Mayor and the city councilors of Suhl altogether ordered produced and presented what must be considered one of the finest, most beautiful of hunting weapons that has ever been lovingly fabricated in this, the weapons city. The fact that it was presented to none other than Hermann Göring, a man who did more to promote the hunting sport than any other individual in the history of the world, is remarkable indeed. What would ever exceed this rifle as a gift for such a man? And having said this we would hasten to add the question -- What rifle in the world could match this one for precision innovation and sheer artistic magnificence?  So here is one of the most historically important guns ever offered but obviously the most gorgeous at the same time. This is the finest sporting rifle ever made and presented in many decades and as far as we are concerned, and in the words of Master engraver Heinrich Fruehauf when he was describing the work of Richard Werner....

“What else could it be?” 

PRICE: POR