I own a long dagger/short sword. The hilt is in the design of the German eagle with its wings spread out as the hand guard and in the middle of the hand guard is a swastika. The scabbard is also adorned with swastikas on the top, mid section, and bottom.
I don’t want to own this piece as I don’t want to be seen as a Nazi sympathizer or anything of the sort, but I don’t want to sell it to someone who actually is a Nazi sympathizer or something like that.
What do I do with it besides trash it? I don’t want to trash it because it’s decent quality. It’s not historic in any way (which disturbs me to think about) but it’s well made.
What can I do with it?
You could de-nazi it. Use a Dremel/rotary tool to take off all the Nazi shit.
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It wasn’t clear to me from the post that it isn’t genuine. I interpreted the post to mean that it wasn’t famous in some way, just a standard issue dagger, but that it wasn’t a reproduction.
Donate it to a museum with a sterling reputation or destroy it. Sounds like there’s no value to a museum, so that leaves one option. Take it to someone who can melt it down in front of you to make sure it’s not sold on a black market.
My mom & her brothers were arguing over family silverware. The older of my two uncles just took the silverware case & disappeared with it.
That year for Christmas, every immediate family received a custom made ring made from the melted silverware.
They’re not anything valuable. They look handmade & some of the pieces were outright ugly, but it worked.
We all still have that silverware & it means a lot to all of us.
To OP, completely understand you might not want jewelry made from a nazi knife, but maybe there’s an option to do something worthwhile while that melted metal, rather than just scrapping it?
If nothing else, you could encase a copy of mein kampf in the metal & have a fancy ass doorstop you can kick around.
“Is that a brick of silver holding your door open?”
“Nope. It’s a deactivated copy of that hitler book.”
Maybe it’s sonething a museum would be interested on?
I doubt that. As I said it’s not historical. It was made within the last two decades so I don’t see a museum being interested.
Oh, so it’s not actually Nazi memorabilia, just gross fanart. Melt it down.
My only other thought besides destroying it: maybe gift it to a theater so it can be used as a prop? There are plays that focus on nazis/neo-nazis (e.g. The Producers) so maybe they could get some use out of it?
Oh yeah, so it’s just junk.
If it were actually from WWII, I’d say there’s no reason not to hold on to a piece of history, but if it’s just neo-nazi garbage? I agree with the others saying modify it or toss it.
Oh it’s a replica? Why do you have it in the first place?
It was a gift though I dint even remember who gave it to me.
You did not have a big reaction as in “WTF are you on about?!” after being gifted a nazi prop? IMO both you and the gifter should’ve had an unfavorable memory of the event etched onto your brains forever.
No it was one of those “I need to get rid of this and you’re the only person I feel comfortable having it because I know you’re not a Nazi” things.
They gave it to me because they knew I would appreciate it as a blade and not as Nazi fan art shit.
It was my sister btw. It was her exes and she gave it to me. I just remembered since people keep asking and I’ve been thinking about it.
No worries, figured there was a story behind it. That is a pretty wild ex though, good riddance (the ex and not the blade).
Oh, I missed that part. Just trash it, then.
Happy cake day! 🍰
I would auction it off and then take the proceeds and give it to an organization that is dedicated to fighting fascism.
The only problem is that would likely lead to an actual Nazi getting it.
I’d rather fall on the blade than give it to a Nazi.
I think it’s better to take the Nazi’s money and use it for good. YMMV. Whatever you do will be fine, I’m sure.
Would that be so bad, though? The Nazi wastes money on a useless decorative blade and you get to take some money from a Nazi that might otherwise have gone to something worse.
If it’s not of historic significance? Modify it.
Know anyone who does metal work? Ask them to change it to something interesting.
Got a Dremel? Buff away the Nazi bits until it’s smooth metal.
There are lots of different ways to change it!
And if you know anyone who does leather work, they can remove or replace the nasty bits on the scabbard.
This is probably what I’m gonna end up doing.
I was just hoping someone could come up with something that wouldn’t involve damaging anything? Idk I don’t want to damage it but I don’t want it to exist 😅
A craftsmen wouldn’t be damaging it, they’d be modifying it to make it more useful to you.
It’s already damaged with all of that Nazi shit, you would be fixing it by removing it all.
Seconding the dremmel approach. Worst case scenario: Y destroy a nazi sword. Best case: You end up with with a cool denazified sword.
Grind down the swastica, and change to a smaller grit to get a nice and polished finish.
Not sure, but I think the eagle predates the nazis.
EDIT: Nope, the eagle is also a nazi and also needs a dremel. There, that’s gotta be a brand new sentence.
The eagle as a symbol predates the nazis - a lot. The „Reichsadler“ has been used since 800 A.D. as in the region that is now Germany:
The Reichsadler, i. e. the German Imperial Eagle, originated from a proto-heraldic emblem that was believed to have been used by Charlemagne, the first Frankish ruler whom the Pope crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in AD 800, and derived ultimately from the Aquila, i. e. eagle standard, of the ancient Roman army.
Of course the swastika itself is also much older than the Nazis. They ruined plenty of otherwise fine symbolism.
I mean, the only person who would want it is a nazi…
If you knew a blacksmith they might smelt it, but I don’t even know if that would be a waste of money/effort for them. Maybe one would do it for the symbolism? Same for a scrap recycling place.
Just break it and throw it away
Does MTG know that it’s missing from her house yet?
Maybe a theatre is interested in it as requisite for a play.
It was made within the last two decades
decent quality
Are you sure about that? I mean, maybe you’re a person who’s way more into blades than I am, but a regular person who be hard pressed to differentiate between a “quality” blade and a “mall ninja shit” blade.
It’s definitely well constructed when it comes to actual use. I’ve used it for test cutting before and it’s held up just fine. It wouldn’t be useful for defense but it would function as a dagger/short sword.
And I’m no expert but I studied machining and metalworking in school so I know good steel.
Melt it down and cast it the metal into a buttplug.
I get fucked in the ass by enough things, I don’t need to Nazi’s doing it too
Simply the only solution
I have a similar item that I don’t want to display but also don’t want to get rid of - I inherited it from my grandfather who got it by killing a Nazi.
How do I keep the memory of an item that represents killing Nazis to me without it looking sympathetic? Defacing the symbols might be the right way
I don’t think you need to deface it. You could even display it if you’re so inclined. Just make it clear to people who see it that you aren’t a Nazi sympathizer in the same way you’ve done here and you’ll be fine.
Same boat. My partner’s grandfather had a bunch of WW2 memorabilia that their parents passed down to us. Among it are the papers of some Nazis he took off their bodies as well as other odds and ends.
It just sits in a box in our closet. It’s interesting history, but definitely not something I have any interest in displaying.
Frame it with an engraving telling the story. That’s an awesome piece of history to have, but you would definitely need to display it in some way that immediately communicates “this is historical”.
Get a display case and put a note with the story on it. That way it’s clear its being kept from historical/sentimental value and not because you like Nazis.
Get a label maker and add a label saying “aquired by killing a nazi” (there’s probably something cooler/nicer than a label, like engraving it, and there’s probably a better way to word it too)
Loot
That’s an interesting question and wonder what most would say. There’s a story behind yours that’s rooted in world history and obviously affected your family. IMO, you’re allowed to keep it without looking sympathetic.
It may be worth calling a few reputable museums to ask if they are interested in it. You could retain ownership while they display it, and that way you share the story of your grandfather without giving away the thing he left you.
Put sockets in it and insert some gems to give it properties like fire damage or life steal.
Watch It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia S01E06
Forgetabilia
