Original German Pre-WWII SA Marked Tornister 34 Cowhide Backpack with Shoulder Straps by Hans Deuter – Dated 1934 Original Items

Original Item. Only One Available. These cowhide-covered rucksacks were known as the Tornister (Knapsack) Model 34 (developed in 1934) and this example comes complete with the correct shoulder straps. It looks to have all of the leather components still present, showing light to moderate wear from service. As the war progressed the design was simplified for economical and practical reasons so the cowhide cover was eliminated making these packs especially scarce on today’s collector market. These are often described as being covered with “pony fur”, however research shows that this was just a nickname, and was never used on these. The German nickname for these packs was Affe, or ape.

This example is SA Marked on the interior, stamped S.A. Führerschule (leadership school) under the top flap. This example of a pre-war rucksack comes complete with the correct shoulder straps, which are designed to attach to ammunition pouches on the belt in the front, and have side straps that attach to hooks on the bottom of the pack. It retains over 90% of the pony fur hide and the leather is in very good used condition on the pack. It still has an original maker marking on the back, which is clear:

HANS DEUTER
1934
AUGSBURG

One of the shoulder straps is also maker-marked:

Lederwerk Sedina
Finkenwalde
1938
B

The other shoulder strap is maker-marked:

ROBERT LARSEN
BERLIN
SW68
1938

The pack does show some wear from use, with a bit of staining to the canvas, but it definitely was well cared for and not abused. The leather does show some wear to the finish, but is still soft and pliable, with no tearing that we can see. It looks to have been stored flat for a long period of time, which has caused the bottom of the pack to become a bit misshapen. Measures approximately 13″H x 12″W x 5″D.

A lovely complete example of a hard to find SA-marked backpack as used by German soldiers in WW2. Ready to display!

The S.A.-
The Sturmabteilung, literally Storm Detachment, was the NSDAP Party’s original paramilitary. It played a significant role in Adolf AH’s rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for NSDAP rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Red Front Fighters League (Rotfrontkämpferbund) of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and intimidating Romani, trade unionists, and, especially, Jews – for instance, during the NSDAP boycott of Jewish businesses.

The SA were also called the “Brownshirts” (Braunhemden) from the color of their uniform shirts, similar to Benito Mussolini’s blackshirts. The SA developed pseudo-military titles for its members, with ranks that were later adopted by several other NSDAP Party groups, chief amongst them the Schutzstaffel (SS), which originated as a branch of the SA before being separated. Brown-colored shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large number of them were cheaply available after World War I, having originally been ordered during the war for colonial troops posted to Germany’s former African colonies.

The SA became disempowered after Adolf AH ordered the “blood purge” of 1934. This event became known as the Night of the Long Knives (die Nacht der langen Messer). The SA continued to exist, but was effectively superseded by the SS, although it was not formally dissolved until after NSDAP Germany’s final capitulation to the Allies in 1945.