Original German WWII 1944 Dated Morse Code Telegraph Key Clicker in Original Box Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice German manufactured 1944 dated Morse Code key which reads on the bakelite cover:  Vor dem offnen stecker herausziehen (Unplug before opening). It is complete with cord, functional plunger, and its original box.

The bottom of the device is marked dtf / 44, which indicates 1944 manufacture by Elektro-Feinmechanische, Werke Preh, located in Bad-Neustadt / Saale. There is also a Waffenamt Wa.A. 640 yellow paint stamp.

The box for this device measures 6½ x 5¼ x 2”. The box has been written on by collectors in two places just describing what the item is. The original label on top of the box reads:

1 Stück Taste P
24b St 93001
070118 L/0218

German code breaking in World War II achieved some notable successes cracking British Naval ciphers until well into the fourth year of the war, but also suffered from a problem typical of the German armed forces of the time: numerous branches and institutions maintained their own cryptographic departments, working on their own without collaboration or sharing results with equivalent units. This led to duplicated effort, to a fragmentation of potential, and to lower efficiency than might have been achieved. There was no central German cryptography agency comparable to Britain’s Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), based at Bletchley Park.

This is a great piece of WWII German technology, only the second example we have offered, and the first in its original box. Comes ready for further research and display.