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"Did Hitler and the other top Nazi leaders pack heat?" I don't need to hear another word after that awesome introduction to know it's going to be another well-researched, humorous, and eminently enjoyable history lesson from Dr. Felton.

Love the firearms content BUT that Liberace line was pure comedy gold.

"If you are wondering what happened to Hitler's PP...." 🤣 Great episode as usual, this one had me giggling a bit as well.

My father had a Walther PP that he carried when he was plainclothes. Never asked how he came about it. Years later I found out that it was made during WW2 at the original factory. It still shoots great to this day despite being almost 80 years old.

Only Mark could have woven Liberace into a documentary about the weapons carried by the German leadership. And he did it with such style and aplomb.

I've always found it interesting how fond Goering was of his American revolver, and that he carried just a plain Jane unmodified one at that; I would've thought he'd at least have a nickel-plated one, given his propensity for flashiness

My grandmother worked as a maid for Liberace for 2 years 83-85. She never ever saw him practice and he only played Piano when doing a performance. She asked him why he never practiced and he said "My dear I am a genetic freak"! He only played for an audience. That is how amazing of a pianist he was.

My dad brought back a beautiful Walther PP with "Julius Streicher" engraved on it. I thought for years that he had captured Julius Streicher's personal pistol. I have since discovered that it is a presentation pistol from the 30's that Streicher gave out as an award at shooting competitions. There are dozens or more of these pistols out there, It's still a great piece of history that I treasure.

That dig at Goering's awful fashion 'sense' had me howling lmao.

When I was a kid we lived across the road from a WW2 vet. One one the firearms he brought home was a Luger date stamped 1935. In my opinion the Luger is one of the most beautiful handguns ever made.

Long time Axis pistol collector....I can say that the majority of high ranking Germans did carry pistols and they generally carried a 7,65mm or a 6,35 mm...both as a means of self defense but also as a symbol of authority.....the 6,35mm was a very popular concealed handgun and the Germans had a plethora of different models to choose from....and yes, the Walther Model 8 was very popular.

I remember reading an article or book and the German writer worked in the arms room perhaps for a headquarters unit and was always being approached by higher ranks who wanted smaller pistols such as the PPK in 32, or even the 25 caliber pistols. I carried a PPK/S in .380 in a ankle holster as my backup years ago when my department issued 6 shot 38’s for our service pistol. I also have a police marked PPK in .32 with german eagle and C on left side of the frame. The PPK pistols were advanced for their time.

“Straight out of the Liberace house of crap” Nice one Mark! I like it and it flies over the head of most youngsters too. 😂😂😂

Too bad mark can’t “Pack Heat” in the UK. He seems like he’d be a Webly Revolver kind of guy.

Mark, thanks for doing this video. It sheds some light on something that has intrigued me for several years. I am a retired New York City Police Officer. A few years ago a friend from Germany came to visit us in New York. While here she expressed an interest in visiting the Military Academy at West Point. While touring the museum I spotted Goering's revolver. I was admittedly, quite surprised by Goering's choice in sidearms. I explained to my friend that Goering's revolver was essentially the same gun that I was issued as a rookie cop in 1983. The only difference that I could see was the barrel. The S&W Model 10 (.38 caliber) that I was issued had a thicker or bull barrel. I surmised that with the worldwide popularity of American gangster, cop and cowboy movies; Goering may have thought that carrying an American revolver gave him a certain panache. It didn't help.

Dr. Felton, on the subject of Hermann Göring lavish Walter pistol. I recently was an intern to Military Museum in Fort Worth and I got to meet with a collector, who became part of the museum board member, who had Göring lavish pistol on display back in his own military museum. However, that pistol was stolen from him but manage to track down the last known location of that pistol

My Dad fought in WW2, in Europe. He told me about "Liberated" items. For example, he liberated a Mercedes Benz staff car, and one night a German stole an Army truck. As he said, "Different name, same result."

“Carry that heat!” Best part

"It was holding a PP" I'm too old to have laughed so hard at that line.

I carried a Walther PPK as personal protection weapon ( Ulster Defence Regiment , standard issue, early 80s) amazing to learn Hitler committed suicide with the same pistol ! Reliable, and easy to conceal. Great work Mark , keep the videos coming.

I own a Walther P-38 my grandpa took off a dead German in France. It is scary accurate and molds to your hand like it was born there. Really great 9mm.

When Dr Felton referred to von Ribbentrop's Luger, and added, "This weapon was captured by a US officer concealed in some of his personal baggage..." Did anyone else just for an instant wonder how a US officer managed to conceal himself in von Ribbentrop's personal baggage? OK, I'll get my coat.

Mark, what you do you do at the very highest levels of the craft. There isn’t another channel on YT that CONSISTENTLY puts out quality content like this channel does. Well done.

5:57 even the guy who disarmed Goering looked surprised he had a S&W.

Anyone that carries should practice with both hands. If you only ever practice using a 2-handed grip, you won't be prepared if you have to shoot 1-handed or with your off hand. Practicing for different scenarios is essential.

I have a early production Walther PP/K that my grandfather gave to me when I was 12. Has Nazi insignias on it with the Imperial Eagle as well. It was apparently taken off an officer that was a POW and made it's way back here. Not sure what it's current value is but it's in great condition. Sadly the leather holster it came with is long gone.

I carry a Walther PPKS chambered in .380 as my EDC, and I have to say what a gun. Small, comfortable, and effective at close range you couldnt ask for more. Reliable too, as long as you dont go with super cheap ammo. Very easy to clean too, but I must say its an interesting break down.

I guess Goering and I have two things in common now, we’re both train nuts who like revolvers… Not sure how I feel about this lmao. Honestly a vid on Goering’s trainset would be cool, dude had a super elaborate setup that had like 6 or so main tracks, and I genuinely wonder if any of his stuff survives in modern collections.

The Germans always have nice aesthetics for everything, and it's no different when it comes to firearms. The Walthers and P08 are so nice to look at. Always wanted a PPk.

Once again, The Doctor bringing us impeccable narration and content.

I laughed out loud when you said Goering’s favorite was a S&W 38 special, as I have one mounted on my night stand right next to me. My dad who was a WWII vet from the Pacific Campaign, some how wound up a 7mm Mauser rifle, which is now mine. Liberace, wow.

The quality of humour in these videos is catching up to the high quality of research 😂

Love how Mark can find WW2 history which no other person can which shows things about WW2 which no one would think about.

Never thought I'd hear Dr. Felton say, "pimped out". Love it!

I know I'm severely late to the conversation, but I found these pistols and their connection to their owners, very interesting even to a psychological degree. All of these pistols and more importantly how they were used and who they were used by seem to indicate differing psychologies of each owner in a very unique way. Hitler, the leader of his people, often carried a weapon but I rarely seen any photographs of him ever actually holding one, and the models of guns when he carried them, were often standard issue or fairly common pistols in the German military and officers. Despite his magnificent want of artistic credibility and architectural grandeur, he seemed to be a very practical man when it came to his firearms, and rather than using anything with sentimental value, he opted for the most practical option. Goring, despite owning hundreds of firearms and being extremely well known for his flamboyant Liberace-esque clothing, opted to use a weapon that would, in contrast, seem very utilitarian if not downright uncharacteristic. Based off of the condition, he seemed to treasure this revolver and almost looked annoyed at the fact he had to surrender it, which would indicate some sentimental attachment. A revolver would also be befitting of a WW1 fighter plane ace as earlier on in that conflict most pilots would've carried revolvers rather than auto loaders in fear of the hot spent casing starting a fire in the linen and fabric monocoque planes. Furthermore, despite outwardly appearances, this revolver would also seem to indicate that Goring was very utilitarian in his firearm choices as he would opt for something that would work properly, rather than be a show-off piece. Himmler is hilarious to me frankly speaking. As a man he seemed to very self conscious at the fact that he wasn't able to participate on the Western front and this anxiety was fueled even more so by the fact that he didn't have anything to show for it while his brother came back with a knights cross. When the SS was formed, he was immensely focused on appearances almost to a fetishistic degree and sought for the best uniforms, and maintained strict height and eugenic genetic requirements for the unit (all of which, I doubt he personally qualified for). He was an anxiety addled creep who always wanted to play soldier, and once he got the chance to do so, he became a showman. He practiced shooting with both hands (a common officers practice) and he always had photos of himself taken. This behavior evokes something a despot dictator would do -- have footage, of himself doing cool military things in order to garner a sense of martial military masculinity that he felt he lacked. Goebbels is also fascinating, as the head of the propaganda department, his weapon of choice was in fact: Propaganda. Propagandists always work from the shadows, creating media for people to consume and it was arguably the most effective thing that have affected the way people viewed Nazism back then and even today as well. Goebbels was not a military man, and he was even rejected by the military for WW1 because of his physical deformity. As such, when he rose to power, his propaganda being his main weapon of choice, it is easy to say that he didn't really care for weapons or feel a need to upkeep a sense of military tradition to carry a sidepiece with him. I wonder if his first ever physical kill of a human with a pistol or weapon was in fact his wife. Skipping Speer, Ribbentrop is also interesting -- A proud Prussian from a military family, he served on both the Eastern Front and Western front of WW1 where he earned a knights cross. It is safe to say that military tradition was very important to him and he carried a weapon that was symbolic of Germany's military of WW1 as a personal sidearm. As a veteran of that conflict, I suppose it meant a lot to him personally to carry that pistol which would've seen him through both wars. A military man that Himmler would've probably been jealous of. Psychologically speaking, I find these pistols to be a very interesting character study and I hope my weird short, and hastily made analysis would be of some fun insight.

I have a Walther PP from that era. It has a very small Nazi acceptance mark on it. It is an early 1930's copy that, for some reason; appears not to have seen combat. Got it in the mid-80's. Shoots extremely well.

"Who's sense of fashion was right out of Liberace's house of crap" 😂 Dr. Felton i almost choked on my 3 shots of Café Cubano.

can’t believe I discovered in only 2 minutes of video time that “packing heat” and “pimped out” are phrases Dr. Felton uses

Your information, knowledge, and coverage is outstanding as always. You did mention the Walther P-38 was available to carry as a holstered handgun, but no discussion. So I will add this comment. You referred to the Luger and the P-38 as the “big boys” because they used the 9mm cartridge. However, in my extensive experience shooting these handguns, they handle very differently. The Luger can be finicky and prone to misfeed if not kept very clean and lubricated. The P-38 was much more of a workhorse, functioning properly even when overdue for cleaning. Additionally, the “feel” when shooting is very different. The Luger has a high feeling center of gravity and a somewhat slender grip and therefore recoil and muzzle jump are apparent. The P-38 has a low feeling center of gravity and a substantial feeling grip causing the gun to feel very controlled with less felt recoil and less noticeable muzzle jump. Because of their respective characteristics I find it easier to shoot the P-38 more accurately than the Luger. However, the Luger is no slouch - it is very accurate too. Both are demonstrative of German precision and are very enjoyable to shoot. Best wishes.

Outstanding work! As an aside, Gaddafi's gold Hi Power was hilarious. I think that devalued the gold.

My bosses brother was a ww2 vet and brought home items from the war including a luger p08 , us kids all got to shoot it for target practice, quite loud and a recoil but deadly accurate

This video is a riot! Really enjoyed the commentary style!

Absolutely fascinating, Dr Felton. Thank you.

Another very interesting and researched video. I once saw one of the golden presentation pistols at the Great Western Show in Pomona, California. It was accompanied by a typed sheet with letterhead. It was from a German manufacturer stating the serial number matched a pistol presented to Himmler on his visit to the factory. I cannot recall the type or manufacturer. But it was an interesting piece of war booty history!

imagine being the guy disarming goering, looking for a nice war trophy like a luger or something more valuable and getting a 38 special instead i would be even more surprised seeing goering with a smith and wesson made revolver

At the end note that when you said the magazine was dated 1935. Luger magazines were not dated, rather that would be the serial number to the gun it was fitted to.

6:32 Off-hand shooting, as it is called, was a common practice then and is a common practice now for any soldier worth their salt. This is done in case the soldier is wounded in their dominant hand/arm/shoulder/body so they can still return fire and defend themselves.

Two things I'm obsessed with: WWII and old guns. Clicked fast as I could

Mark, love the history and especially love your occasional condescending remarks. That Liberace line had me rolling.

I have been collecting Mauser rifles most of my Adult life: German, Swedish, and Argentine. I started collecting German and Argentine pistols in the early 2,000s. I have WW1 Lugers, a C96 Broomhandle,1920s Mauser Werke Ortgies, Walther Model 8, P-38, and West German PP.

_"...straight out of the Liberace House of Crap."_ I literally lol'd😂

my brother has an original walther p38 from 1942, still has its original markings on it, fires like it came off the factory floor yesterday. my dad also picked up an old ppk when he was working in the Congo, but we never test fired it because it wasnt in great condition.

I used to everyday carry a luger that was my grandpa's. Great guns. Now have a 1911 much of the time. Love the 45 ACP.

Those were some very practical choices for personal carrys for the most part. Thank you again.

How you keep coming up with fresh yet interesting content so regularly is amazing. I have a request. Could you please do a video on the Hungarian Arrow Cross party? My background is Hungarian and i'd be fascinated to hear your take on them!

Always an outstanding video and presentation.

Interesting subject, I collect Japanese ww2 officer swords (gunto) and many of those officers had more than one sword, with different decorations, especially higher up officials/generals / admirals. I assume the case would be similar here with high ranking Nazi officials with their side arms. Many different side arms for each individual. I know you have done videos on Imperial Japan before, but maybe a video focusing on the Gunto and the use of it would be interesting. Keep up the great work! I appreciate the videos!

Got two PP's, a pre-war PPK, an Interarms stainless PPK .380, and a newer PPS 🙂

Dr Felton forgot the explanation for Walther PPK: Polizeipistole Kriminal - police pistol for detectives. By the way - "Luger" is a brand for US market. In German, it's P08 (Pistole 08), or Parabellum.

Great video as usual Mr. Felton. Keep up the good work.

"That's a Smith and Wesson 38 mister, and you've had your six." James Bond

My kind of video! Was happy to see the HSC get a cameo here. The Mauser 1914 was a common one. Walther holsters are a bit hard to differentiate what they actually hold as the holster pattern was common and wide spread and will even today are still issued and fit many different handguns. The war effort was always so hungry for everything- notably trucks, tanks, and handguns, and so many of these from foreign sources were supplied to frontline troops. Spanish Rubys, Astras, Browning Hipowers, and Radom Vis 35s, many of these foreign weapons were held in higher regard by soldiers and the waffenamt markings command a higher premium today though many marks have been faked. Most of these of course would be ill-suited to carrying around all day, as you point out, most leadership figures already having a large cadre of bodyguards around. The Radom Vis 35, is a resistance story in itself, the factory workers producing one for the occupying forces, meanwhile assembling one with the exact same serial number for the underground.

Very cool video and topic! Thank you Sir!

Hello Mark I am a new subscriber and immediately could not stop watching your videos. They are very well done and and the topic is of extreme interest to me. In this video you said that Gobels used a PPK but in a previous video did not you mention he used a the Model 8? I am also a big fan of the Ian Fleming novels and appreciate how he began to use the PPK for his Bond creation.

Love your videos Dr Mark Felton

I've seen the S&W Ladybird claimed to be owned by Hitler and spoke to the owners. From what I recall, the story goes that Hitler recovered it on the Western Front in WWI from a dead French officer. This information was extrapolated from tracing the serial number of the pistol and finding export and import documents from S&W and France. The pistol was not for sale, though the owner was selling books he had written about it.

Another great video I always learn more watching your videos Mark please keep making the videos 👍

thanks, great presentation as always!

One video I'd be curious about is a list of all of Herman Goerings uniforms and where they are today

02:35 - 02:41 "Goering: who's sense of style was straight out of the Liberace House of Crap." I spit out the mouthful of coffee I was drinking and rolled on the floor laughing for a good 30 seconds. 😂

"Pack heat" caught me off guard 🤣

Thank you for video!

I am interested in the "strong hand / weak hand" holster positions. Cross draw seems to be a hold over from the "strong hand" reaching to the "weak hand" side to give a sword more room to leave the scabbard as it is drawn. Then as firearms replaced swords, the "uniform" continued to place the firearm where the swords used to be, pistol or revolver butt facing forward. As you showed, some were wearing a pistol butt facing rear (like US uniforms), likely to be more useful to draw from a holster on the "strong hand" side. Many thanks for your scholarship.

I think the hand gun was more the modern replacement for a officer sabre than self defence purpose.

Excellent content Mark, thanks yet again for bringing your wealth of knowledge to us

another great and random video by you Mark, thanks!

Strapped in style. The Walther is certainly a quirky mechanism design, but is cool, and the Luger just looks great and is as smooth as ice.

If you could, could you do a video on Mussolini's pistols? He had a small collection and carried a pistol on him and was captured with one

This is a really interesting video! Very well researched and pieced together!

“Pack Heat” caught me off guard😂😂

Another quality installment Mr. Felton. Also love the humour interspersed in the commentary. This is my favourite KZfaq channel. My wife knows your theme music well as I watch on the main TV whenever you release a new video.

Although It was kind of for protection. I believe most of these were carried by leaders for ceremonial reason, this comes from the tradition of 1800s officers wearing pistols. These generals were mostly sitting in hq all day.

Great video, learned much. 👍

Really interesting! Thank you for sharing!

Goering sure as heck had excellent taste in automobiles and airplanes. A S&W .38 Special as his everyday sidearm?? I'm impressed to say the least. That weapon is guaranteed to fire everytime the trigger is squeezed. But... his taste in everything else? Hmmmm... 🤔 Thanks as always Dr. Felton! 🍻

Back when I had a subscription to guns magazine, they featured an article about some guns that were brought home by a GI who had been in the bunker. He arrived well after the Soviets had already been over everything, but he turned his attention to something of interest that no one else had noticed. A crate had been placed at a doorway where there was not a step so that people could step down without too much effort. He decided to examine this crate and found it was addressed to Paula Hitler in the United states. So he broke a hole in the side of the crate and started removing contents. Among those items were three pistols, two of them presentation pieces, one of them a tight commonly issued during World War i. I believe that the World War 1 issue pistol was a Mauser model 1912. One of the two presentation pieces was gilded and engraved in a fashion similar to the one Illustrated in this video. It was presented by one of the big cities, like Nuremberg the other fancy presentation pistol was a Walther pp-- perhaps the same one in the holster that he was carrying in poland. A very, very fancy piece. I do not remember the circumstances about it, but these ones were all donated to West point, if I remember correctly. So he did value the presentation pieces, however, it appears that he, while not carrying them everyday, did desire that they be kept in his family. Oh, one more thing. I forgot that another item that was included in the exhibition was a ring in an ivory case which was presented to him by the city of Nuremberg viewed from above it was a swastika, but viewed from the side it looked a lot like the medieval castle on top of a hill. Of course it was encrusted with gemstones, and it was the type of thing that almost no one would wear on a daily basis.... unless he were Herman göring..

Always a learning experience your videos... A good thing!

I never thought mark would say “pack heat” 😂

At the end of the war my Nazi Opa dug down his service pistol along with a certain book. Years later he dug it up and an showed it to me. It was then very slightly pitted. It was a 7,65 blow back pistol, exposed hammer bout otherwise mechanically like FN M1903 and dismantled the same way. It was stamped "M/35". Today, some 40+ years later, I can not remember the make. A captured " trophy" gun? de SA3BOW

With regard to Goering's Smith and Wesson; the saying often rendered as "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolver" (and wrongly attributed to Goering or Himmler) actually reads "When I hear 'Culture'... I release the safety catch on my Browning!" ("Wenn ich Kultur höre … entsichere ich meinen Browning!"). It's found in the 1933 play "Schlageter" by Hanns Johst, a German poet, and playwright, and Nazi Party member.

My Grandads Export 1913 Luger chambered in LUger 30 is one of the finest pieces of machinery I have ever seen let alone fired. A wonderful gun from beginning to end

Great idea for this video professor

Good insightful video by Dr. Mark Felton! Being a history student, historic Firearms enthusiast, and a known specialty bullet inventor, conducting research, I have been to many museums. Yes indeed, I've seen Herman Goering's ,S&W revolver and Baton as well as one of Hitler's pistols on display at the West Point museum. Also General George Washington's, beautiful pair of Flint Lock Pistols and Polish/Lithuanian General Tadeusz Kościuszko's, impressive long saber sword are also on display at the West Point museum. From what is known, it was, Herman Goering, as the Commander of the Luftwaffe, with his background in Hunting, implemented that a specialty multi barreled Hunting Firearm known as a "Drilling" be placed onboard German Military Aircraft as a Survival implement, in the event of a crash or emergency landing in wilderness areas so the crew could hunt wild game for sustenance/food. At the German Tank museum at Munster Germany, I saw Field Marshal Rommel's Death Mask. In Belgrade's Kalamagdan Military Museum, I saw Broz Tito's Tokarev Pistol, Colt 1911Pistol and Thompson SMG. The Museum of Connecticut History in Hartford Connecticut, has many of Colonel Samuel Colt's firearms, especially Colt's experimental prototypes. Visiting various Military/Arms Museums can be an enriching experience, I would one day like to visit the various Military Museums in the UK as well.

Mark, your content is so overwhelmingly great! Much love from Canada! 🇨🇦

Phenomenal job as always Mark, love your productions

Dr Felton thank you for all that you do….your voice and storyline is very addicting 🙌

I have just about all the pistols you talked about that were brought home by GI's from the war. You missed Mauser 1934 . I will look for a model 8 ....dont have that one. HSC is a nice shooter.

I remember I once dreamt of Churchill walking down some stairs in front of me and while turning around he shows me his 1911. I was surprised about such detail and researched the next day, finding that he actually carried a 1911! 😮

Cannot stop watching your videos. It’s been weeks. That intro SLAPS