Very nice foldable truncheon for German SIPO Polizei. In very good condition, with leather strap. Made from leather and steel. These were used by Sicherheitspolizei during Nazi Germany.

Signed SIPO - Sicherheitspolizei (SIPO) Stahlrute: Steel tube loaded with two telescoping steel springs, cap marked SIPO (Security Police)  16 cm racked, 40 cm extended, 17 cm riveted leather strap. The Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) was the name of the combined forces of the Gestapo (secret state police) and the Kripo (criminal police) between 1936 and the start of WW2 in Sept 1939. On September 27 1939 Reichsführer-SS Himmler created the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt) by merging the SS Sicherheitsdienst (SD) with the police SIPO and KRIPO. The SiPo was a sub-department of the SS until the end of the war. Its stated duty was to find and eliminate "enemies" of the Third Reich The Stahlrute (steel whip) was a deadly weapon. It came in two sizes, with or without a steel ball on the end. Hard strikes with a balled whip could break bones. A hit to the head could kill. Hidden in the front pocket, with a flick wrist it would be ready to strike in the blink of an eye. The less lethal small version was nicknamed the "Blitz" (lightning bolt). This is the large version, catalog No. 8321, but without the killer steel ball. This is version No. 8323 with steel ball on the end .