WW1 Knife?

[H Wally]

Hey guys - wondering what you can tell me about this knife? Handle is bone or antler. Etching reads "Andennen an den Weltkrieg". Was in the possession of an individual that fought in the first world war and may or may not have been an american citizen at the time.

 

[rattus]

The translation is something like "In memory of the World War". I would suggest that means post war.

 

[J996]

Yup. Means "In memory of the world war" (Andenken an den Weltkrieg).

 

[H Wally]

Yeh - figured it meant something like that. Any historical evidence of these being common or recognizeable further than that? My guess from the etching that it was done commercially for Germans, either commissioned for a small group of veterans or done just as a "trinket" for whomever would buy it.

I'm assuming it was more likely a small commission for specific people since post war german economy wasn't exactly something that people pissed their money away on etched cutlery sets about the war.

Maybe something made while the german economy was still semi-functional as a kind of "militarism tied to capitalism" thing? The owner apparently returned back to the USA shortly after the end of the war.