Constructed from brown leather, this holster is devoid of makers marks, with a faded paper tag on the detached lower flap, a brass Nazi eagle on the upper flap, gold washed fittings and an oak leaf and Nazi eagle decorated alloy suspension assembly with a pair of severed straps at the top. Notes from a previous consignor attribute the holster to Karl Holz (spelled 'Carl Holtz' in the provided notes), a subordinate of noted Nazi Julius Streicher. A veteran of World War One and a member of the German Socialist Party along with Streicher, Holz would become a Nazi when the parties merged in 1922, joining the SA. As Streicher moved up the ladder Holz followed in his wake, acting as editor-in-chief of 'Der Sturmer', Streicher's notoriously anti-semetic newspaper as well as his representative as Gauleiter of Franconia. When Streicher's career self-destructed as a result of shady dealings with Jewish property stolen during the Night of Broken Glass and using Der Sturmer to pick a fight with Hermann Goering, Holz was pushed out of the political arena, but rehabilitated his image by returning to the military, joining the staff of Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division. Rommel, then a relatively obscure commander known chiefly as one of Hitler's personal favorites, proceeded to take his force into Belgium and France and show the Allies just how much damage German tanks could do in the field. Returning to politics, he was appointed the Defense Commissar of Franconia and later the acting Gauleiter, even though on paper Streicher still held the job. In 1945 American forces attacked Nuremberg, prompted a five-day battle with Holz and a number of his supporters barricading themselves in the local police headquarters, and Holz personally executing the mayor of Nuremberg for suggesting surrender. To honor this stubborn defense, Hitler named Holz the winner of the German Order, also known as the "Hitler Order" or the "Dead Hero Cross", making him one of only eleven to receive the award, and one of only four to receive it before dying. On April 20th Holz was killed via gunshot, though whether he went down fighting or committed suicide before capture is disputed.

Fair, with a number of cracks and scuffs, along with areas of loose stitching and detached inner flap. The shoulder straps are detached.