One of the final weapons designed and developed by the Nazis in World War II, the VG1 was one of the "People's Weapons", last-ditch small arms produced by an industrial complex surrounded on all sides while being beaten to death by Allied strategic bombers. These weapons were intended to be used by the "Volksturm" which translates literally as "People's Storm" or "People's Assault" and more practically as "anyone we could find". In essence, the VG1 is a successor of the Mauser 98k, stripped to the bone with as many simplified or repurposed parts as possible in the name of getting a working rifle out the door ASAP. Dovetailed blade front and fixed notch rear sights, with a barrel originally meant for a machine gun, a magazine for a K43 rifle, a roughly machined bolt stamped "156" and a bar steel receiver marked "156" behind the sight and "s(illeg)g" on the left. Smooth pistol grip stock, with a fixed wire sling loop and a flat sheet metal buttplate. Included with the rifle is a printed armband, red/white/black with Nazi eagles and "DEUTCHERVOLKSTURM/WEHRMACHT"; under the rules of warfare, such an armband would be considered the bare minimum "uniform" for the assorted boys and old men pressed into service in the dying days of the Third Reich.

Very fine, with a period-appropriate rough appearance and a generous coating of storage grease on the metal parts. The barrel shows 85% of the blue finish, with the receiver very rough/pitted and some deep scuffs on the trigger guard. The stock is also very fine, with some scuffing and finish loss. The armband is good, with some minor stains and stitching loss. Mechanically good.