Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good original German WWII Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, or DRK, leather medical first aid case retaining a substantial assortment of wartime medical supplies. The brown leather case measures approximately 10 ½ x 9 x 4 ½ inches and remains complete with its carry handle, four exterior retaining straps and studs, and two D-rings for a shoulder or carrying strap, which is now absent. The surviving contents include numerous bandages, several bearing DRK markings and WWII-era dates, together with a small tin, an unidentified tube, and other medical components.

The leather case measures 10 ½ x 9 x 4 ½” and retains a leather carry handle to one end with four straps secured by knobs to each side. There are also two D Rings for a carry strap which is absent. 

The case still opens, closes, and secures shut without issue. The case contains a myriad of bandages, some of which are marked with the DRK logo, a small tin, and several other components. In the interior lid is a tube filled with an unidentified substance. The label is entirely faded. Also inscribed here is a name, Kraker. 

The Deutsches Rotes Kreuz played an extensive role in German wartime medical and emergency services. After the organization was centralized under the 1937 German Red Cross law, its structure was increasingly oriented toward wartime readiness and cooperation with the military medical system. During WWII, DRK personnel were employed in hospitals, casualty evacuation, first aid, air-raid medical services, search services, and other medical support functions.

This example is particularly noteworthy for the combination of its large brown leather DRK medical-case format, surviving wartime bandages and dressings, DRK-marked contents, exterior carrying fittings, unidentified medical tube, and the interior name “Kraker.” The case and associated contents provide a useful surviving example of the portable first-aid equipment used within the German Red Cross medical system during WWII.

History of the German Red Cross (DRK)

The DRK, "Deutsches Rotes Kreuz" (German Red Cross), a voluntary civil assistance organization originally instituted in 1864, was officially acknowledged by the Geneva Convention in 1929. In December 1937 it gained status as a legally recognized organization by the NSDAP. As with other essential services in Third Reich Germany, it came under control of the NSDAP in late 1938 under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior's Social Welfare Organization.

Idiot Clause - the contents of this kit are pre-1945 manufacture and are NOT suitable for use. They are being sold as novelty collector pieces only.