Bringing weapons to Germany for reenactment

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Heerespfarrer Heinz
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:23 am
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Bringing weapons to Germany for reenactment

Post by Heerespfarrer Heinz »

Hello all!

I am a reenactor in Texas, USA, and my wife and I are looking at moving to Germany (where she is from) in the next year. I am wondering how, or if, I can bring my WWII era weapons with me. I have NO modern firearms, and don't even want to have live ammunition with me, but I do wish to bring my old WWII stuff. The ones I'd want to bring would be:
P38 pistol (original)
1911 .45 pistol (orig)
Ppsh41 semi-auto (repro)
K98 rifle (orig)
Moisin-Nagant (orig)

What would I need to do to make that happen?

Thanks for any info guys!!!

Heinz
Heerespfarrer Heinz
275.Infanterie.Div
Erich Johann

Re: Bringing weapons to Germany for reenactment

Post by Erich Johann »

If you want to posess live-firing (metallic cartridge) guns in Germany, you need a special permit (so-called "Waffenbesitzkarte"). In order to acquire that permit, one usually has to be a member of a shooting club and pass a number of exams. Or one takes a test for a hunting license. Or applies for a special collector's permit.

Here's a link to the Waffengesetz--since your wife is German, she should be able to help you going through it and finding thing that are important to you: http://bundesrecht.juris.de/waffg_2002/index.html

If you know where you're moving, you should contact the respective local authorities (the "Amt")--usually they have a bureaucrat specialized in firearms law who should also be able to provide you further help.

If you have sorted out the permit thingamabob, there is still the question which guns you can bring. P38, M1911, 98k rifle, and Mosin-Nagants are pretty "usual" firearms that can be found on German shooting ranges. The Ppsh, despite being a semi-auto, might be a more difficult case. If it can be changed somehow to fire full-auto, that should pretty definitely be a problem. If not, it still needs to be sanctioned by the authorities.

Please bear in mind that these are very general answers to a pretty complex topic--German firearms laws. Read through the law text; contact the authorities (on the federal and local level--and don't forget to inform German customs beforehand) to get firm and accurate answers. It won't be a piece of cake, but I wish you all the best!


P.S.: If all those guns are deactivated, i.e. converted to never be able to live-fire again, that might make things a bit easier because you would usually not need a permit. But again, contact the authorities for definitive answers.
Heerespfarrer Heinz
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:23 am
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Re: Bringing weapons to Germany for reenactment

Post by Heerespfarrer Heinz »

Wow, thanks for all the great info and the link!! I'm sure it will be a big pain, but for us to move there, one of my biggest fears is having to get rid of/ leave behind all my old toys! I wonder how hard it is to get a collector's permit? And if you have that permit, can you fire them at all?? How hard is it to join a shooting club?

Once I get all this sorted out, my next project will be getting my '41 Willys Jeep across the Pond!! ;)

Thanks again!,
Heinz
Heerespfarrer Heinz
275.Infanterie.Div
Erich Johann

Re: Bringing weapons to Germany for reenactment

Post by Erich Johann »

You're welcome.

As far as I know, the collector's permit is the hardest to obtain; not sure if you can generally shoot if you have that kind of permit. Joining a shooting club shouldn't pose too much of a problem--the question is rather if one is near where you live and which kind of shooting ranges they have (i.e. there are shooting clubs who only shoot .22 and only have a 50m range; there are shooting clubs which also have a 100m range for calibers above .22; etc.).
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