East German DDR Makarov Pistol Holster with Interior Ministry Markings

East German manufactured Makarov pistol in 9X18mm.  The DDR referred to it as the Pistole Makarov or PM.  Photo credit to the American Rifleman.

 The former East Germany or Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) had a number ministries and offices.  The DDR Ministry of the Interior, or Ministerium des Innern (MdI) was established in 1949.  The MdI was one of the ministries of the armed forces and was responsible, among other things, for the People's Police or Volkspolizei, also known as the VoPo, and the combat groups, the Kampfgruppen. In 1963 the official title of the Minister of the Interior of the DDR became Chef der Deutschen Volkspolizei or Chief of the German People's Police.   

Berlin, 24 August 1961.  In this photo a VoPo Major named Retig presents awards to VoPo soldiers for their outstanding work while building the Berlin wall.  On his right hip he wears a PM holster like the one in this post.  Bundesarchiv photo Bild 183-85701-0021

 The MdI also oversaw the firefighting brigades, the penal system, the passport and citizenship registration system, motor vehicle registration and the issuance  of driving licenses. The Secretary of State for Church Affairs was also technically and politically responsible to the MdI.  DDR border guards fell under the MdI and were members of the VoPo.  All of this history lesson on the communist Germans to help you understand the significance of the Makarov pistol holster shown here.  

This black leather PM holster has the rounded edge to the cover flap as opposed to the Russian style holsters that have squared off butt end flaps.  It has the spare magazine pouch but does not have the loops to secure a cleaning rod as many PM holsters have. 

Here you can see the closure strap goes from the bottom up to a stud on the flap and that the closure is secured to holster by a rivet at the rear which also secures the belt loop.

This holster is marked with two separate MdI acceptance marks, one large in a rectangle, the other smaller in a circle.  The markings above the rectangle are the date of manufacture but are unclear in this specimen.  These markings normally consist of a Roman numeral indicating the quarter of the year, a slash and two numbers indicating the year.  For instance, this specimen could read, "II/80" for the second quarter of 1980. 

The two sets of four numbers separated by a slash below the triangular marking are the codes assigned to the manufacturer, in this case, 1408/1678 is VEB Lederfabrik Zug.  The triangular marking is interesting and it was suggested to me that it may say, "BAHN" inside the triangle, which could indicate that the holster was issued to the Railway Security Police, Bahnschutz Polizei.

Here VoPos practice with their PM while wearing chemical protective masks.