Steven Boyer

Steven Boyer

This is my German Mauser K98k rifle. I bought this rifle when I was 18, and it was the first rifle in my collection of World War II rifles. It is of milled steel and walnut construction with a nickel plated bolt and butt plate. The nickel coating is part of the refurbishment process as this rifle was constructed in 1941.

The Mauser K98k was the standard battle rifle of the German Wehrmacht (Army) during World War II. Over 11 million of these rifles had been produced by the end of the war by Germany and its allies. Also after the war, nations such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia continued to produce K98s in order to re-arm themselves. The K98k was Hitler’s favorite rifle, and for good reason because it was a phenomenal work of engineering.

The K98k was built around the Mauser bolt which was invented by Paul Mauser and first used on his rifle the Gewehr (rifle) 98. The G98 saw the German Imperial Army through the First World War. The Mauser bolt was the most advanced, most accurate, most reliable, and most safe bolt design around at the time and was duplicated by many nations including the United States. Paul Mauser then shortened his rifle into a carbine version, the K98 or Karabiner (carbine) 1898. The K98 went through many versions before it became the Karabiner model 1898 kurz (short) or K98k.

This particular K98k was built for the German Wehrmacht in 1941. The Germans were meticulous about quality control and stamped approved parts with Nazi eagles (see picture three). This rifle is special because it is coded BNZ. In picture two, the production code “BNZ” and the year can be seen above the chamber of the rifle. Germany coded their factory location on all of their guns in order to hide their locations from the Allies; however, we now know that the code BNZ stands for the weapons plant in Steyr Austria. This plant was staffed by inmates from Mauthausen Concentration Camp. This rifle was built using forced labor by Jewish inmates.

Boyer, Steven

2013-03-12

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