You were probably aware that Hungary was a part of the Axis during WW2 but not many have heard of the Hungarian company FEG who were contracted to make 100,000 pistols for the 3rd Reich in 1941 & 1943 that went to the Luftwaffe. As it eventuated, just 50,000 were actually made.

This wasn’t an occupation of the factory as the Germans did in Belgium & other occupied countries where the factories were literally occupied & the Nazis took over. They didn’t in Hungary, it was a treaty because they joined forces with Hitler & as a result, they promoted trade & received a contract in exchange. 

After the Great Depression, all of Europe was financially devastated, including Hungary who was promoting trade with Germany & Italy in particular as theirs were the economies which were recovering the fastest & eventually, they became a part of the Axis powers.

They saw Hitler as a rising star & so the Hungarian prime minister at that time jumped on that bandwagon, which seemed like a really good idea at the time. 

Hungary contracted with the Nazis to make these sidearms for Luftwaffe aircrew due to the slim fit it is thought but it is known ground crew carried them also & the pistol was manufactured for a German contract under the designation of Pistole 37(u) or ‘P37′.

A little known fact was a Femaru 37M/P37 was the personal handgun of Paulus’ Chief of staff Gen. Lt. Arthur Schmidt, in the Battle for Stalingrad but we assume this never made it back to the Fatherland😳

Pistols marked Femaru were made in 7.65mm (.32 calibre) only by Metallwaren, Waffen U. Maschinenfabrik A.G. in Budapest.

It was originally made for commercial sale & Hungarian service use but in their ongoing wartime need for service pistols for the Nazi war machine the Germans turned to their Hungarian allies.  German orders for approximately 100,000 pistols were terminated in 1944 & production of the pistol ceased. German guns are marked “jhv”, the German code identification for this factory. Quality is generally very good.

In 1941 the Nazis added the jhv as the country code for Hungary, the date, which is what the Nazis wanted on it & the biggest change was it was changed to 7.65mm as opposed to 9mmK which the Hungarian military was using. This was because German small arms were already being made in 7.65mm & for pretty obvious reasons, they wanted to fit in with that group of guns.

You can see the 3rd Reich Waffenamts WaA173 along with the above mentioned jhv 41 on this gun. Along with adding their Waffenamt stamp they also added the safety lever along which the old design does not have.

These have traditionally been underrated, as everyone wants a Luger or P.38 & as such, undervalued but over the past few decades knowledgeable collectors have been gobbling these up.

This is an all matching gun, other than the numbered magazine & as can be seen in the photos, this retains much of its original finish & the original walnut grips are in great condition with no chips or cracks visible.

A period correct holster is available & this can be discussed at the time with the buyer.

This can be purchased with a deposit which is fully refundable if this arrives & is not in the condition as described.