Searching for the ice axe that killed Leon Trotsky!

Thank you 300Six... the ice axe was a formidable weapon. Mercader (alias Jacson) believed he could kill Trotsky (codename Old Man) silently with a single blow to the back of the head. However, Trotsky sensed something was amiss as Mercader stood behind him... the Old Man turned, but it was too late. The blow penetrated Trotsky's skull to a depth of 2.75 inches on the upper right side. It was a fatal blow, but not silent. The total length of the shortened weapon was 12 inches.

Diagram showing the entry point of the axe....

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Photo of Trotsky's brain showing the damage caused by the axe...

wddk3jO.png
 
Were I to come across a traffic-injured deer I'd be reaching for something heavier than a mountaineer's pick in order to humanely dispatch it. Even a 22 oz framing hammer has much more inertia. The head of these picks isn't very heavy. On the other hand I would presume that Jacson rehearsed that assassination scenario many times over and practiced on something.
 
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Mercader was proud of his mountain climbing prowess and bragged that “if given sufficient purchase I could crack a granite boulder with a single blow.” As such, he believed that Trotsky would die instantly and silently.
 
USNA’66 said:
Mercader was proud of his mountain climbing prowess and bragged that “if given sufficient purchase I could crack a granite boulder with a single blow.” As such, he believed that Trotsky would die instantly and silently.
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Then branding Red Communists as 'hard-headed' might have originated from fact and not fiction! Trotsky's cranium did not "cleave" from the blow.
Sorry for 'making light' of an otherwise sordid and horrific event.
 
Kevin Houtzager said:
...Why would an austrian axe have Extra Garantie on it?...
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Here's a page from (I assume) a Japanese collector, showing various ice axes with the Fulpmes stamp. One shows "Extra Garantie", like the other examples shown earlier in this thread.

flp_a3n1.jpg


The famous ice axe in this thread is said to have a "GARANTIE" stamp (without the "Extra"). This is different from one in the Japanese collection that says "GARANTIRT" (without "Extra"), not "GARANTIE". Some similar examples with GARANTIRT can be found in old auction listings, but I haven't found any examples with only "Garantie" (without "Extra").

flp_a1n1.jpg

from http://www.nirayama.com/~suwabe/Pickel/Fulpmes/F4.htm


USNA’66 said:
...The correct Murder axe is marked "Garantie Werkgen Fulpmes" and was produced in the small Austrian village of Stubai circa 1928. Though there have been many climbing axes produced by Fulpmes, this one model is seldom seen.... in my searches on eBay and in climbing magazines over the past 20-30 years, I've only seen two other examples become available. I purchased them both. The profiles of the many axes from Fulpmes also vary, and the stamp used to impress "Garantie Werkgen Fulpmes" into the metal is distinctive and uses different fonts than those pictured from eBay example. The word EXTRA was not part of the maker's imprint on the correct Trotsky axe....
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If the reference to "Garantie Werkgen Fulpmes" is not a typo, then it appears to be a relatively rare model.
 
Another example, with "GARANTIRT" (not "GARANTIE"):

cpsf.jpg

from a 2015 auction:
Ancien-long-PIOLET-de-montagne-ICE-AXE-marque-WERKGEN-FULPMES-Lg-101-5-cm
Item Sold
Estado del artículo:Usado
Finalizado: 01 nov 2015 , 6:49a. m.
Precio: 89.00 EUR
Ubicación del artículo:Mulhouse, Francia
 
An interesting read. Lot of research.

You most certainly put the Spy Museum on my 'must see' list.

(Hope they also have some SOE and OSS artifacts)

USNA’66 said:
The assassination of Leon Trotsky on August 20, 1940 may have been the most famous assassination of the century...
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Hmmm, maybe in the Americas....., though Id have thought Kennedy's assassination ranked rather high on the list there.

As for the most (in-)famous assassination of the century with far far FAR more severe ramifications.....

*cough* Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the hand of Gavrilo Princip (though not by 'pick axe' - he used a Browning) *cough*
 
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Hi Blade Scout... in our new museum building (opening Spring of 2019) we will have the largest display of OSS/SOE artifacts on display anywhere. One highlight will be the SOE Sleeping Beauty submarine i am donating... the most complete of the three surviving boats. The SB was the smallest operational sub used in WW2 and the first designed and built by an intelligence service. The new museum will triple the size of the existing Internatipnal Spy Museum. We hope that you will come and visit us. We will also have a extensive display of blades....
 
Steve Tall said:
Here's a page from (I assume) a Japanese collector, showing various ice axes with the Fulpmes stamp. One shows "Extra Garantie", like the other examples shown earlier in this thread.

flp_a3n1.jpg


The famous ice axe in this thread is said to have a "GARANTIE" stamp (without the "Extra"). This is different from one in the Japanese collection that says "GARANTIRT" (without "Extra"), not "GARANTIE". Some similar examples with GARANTIRT can be found in old auction listings, but I haven't found any examples with only "Garantie" (without "Extra").

flp_a1n1.jpg

from http://www.nirayama.com/~suwabe/Pickel/Fulpmes/F4.htm




If the reference to "Garantie Werkgen Fulpmes" is not a typo, then it appears to be a relatively rare model.
Click to expand...

Steve.. You are correct.... “Garantie” is the correct spelling.

Keith
 
BladeScout said:
An interesting read. Lot of research.

You most certainly put the Spy Museum on my 'must see' list.

(Hope they also have some SOE and OSS artifacts)



Hmmm, maybe in the Americas....., though Id have thought Kennedy's assassination ranked rather high on the list there.

As for the most (in-)famous assassination of the century with far far FAR more severe ramifications.....

*cough* Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the hand of Gavrilo Princip (though not by 'pick axe' - he used a Browning) *cough*
Click to expand...


Trotsky’s assassination was, at the time, refered to as “the crime of the century.” With the sparce communications in 1940, the Trotsky murder had global implications far greater than in the America’s. The dwindling camp of loyal Trotskyites was estimated at his death at less than 5,000 members worldwide. His bitter opponent, Joseph Stalin counted on five million loyal Stalinists and the financial strength of the USSR.
Keith
 
USNA’66 said:
Hi Blade Scout... in our new museum building (opening Spring of 2019) we will have the largest display of OSS/SOE artifacts on display anywhere. One highlight will be the SOE Sleeping Beauty submarine i am donating... the most complete of the three surviving boats. The SB was the smallest operational sub used in WW2 and the first designed and built by an intelligence service. The new museum will triple the size of the existing Internatipnal Spy Museum. We hope that you will come and visit us. We will also have a extensive display of blades....
Click to expand...

Thank you for info.

I most certainly will.

'Display of blades' - crossing my fingers for sleeve daggers, lol.
 
At first I wondered about the stamp of 'Werkgen Fulpmes' described in the link in the OP and thought, that it was a misspelling of 'Werken' meaning 'works' i.e. factory in German.

This is often used in factory/company names of the time.

For example Spree Werke being Spree Factory Works.

Turns out 'Werkgen' is an abbreviation of 'Werkgenossenschaft' i.e. factory cooperative.

Fulpmes of course being a geographical location in Austria.

TZTtjwo.jpg

vjKyHLM.jpg
 
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History rocks!

I know of WWII collapsible canoes used in clandestine operations, I find the Italian Maiale and the British derivative, the Chariot intriguing - not least because of the fantastic tales of daring do of the brave soldiers who operated them - but I had to read up on Sleeping Beauties.

Seems there is a Sleeping Beauty in the Naval Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Cant wait to know more about the sub you donated to the Spy museum.

But this is OT.

Did I mention, history rocks!

boo6rLs.jpg
 
Both 'garantie' and 'garantiert' are perfectly valid German words - 'extra' too for that matter.

Garantie is warrenty and garantiert is stressing, that its an original (Fulpmes) or also that its under warrenty.
 
Kevin Houtzager said:
Werkgen = Werkgemeinschaft = work brotherhood or work guild, or workersguild.

Fulpmes is the name of the place: https://www.google.nl/maps/place/Fu...c9ba3c62508cf69!8m2!3d47.1521124!4d11.3483091

And Stubai the province in southern Austria.




"Extra garantie" from a German speaking country seams off though. Only explanation I have is thats it's for export to either France/Belgium/The Netherlands. All 3 use the same to words in conjuction to each other and both meaning the same thing in French or Dutch (belgium speaking dialects of both called Wallonian and Flemish in that order)

Garantirt = Garantied. But "garantie" in Germany means "warranty" in English. It's the "Extra" part that doesn't make sense: They don't use that word in either Germany and Austria. At least, not in that time period. The only correct word for that is "Zusätzliche".
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Nope.

We've been over this.

Read my above post - #36.

'Werkgen' means WERKGENNOSSENSCHAFT = cooperative factory.

Notice text/stamp below.

Also notice the 'Extra' part mentionwd.

https://www.holzwerken.de/museum/hersteller/fulpmes.phtml

Wolfgang Jordan
KLEINES WERKZEUGMUSEUM
Werkzeughersteller und -händler
fulpmes_logo.jpg


Werkgenossenschaft der Stubaier Kleineisenindustrie, Fulpmes (Österreich)
Homepage: www.stubai.com
Firmengeschichte
Gegründet 1898 1) und 1960 aus markenrechtlichen Gründen umbenannt in "Stubai". Siehe auch weitere Informationen bei Michael Pfurtscheller.

Weitere Informationen
Hinweise auf die Firma im Lieferantenverzeichnis 'Wer liefert was?':
Beitel und Hobeleisen (1940),
Holzbearbeitungswerkzeuge (1940),
Bohrwerkzeuge (1940).

Marken
Markenzeichen auf Werkzeugen etc.:
fulpmes_1.jpg

"Bild 'Kreis mit Krone und dem Wappen
der Stadt Fulpmes (Tirol/Österreich)',
GARANTIE" 4)
fulpmes_2.jpg

"Bild 'Kreis mit Krone und dem Amboss als Wappen
der Stadt Fulpmes (Tirol/Österreich)',
EXTRA QUALITÄT, GUSSTAHL" 3)
fulpmes_3.jpg

"Bild 'Krone mit Kreuz
und den Buchstaben W und G'" 3)
[FVV] 2)
Quellen und Referenzen
FULP]
FVV]
Sammlung Ulrich Affolderbach
 
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