Original WWII Rheinmetall Typewriter with SS Key – Arbeitsamt Bonn – Complete with Case

Offered here is a rare and fully functional original WWII-era Rheinmetall typewriter, complete with its original SS-marked key and original carrying case. This is not merely a writing machine, but a historical artefact directly connected to the bureaucratic machinery of the Third Reich.

Manufacturer & Production History

This typewriter was produced by Rheinmetall-Borsig at its Sömmerda works, one of Germany’s most important industrial sites during the Second World War. The Sömmerda factory has a documented and tragic connection to forced labor: during the war, female prisoners from the Sömmerda subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp were compelled to work in production under inhumane conditions.

As such, this machine stands as a tangible reminder of how everyday administrative tools were produced within a system that relied heavily on coercion and exploitation.

Institutional Provenance: Arbeitsamt Bonn

This specific typewriter was issued to the Arbeitsamt (Labor Office) in Bonn, clearly marked as such. During the Nazi period, the Arbeitsämter played a central role in the regime’s forced labor system, serving as key administrative hubs for:

• Registration and allocation of workers
• Recruitment and assignment of forced laborers
• Coordination with the Wehrmacht, police authorities, and SS
• Deportation of civilians from occupied territories for labor in Germany

The presence of the original SS-marked key further underlines the official and institutional nature of this machine’s use.

Condition & Functionality

Despite its age and history, this Rheinmetall typewriter remains in remarkably good and fully functional condition:

• All keys, levers and mechanisms operate smoothly
• Clean and legible typing action
• Original finish with honest period wear
• The machine demonstrates Rheinmetall’s renowned precision engineering

The typewriter is accompanied by its original carrying case, showing clear signs of wartime and postwar use. Please note:

• The case hinge is damaged, consistent with age and service
• The case remains structurally sound and correct to the typewriter

Historical Significance

Typewriters like this were essential tools of the wartime bureaucracy — instruments through which orders, registrations, labor assignments and official correspondence were produced. This example illustrates how administration and oppression were intertwined, with seemingly ordinary office equipment playing a role in a much larger system of control.

As such, this piece is of strong interest to:

• Advanced WWII collectors
• Researchers and historians
• Museum and educational collections focusing on occupation, bureaucracy, and forced labor

Summary

• Original WWII Rheinmetall typewriter
• Produced at Sömmerda works
• Issued to Arbeitsamt Bonn
• Includes original SS-marked key
• Fully functional and intact
• Original carrying case included (hinge damaged)
• Important artefact illustrating the administrative side of WWII

A powerful and increasingly rare survivor, offering insight into the bureaucratic mechanisms behind one of the darkest chapters of 20th-century history.