A few months ago, a thief broke into the home of ERICH TOPP (118-LIFE-1995) & stole some items that were virtually priceless. They stole the Honors Dagger that Admiral Raeder presented him, and there were only six of these daggers in the world. TOPP wore his during his time in the Kriegsmarine, so there are wear marks on it. His was the only one of the six still in the hands of the original recipient, making it even more valuable. I recently spoke with Tom Whitmann, one of the world's leading experts on edged weapons, he said that this dagger was worth well over $200,000. Another militaria expert I spoke with said that TOPP turned down an offer of $315,000 for his dagger just a short while before it was stolen.

Another item of great value that was taken was his award document for his KNIGHT'S CROSS with OAK LEAF and SWORDS, which was worth well over $100,000.

ERICH TOPP is not worried so much about the loss of the monetary value of these items. He is naturally upset that his house was robbed, but even more since the items that were stolen reporesent a part of his life and further, they were to go to his sons. We are very pleased that ERICH was not harmed in this robbery; not physically as he is quick to point out. He is however, greatly upset. We at SHARKHUNTERS are also upset because ERICH is a friend, but even worse, we see that history itself is stolen and the thread of historical continuity is broken.

I am reporting this in our KTB Magazine to put everyone on the alert that these items are stolen and may be on the market soon. If any Member is approached by someone wanting to sell these items, we hope they will quickly call the police - immediately after they beat the hell out of the thief.