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The Erma name was associated with products from the Erfurter Maschinenfabrik, B Geipel GmbH of Erfurt and products from the Erma-Werke GmbH of Munchen-Dachau(formerly Prazifix-Werke1948) Johann Ziegler Strasse 13 – 15. These pistols were produced in the same period when the P08 Luger was very popular in Germany. Erfurter Maschinenfabrik B. Geipel GmbH was formed in 1922 in Erfurt, Thuringia, by Berthold Geipel. ERMA was a German weapons manufacturer. Prior to and during World War II it manufactured many firearms, including the K98k, MP40, and several other submachine guns. It is also noted for having produced various forms of military training rifle, including the famous EL-24 and other models of subcaliber training device that allowed .22 long rifle ammunition to be fired from many infantry rifles such as the K98k and Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 through use of a special action conversion kit and a thin-walled .22 caliber barrel inserted within the larger rifle's bore. . The Parabellum unit was an auto-loader patented in 1927 by Richard Kulisch. The Erma-Werke made sub-calibre inserts as well in the 1950s for Interarms Also since the early ‘50s, they made a series of handguns superficially based on the Parabellum, the Colt-Browning, the Walther PPK, even the little known Ortgies pistol. The Erma Parabellum look-alikes also has a toggle-link, but in .22 did not need to lock the breech for safe functioning. Post War In 1945 Geipel was arrested and imprisoned by the Allied occupation forces in Germany due to his involvement with the Nazi party. He was eventually freed and underwent denazification, after which he worked for Vollmer GmbH as Assistant Director to Heinrich Vollmer. Following the end of the war, the Thuringen region found itself in the Soviet occupation zone. Marshal Zhukov of the Soviet occupation forces ordered what was left of ERMA Werke to be liquidated on 31 August 1948. Geipel re-established Erma Werke in Bavaria in 1949 and in 1952 the company moved to Dachau, near Munich. Geipel's son Rudolf became the Chief Engineer of the new company and for the first few years production was devoted to household appliances. Around 1952 ERMA was awarded a contract by the government of West Germany to service and produce parts for the various Allied forces weapons that had been supplied to the German police. Following the foundation of the Bundeswehr in May 1955, the Federal government gave ERMA permission to research and develop a new submachine gun; the aim was to replace the weapons given by the Allied forces to both West Germany's police and army. ERMA's design was, however, outbid and out-performed by a submission by Walther, the MP (MPK / MPL). The financial resources expended in developing the submachine gun had been quite substantial, and as a consequence ERMA was taken over in 1961 by Fiberglide, a division of Lear-Siegler, which traded under the Erma Werke name. In October 1997 Erma Werke commenced bankruptcy proceedings and in 1998 was taken over by Suhler und Sportwaffen, a division of Steyr-Mannlicher, following which the ERMA Werke name ceased to exist. The Erfurter Maschinenfabrik products were mostly sub-calibre inserts (einstecklaufe) made in the 1930s for Kar. 98k and the Parabellum pistol. The Parabellum unit was an auto-loader patented in 1927 by Richard Kulisch. The Erma-Werke products were sub-calibre inserts as well, made in the 1950s for Interarms. Also since the early ‘50s, they made a series of handguns superficially based on the Parabellum, the Colt-Browning, the Walther PPK, even the little known Ortgies pistol. The Erma Parabellum look-alikes also has a toggle-link, but in .22 did not need to lock the breech for safe functioning. The Erma pistols are not very common world-wide and are not often found in South Africa. These pistols are often grouped with the P08 Luger pistols, as they were made in Germany as a cheaper practice pistol, with the same pointablity as the P08, for the Luger owners.

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