I think some of us have assumed--perhaps incorrectly--that all the GDR guns were produced at the Ernst Thalmann Werk, which was the old Sauer factory in Suhl. "Buxton's Guide to Foreign Firearms", from 1963, states under the Buhag section: "Thus the famous Merkel and Sauer guns are now made by Ernst Thalmann peoples' works under the brand names Merkel and Fortuna . . . " However, the Buhag section continues: "The sale of Buhag, as well as other Suhl guns, is not handled by any of the several gun works but rather by a state organization known as Deutscher Innen & Aussenhandel . . . " That makes it sounds as if there was more than one factory in operation, although all the guns were marketed through the same state-controlled organization.
