So everyone knows that during world war 2 the American soldiers would search German officers for the prize possession of a German made pistol e.g. The Lugar. What my question is, is the an equivalent to the German Lugar for German soldiers? Like when an American soldier died was a there a "prize" possession that German solders looked for that the soldier carried?
The Luger P.08, or Pistole Parabellum 1908, saw action in German hands during World War I and World War II, and was carried by military men and police officers during the Weimar Republic era (between the world wars) and by the East German "Peoples Police" post WWII. It was originally designed in 7.65mm Parabellum, but is most known in its 9X19mm Parabellum variant (also known as the 9mm Luger round, which was first developed for this pistol).
The Swiss Army was the first to adopt this weapon in 1900, followed by the German Navy in 1904 (in the Pistole 04 variant). In 1908 the German Army adopted the Pistole 08 (or P.08) in the 9x19mm variant. It was the standard German side arm in both world wars, but was actually beginning to be replaced by the Walther P38 in 1938. Even the American armed forces considered use of the Parabellum pistols in various variants, but decided that a larger cartridge was preferable.
The replacement factor probably contributed to its rarity and desirability as a prize of war for those soldiers opposing it. It was valued as a prize by all Allied soldiers, not just American GI's. German soldiers were aware of the pistol's value to Allied troops, and occasionally used them as bait for ambush or rigged them to explode. Even during the Vietnam War, the P.08 was sought as a prize.
The "Luger" name standing alone can possibly be attributed to the 1923 acquisition of the "Luger" American copyright name by Stoeger, Inc. Stoeger imported German made Parabellum pistols in various varieties to the U.S. that were stamped with "Luger" on their receivers. The familiarity with those imported pistols might contribute to the GI's and enthusiast's colloquial use of the "Luger" name to refer to all varieties of Parabellum pistols, not just the P.08 carried by German soldiers (which again, was rare itself to find as a prize of war, especially as the Walther P38 was also issued as a side arm in WWII).
As an American equivalent, that would probably have to be the M1911, developed by John Browning - formally known in 1940 as "Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45 Model 1911" (original model) or the "Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45 Model 1911A1" (1924 model). The M1911 was formally adopted by the U.S. Army in 1911 and was first made by Colt Firearms and Springfield Armory, though production grew to other firearm manufacturers as need arose. The weapon's formal use by the U.S. military ended in the early 1990s, though it is still carried by several unique U.S. forces. Many other nations world wide use or have used the M1911, one of its variants, or a copy in various capacities.
The M1911 was valued for its simplicity, reliability, slim frame, and stopping power. It saw some minor changes between the World Wars, but its essence remains the same today - it is still very widely produced in several configurations and variants, and remains one of the most popular civilian firearms in the United States.
I cannot speak to the prize value of the M1911 for German forces, as I don't know of any sources citing it as a sought after weapon. However, judging by its popularity in the U.S. and world wide, I can certainly see a German soldier picking one up if given the opportunity. It was the standard American issue in both World Wars (and of course beyond), so undoubtably the average German soldier would be aware of its existence. However, I do not think it shared the same attribute as an "American icon" to German soldiers during WWII that the Luger did to Allied soldiers as a symbol of German Imperialism and Naziism.
Edit: I personally own an M1911 and love the heck out of it, but this thread got me thinking and doing a little bit more research, and I found something very interesting: there were some M1911's carried by German soldiers.
Norway secured the rights to produce their own version of the M1911 for their own military's use, designated the M1914. Production began at Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk outside of Olso, in 1914. When Germany captured Norway in 1940, the pistol remained in production, however the designation was changed to the Pistole 657(n) by the Germans. Though produced for German forces and Norwegian collaborating forces from 1940-1945, it was only in 1945 that the Nazi waffenamt (the eagle symbol of the Third Reich) was added as a stamp on the pistol's slide. There were 8,223 Pistole 657(n)/M1914's made during Nazi occupation for German use. Of those, 920 had the waffenamt applied – marking the gun as a "Nazi M1911.”