The Pistole Parabellum 1908 or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), popularly known as the Luger, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The design was patented by Georg J. Luger

Georg Luger

Georg Johann Luger was an Austrian designer of the famous Luger pistol and the 9 x 19mm Parabellum cartridge.-Early life and military service:...

 in 1898 and produced by German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken

Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken

Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktien-Gesellschaft , known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when Ludwig Loewe & Company united its weapons and ammunition production facilities within one company...

 (DWM) starting in 1900; it was an evolution of the 1893 Hugo Borchardt

Hugo Borchardt

Hugo Borchardt was a firearms inventor and engineer, born in Magdeburg, Germany. He is known for his inventions of the Borchardt C-93 pistol and the Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878 rifle....

 designed C-93

Borchardt C-93

The Borchardt C-93 pistol was designed by Hugo Borchardt in 1893. Ludwig Loewe & Company of Berlin, Germany, a manufacturer of machine tools, produced the C-93, a semi-automatic pistol that he had invented based upon the Maxim toggle-lock principle. He also developed the 7.65×25mm Borchardt...

. It would be succeeded and partly replaced by the Walther P38.

The Luger was made popular by its use by Germany during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.