The Walther PP (German: Polizeipistole, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen

“PPK” is an abbreviation for Polizeipistole Kriminal (literally “police pistol criminal”), referring to the Kriminalamt crime investigation office. While the K is often mistakenly assumed to stand for kurz(German for “short”), as the variant has a shorter barrel and frame, Walther used the name “Kriminal” in early advertising brochures and the 1937 GECO German catalog.

During World War II, they were issued to the German military (officers), including the Luftwaffe, as well as the uniformed Ordnungspolizei and plainclothes detectives of the Kriminalpolizei