Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Wehrmacht Dog Tag
Erkennungsmarke: This was the standard issue German military identification tag, often called a "dog tag". The Erkennungsmarke was instituted & first issued in August of 1939, to all members of the Wehrmacht. It was worn around the neck. Wearing of the tag was required at all times by all soldiers in the field. Perferated in the middle & stamped with identical information above and below the perforation line so they could be broken and the lower half sent to HQ.
Note how the German "dog tag" does not contain the name of the soldier to who the tag was issued to. Instead, the German Wehrmacht issued a number to each soldier and cross-referenced the tag number to the name of the military boot camp which the soldier attended. The tag # also corresponded to the soldier's German "Soldbuch" or passport issued to the soldier, which likewise contained the number stamped on the tag.
ReplyDelete