Exhibit of the Month - Sep. '24
06.09.2024
As a future exhibit of the month - September 2024, we would like to introduce you to an identification tag that will soon be exhibited in the MGS - Military History Collection Augustdorf.
Identification tag (not yet on display)
Identification tags were used then, as they are today, to identify soldiers. They were divisible or two-part metal tags, whereby in the event of death one part remained with the soldier and the other part was taken back home.
We can see the following data on this half-tag, which was recently found in the General Field Marshal Rommel barracks. SS Gren Ausb u. Ers. Btl 33 and underneath the number 4793.
This stood for the SS Grenadier Training and Replacement Battalion 33, the wearer of the tag had the number 4793. Soldiers of the Schutzstaffel (SS) did not wear the tags with names, only with numbers.
It is interesting to note that this battalion consisted of volunteer Estonian soldiers who, according to our research, were not stationed in Augustdorf. In the "confusion" of the last days of the war, a lot was of course possible.
We hope to find out more about the wearer of the tag, especially about his whereabouts after the Second World War.
Anyone who would like to find out something about their ancestors in the World Wars can contact the Federal Archives, PA 2 Information Department. But remember that 3 million German soldiers from the two World Wars are still missing.