Erkennungsmarken

[sremerson]

Question.

Is it possible to take a German Erkennungsmarken ID and find out who was
the soldier that it was issued to? Are the records gone, lost/destoryed, or it
does exist but no fully intact? Is there a offical German office that maintains
records so that if a soldier's remain are found w/ his Erkennungsmarken they'll
be able to exactly know who he was? Just pondering,....

Best Regards,
Steve
Seattle

[Larry deZeng]

Steve -

This is THE office (and the only one) that can do what you want. But they will only do this now if you can prove a family connection or you can prove you are a recognized scholar (i.e., university professor) or an accredited geneaologist. They will not do this for collectors. This issue is discussed on this sub-forum weekly. Use the SEARCH function and you will find many threads on the subject.


WASt Berlin:
Deutsche Dienststelle
(formerly Wehrmachts-Auskunftsstelle)
Eichborndamm 167-179, 13403 Berlin
http://www.stolp.de/Kontakte/WAST-Berlin.htm

Sorry,

--Larry

[Jean-Loup]

"Is there a offical German office that maintains
records so that if a soldier's remain are found w/ his Erkennungsmarken they'll be able to exactly know who he was? "

Yes, if a dog tag is found with a body, the WASt will normaly be able to say exactely who he was, date of birth, unit, date of death, etc. Sometimes though, even they can not decode a dogtag, I am not sure why not.

JL