German Dog-tag Resources

[norman]

Hello Gentlemen, I hope this is the right section to post this, and it is probably an often asked question, but basically I am trying to find out if there is any resource for finding out the names and details of German soldiers in the Second World War, using their erkennungsmarke? With the First World War ID tags, you at least have the soldiers name as well as other details, but the WWII ones there is really only the soldiers number.
If anyone can point me in the right direction I would certainly appreciate it.
Regards
Norman

[Gerdan]

Only the WASt (Wehrmachts Auskunftsselle / Deutsche Dienststelle) Berlin have the list.

But they will not give you the name of the (former) owner because you are not related with him.

Gerdan

[Yubari]

as Gerdan says... Maybe if you justify to Wast your research purpose, they might help. If you want just to check few random dog tags, they wont be much of use.

[norman]

German Dog-tags

Thank you both, Gerdan and Yubari. That’s a shame. Is there not an expiry date for the release of such information as we have here in Britain and as far as I know, the States?
I think I was hoping for a bit too much really, and as you say Gerdan they would more than likely only release such information to relatives.
Regards
Norman

[Ironcrown]

For the WaSt, collector's curiosity is not a priority. The archives exist for other more important reasons, e.g. to identify missing soldiers that are recovered with their dogtags. Still nowadays hundreds of soldiers are recovered from the battlefields. Each search is hand made from the paper archives and may take very long time, even months, and the personnel is probably limited in number. So they have to focus their efforts on the more important requests.
Who knows, maybe in future, when the identification requests of the fallens will drop, requests for cultural purpose will be also admitted.

[Yubari]

2 months ago I asked them for the sake of prpper research for knight cross recipient's grouping of award documents and medals incl. knight cross and german cross.
They replied to me via letter that they will need around 18 months to see what do they have available.

It seems they are going to help this time!

[Ironcrown]

I think that this is a different case, because you already gave the name that have to be researched. When they have to decode a dogtag, the procedure should be different. They have to search, probably, in different archives that are very big and (probably) confused. Each company (or particular sub-unit) in the German Armed Forces had its own Stammrollnummer so they will have to find it in the specific file for that unit.