Dog Tags & Paperwork
Every soldier in every army wore a dog tag during WW2 and even prisoners in the stalags had one in order to identify themselves. Each dog tag holds the history of one person and represents one person alone. Consequently, they are overall quite common, as there were millions and millions of soldiers. But like with anything, there are rarer regiments, designs and types.
Here we will explore some of the WW2 German dog tags, as well as interesting paperwork for sale this week across some of our partnered sites. There is some great paperwork that explains the soldiers’ full history, so we believe these items need preserving to protect the stories of the war.
Death Certificate – Karl Klampferer, Sergeant, 738th Infantry
This original death certificate belongs to Karl Klampferer, who was a Sergeant with the 738th Infantry regiment. He was Killed In Action on the 4th of February in 1943. This is a poignant document and it highlights the reality of war. It also comes with a facsimile copy of his death card.
Available from Vigo Militaria. £60.00.
Bronze Panzer Assault Badge Grouping
This is a group of documents for a bronze Panzer award belonging to Private Werner Selter. He was in the 5th Battalion of the 1st Ersatz Infantry, which was a motorised battalion.
Panzerkampfabzeichen means tank battle badge. This one is a bronze award issued on the 10th of October in 1941 but the certificate for the award has 24th of June 1942 as the issue date. A 5th of May, 1941-dated certificate suggests that he got a gold driving proficiency award in the field. There is also a photograph from May 1943 of Werner Selter wearing the badge. His dog tag, his gold driving award and his discharge papers are also included in this bundle.
This Bronze Panzer Assualt Badge is a good wartime example made by S&L.
The group is available from Eagle Relics for £450.00.
Motorised Field Police Battalion 374
Our next item is a dog tag from the German Army Motorised Field Police, Battalion 374. This dog tag belonged to someone from a GFP Motorised Police battalion, which makes it quite a rare find. GFP was short for Geheime Feldpolizei, which was the Germany’s secret field police at the time.
This dog tag is for sale at Kriegsmarine Plus for £125.00.
WW2 German Driving License & Photographs
This German WW2 driver’s license document is dated 4th of December 1943. It has a bi-fold design and the material is grey oil cloth. There are handwritten details on the front, which include the driver’s date of birth amongst his other details, and a black & white ID photograph of the driver inside.
Additionally, there are four standard postcard-sized black & white photographs, as well as a smaller black & white photograph included in this bundle. The small photo, with dimensions of 6.5 cm x 9.5 cm, has a handwritten note on the back. The last item is what appears to be a field post receipt. It has a good stamp with the German eagle on it.
Overall, this is a nice group of documents and photographs with a personal touch.
Available from The Collector’s Guild $90.00. (Or best offer)
Nurse’s Dog Tag, Armband & Badges
This is a rare Red Cross group. It consists of a de-nazified arm badge for Schaumburg County, a Red Cross armband with a woven motif, an enamel lapel badge, and a Red Cross dog tag. This belonged to a volunteer nurse serving in District 10. Her number was 167. Of particular interest is the Red Cross symbols on the dogtags, which you don’t see very often.
The Red Cross played a very important role in the war of course. They looked after wounded soldiers and were the backbone of the army. Without them, there would have been even more casualties in the field.
Today, many re-enactors choose to dress up in period nurse’s garments to pay tribute to these volunteers who had saved countless lives during the war. Items belonging to the Red Cross during WW2 are also very collectible and many collectors seek them to complete their collections. Now you have a chance to own a piece of Red Cross history too. This bundle is currently for sale at the Antiquities of the Reich for £160.00.
Application to join the Waffen-SS, dated 1944
This is a rare historical document, dated 15th of October 1944. It is an application by an enlisted man to become a member of the Waffen-SS, which is not found very often. As well as the original document, there is a translated facsimile (translated from the original German to English).
In 1944 the SS expanded and by this point it was open for applications from people not of Aryan origin. It also accepted members from Eastern European countries including Latvia, Hungary and Estonia.
Available from Vigo Militaria for £65.00.
WW2 Panzer Major’s Knight’s Cross Group
Next we have this stunning grouping of documents belonging to Oberst Theodor Graf Schimmelmann Von Lindenburg, who was a commander in the 15th Panzer Regiment. The group’s main feature is a large presentational Knight’s Cross citation, which was a standard red folder, creation of the artisan bookbinder Frieda Thiersch.
She handcrafted many of Hitler’s documents herself, as well as gifts he wanted to give to other notable figures during the war. Thiersch is said to have designed the eagle sitting on the gold leaf wreath, which subsequently became famous as the Knight’s Cross Eagle.
Hand-crafted book
The interior reads ‘In the name of the German people I award you the Knight’s Cross to the Iron Cross’. The document has 14th of May 1941 as the date and it features Adolf Hitler’s original signature. Schimmelmann received the Knight’s Cross for the part he played in the Yugoslavian invasion.
The outer part of the folder has some slight cuffs at the edges but it features a gorgeous, complete Reich eagle (designed by Hitler’s personal bookbinder, Frieda Thiersch, who also bound this book herself). The velum pages inside the folder seem to have got damp at one point in the past, so there are a couple of faint stains on them, but the Moroccan leather holding the velum in place is intact.
This beautifully constructed book is grouped with the A5 size award document for the Knight’s Cross to the Iron Cross. The recipient’s rank was major at the time.
The formal citation for the gold German Crossis dated February 1943. Schimmelmann had the rank of lieutenant colonel when he received this. There are a number of other interesting pieces of paperwork accompanying this award book, including a letter congratulating him on one of his many awards.
Also included is a portrait of Schimmelmann. He is wearing his uniform and his awards, but no hat. There are some documents relating to his childhood as well, which makes this an exceptionally personal and extensive group of documents.
Besides all this, there are numerous translations that detail Schimmelmann’s career after the war. This is a rare and exceptional collection belonging to a career soldier who took part in both WW1 and WW2. He was in Yugoslavia, Moscow, Kurks amongst many other battles.
Available from Regimentals £26,550.00.
Hermann Göring Division Dog Tag
Items from Herman Göring’s division are quite hard to find, and as shown above, this dog tag is in good, clean condition with the markings clearly visible. This also means it is easier to find out about the history of the regiment. The inscription states the soldier was in the 4th Flak Regiment, 7th Herman Göring Division.
Available from The Militaria Shop £255.00.
Have you seen this article? WW2 German Armour
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