Posted 8 years ago
DI1661
(2 items)
Hi, This was purchased at an estate sale a week ago, I can't seem to find out anything about this type of metal ID disk, I do know it's German, appears to be WW II related and that's pretty much it, Can somebody tell me what this item is ? I would greatly appreciate your help.
Thanks.
Dave
Magical thing called GOOGLE. More info in the link below.
SS Heimwehr "Danzig" was an SS unit established in the Free City of Danzig (today Gda?sk and environs, Poland) before the Second World War. It fought with the German Army against the Polish Army during the invasion of Poland, and some of its members committed a massacre of Polish civilians. After this it became part of the 3rd SS Totenkopf Division and ceased to exist as an independent unit.
Also known as Heimwehr Danzig (Danzig Home Defense), it was officially established on 20 June 1939, when the Danzig senate under Albert Forster decided to set up its own armed force; a cadre of this new unit primarily formed the Danzig SS Wachsturmbann "Eimann". This unit committed a number of massacres of Polish civilians, and its members were also transferred to the Totenkopf division.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Heimwehr_Danzig
Apparently - this is a fake or fantasy badge. There are several with the same number 24313 on the net.
"Strictly speaking it's not a dog tag but a badge. KRADSCHTZ is probably short for Kradschütze. Krad is German military slang for Kraftrad or Motorbike. So, KRADSCHTZ = motorbike trooper.
The text on the bottom is "Amt für Sicherungsaufgaben", office for security affairs (or tasks).
If you google for "KRADSCHTZ", you can find an old auction for a tag with the same number in a much better condition. I found a website in German about all kinds of badges. This one seems to be a rather obvious fantasy product."
https://m.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1id8kf/my_father_found_a_nazi_dog_tag_could_anyone_give/
They are called Gestapo warrant disks, and have been faked since the end of the war. But it's a fun novelty!
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=98701
Hi Celiene and thank you, You are extremely knowledgeable and I appreciate you for sharing some of that with me. Dave