Auschwitz metal stamps used by Nazis for tattooing discovered in Poland

[Australia]

Metal stamps with embedded needles that the SS once used to tattoo inmates at the notorious Nazi death camp at Auschwitz have been discovered in Poland.
The find has been hailed by the Auschwitz museum, which now stands on the site of the camp, as one "of the most significant in years" as it was thought no original tattooing equipment survived the war.
SS soldiers used the small stamps, consisting of a two, two threes and a six or a nine, to tattoo inmates as they were processed on their arrival at the camp in German-occupied Poland.
Some prisoners got the tattoo on the chest but most were tattooed on their arms, and the numbers became a hallmark of Auschwitz's inhumanity.
"This is one of the most important finds in years," said Piotr Cywinski, director of the Auschwitz museum. "We never believed that we would get the original tools for tattooing prisoners after such a long time.


KL needles .

"The sight of a tattoo is getting rarer every day as former prisoners pass away, but these stamps still speak of the dramatic history that took place here even after all these decades," he added.
"They will become a valuable exhibit in forthcoming exhibitions."
The museum has declined to say who discovered the stamps and where they were found - other than to confirm they were unearthed in Poland and that their finder wishes to remain anonymous.
Auschwitz was the only Nazi camp that tattooed its prisoners. At first identification numbers were sown onto inmates' clothing but the practice was dropped because the clothes often disintegrated and camp guards found it difficult to identify the dead who had been stripped before death.
The metal stamps were slid into a wooden block to form a number, which was pushed into flesh of the prisoner. Ink was then rubbed into the wound to create a tattoo.

Auschwitz metal stamps used by Nazis for tattooing discovered in Poland - Telegraph

[Erno]

I hope these aren't fake, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

[Wagriff]

There have been many long debates and arguments concerning these newly displayed "tattoo tools". The majority, I've noticed, have tended to have doubts on them...

[Glenn66]

No information on where found and by whom, so we have to have faith? Sorry, but I need a little more than that to go on.

[Gunny Hartmann]

"The metal stamps were slid into a wooden block to form a number, which was pushed into flesh of the prisoner" i've been around tattooing for a long time and i don't know about "pushed" they would have to be hammered into the skin, maybe part of the sick enjoyment of the "tattooist"!...

[StefanM]

From the USHMM:

"Originally, a special metal stamp, holding interchangeable numbers made up of needles approximately one centimeter long was used. This allowed the whole serial number to be punched at one blow onto the prisoner's left upper chest. Ink was then rubbed into the bleeding wound."

The above description is at odds with that in the Telegraph article.

"When the metal stamp method proved impractical, a single-needle device was introduced, which pierced the outlines of the serial-number digits onto the skin. The site of the tattoo was changed to the outer side of the left forearm. However, prisoners from several transports in 1943 had their numbers tattooed on the inner side of their left upper forearms. Tattooing was generally performed during registration when each prisoner was assigned a camp serial number. Since prisoners sent directly to the gas chambers were never issued numbers, they were never tattooed."

From the above it would appear that the individual number metal stamps were dropped in favour of a single needle device.

I presume the Auschwitz museum will have set the metal stamps that they have into a line of numbers that can be compared to the numeral spacing on a survivors tattooed arm?

An interesting find if they are what they purport to be...I am slightly sceptical.

[Wagriff]

So, these are the actual tools used by Sokolov and Pepan? Somehow, I have to question these stamps....No one is denying that Auschwitz-Birkenau did, in fact, use tattoos. From what I've always heard, they were the only camps that did use them. But these crude and dull looking stamps? 400,000 done? How did they prevent infections? I think that they need to keep looking for the original tools...these aren't too convincing.

[big ned]

I'm sorry I have to laugh at this alleged 'torture' implement inflicted on folks as the means of identification of KL prisoners, but these stamps are actually for use in the livestock and farming industry for marking beasts, mainly pigs. They are commonly known as 'Pork Slappers' and generally each number plate is around 1/2"-3/4" wide with a single number or letter delinated in stainless steel spikes. These in turn are slid into a handled frame called a 'Slap Marker' which is then pushed onto an inked pad to coat the spikes. Then it is sharply 'slapped' onto the body of the beast/carcass, usually on the hind quarters. There are similar type stamps for use on animals ears., only these are pressed in using a type of stamp.

No dark undertones here guy's....Just bacon I.D.

[Spitace41]

So, these are the actual tools used by Sokolov and Pepan? Somehow, I have to question these stamps....No one is denying that Auschwitz-Birkenau did, in fact, use tattoos. From what I've always heard, they were the only camps that did use them. But these crude and dull looking stamps? 400,000 done? How did they prevent infections? I think that they need to keep looking for the original tools...these aren't too convincing.

Thats similar to my first impression. These appear to be very crude. I would have thought they would have been more professional, sanitary looking implements. Having said that I have not looked closely at German KL tattooing techniques, nor do I particularly wish to. But ultimately, I too am skeptical.

[Glenn66]

Still, a nifty 'story' to generate traffic to the Auschwitz museum isn't it?