Auschwitz metal stamps used by Nazis for tattooing discovered in Poland

[Adrian]

Never let facts get in the way of a good story......

[StefanM]

The German regime at Auschwitz didn't give one jot about possible prisoner infection or the use sanitary implements...it didn't matter because another trainload of prisoners and victims would be along shortly.

[big ned]

After having looked deeper into this, I may have to reassess my original opinion somewhat. It appears that this method was used briefly in the Aushwitz-Birkenau camp starting in July 1941 specifically on Soviet POW's. Those designated as such were tattooed by means of a metal plate with interchangeable needles attached to it; the plate was impressed into the flesh on the left side of their chests and then dye was rubbed into the wound. The tattoo read AU (for Auschwitz) followed by a number. Other Soviet POW's had their identification numbers written on their chests with indelible ink, but this wore off too quickly. Thus tattooing of most Soviet POW's was eventually implemented. Circumstantial evidence indicates that tattooing of prisoners was not systematically implemented in Auschwitz in 1941.


But, by around March 1942, 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 most of the time. By this period nearly all inmates (with the exception of those gassed immediately after getting off the train transports) at the camp including Jews, Gypsies etc. were being tattooed.

So, perhaps the stamps are genuine. But how can you tell? What is the provenance? Maybe if the set of stamps includes the 'A' and 'U' letters that prefixed the inmates number are present that may be a positive clue, but it's still not proof as these stamps are used in the livestock industry as well. Indeed, it would not suprise me if the stamps used in the camp were not sourced from this point.

Most of the above info I sourced from the Holocaust Museum, and assume is correct.

Regards, Ned.

[CampX]

When I was Young and foolish in the 60s, I had great doughts about the Jewish Camp thing. Then in the mid 70s and a bit later I used to run errands for my Fathers Company, this usually going to see his partner that was the top Broker for a large investment company in Toronto, Barry ( The Broker) was Jewish, and always in his very large office he had many hangers on, all listening for tidbits, many were older, and in the summer when they wore short sleeved shirts, I saw many with numbers on their arms, I guess that's when I relized it wasn't lies.
With that said, as I remember the numbers looked complete, not made of dots..and also, everyone I saw was about the same size.

I never asked about it, and now I guess I should have, but the realization that the Camps exsisted really shook me up

Dean O
Ajax Canada

[WillC]

Thats a very creepy story Camp, I think that these could be orginal, but theres no way of telling.

[StefanM]

The Jeruslem Post reports the needle-stamps were found on the route of the camp evacuation march and that the only other know sample of a tattooing device is stored at the Military Medical Museum in Saint Petersburg but they do not say if the device Military Medical Museum was found at Auschwitz by the liberating Red Army.

Some further images of the needle stamps. I am curious about the fact that they are different sized numerals? Different number sets or periods of use maybe?





The photo below shows that "AU" prefix was not present in this mans's tattooed number. I think the letter prefixes were introduced much later in the camp numbering system.

[Wagriff]

I cannot believe that these things were used for anything but stamping sides of beef and pork. The "needles" on them are like screw driver tips-the theoretic tattoo that they would inflict on a living tissue would quickly blur into illegible smudges. And, I cannot believe that the camp administrators would be totally blase about massive disabling infections amongst their valuable prisoner labor population. The entire prison contingent did not turn completely over every few days-the prisoners were needed for important work and there are no reports of tens of thousands of cases of raging hepatitis, staff and syphilis contagions sweeping through the inmate population and sending enormous waves of them in to the infirmary. Typhoid? Certainly...but this was spread by lice,fleas and vermin-not tattoo contamination.

As for Sokolov and Pepan doing 400,000 tattoos by punching crude blocks into the prisoners arms(and occasional chests and thighs) and then smearing ink on and rubbing it into the bleeding wounds? What kind of readable numbers could this produce? The Survivor's numbers that I've seen myself were still clear decades after the fact. That, and the fact that when asked, Sokolov stated that he could do a 5 number tattoo in 30 seconds. Setting up 5 of the numbered punches and applying it to an assumed docile inmate and rubbing in the ink on a bloody traumatized limb, etc....all this in less than 1 minute? Even jailhouse tattoo's take more time and work than this. No...sorry, but I think that they have yet to find the true tattooing tools of Auschwitz/Birkenau. These crude things may make for a horrifying and chilling story-not to mention image, but for me, they stretch the believability more than abit too far.

[big ned]

That nicely sums up my thoughts on this too, a macabre story, but not really plausible in practice. At the end of the day they remain livestock stamps, whether they used something similar or not, I honestly doubt it was these particular ones.

[StefanM]

A further report in the media Evil-looking implements used by Auschwitz guards to tattoo prisoners - GA Daily News states:

Survivor: Bessie Mittelman, 82, helps show the number tattooed on the chest of her husband Manny Mittelman, 88. He is one of the few Auschwitz survivors to have a chest tattoo. After the stamp system was replaced prisoners were tattooed on their arms.




The stamp system soon proved unnecessarily complex and the Nazis replaced it with a simple needle attached to a penholder which was used to apply the tattoo to the forearm.



Most of the prisoners to receive tattoos at Auschwitz had them placed on their arms using a single needle attached to a pen holder


I assume someone has asked Mr. Mittelman by what method was he was tattooed?

[Richard Kimmel]

Finds, such as this, always become questionable when the three W's exist ... the Who, When & Where surrounds them.