Plastic Luftwaffe squares??

[Luftwaffe 1941]

I was wondering if anyone could help me out with identifying this interesting group. Ive received a good amount of these plastic squares from the Stalingrad region. I get them as a bonus to aircraft part auctions that I win. Pretty much no information is given about what they are, and how they were used. The only description I get is from the auction title, and it usually says something like this "Luftwaffe Bunker Pitomink airfield WW2" I have seen multiple sellers list these squares, and all of them are from the Stalingrad region. Since I keep getting these I would like to know what they are. So does anyone have an idea? I can vaguely remember someone telling me they were used to show weather conditions on a map or something. I greatly appreciate any help you can provide.

PS- I hope im posting this in the right section

Best regards- Jarret

[BrodieBartfast]

Markers from a situation map, maybe? Or maybe some kind of board game. Are they unique to the Stalingrad region, or have they surfaced elsewhere?

B.B.

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Hmmm very interesting observations, it could be for either of those. As far as I can tell they are unique to Stalingrad. The only people I can find selling these are from that region.

Best regards- Jarret

[BrodieBartfast]

Hmmm very interesting observations, it could be for either of those. As far as I can tell they are unique to Stalingrad. The only people I can find selling these are from that region.

Best regards- Jarret

Interesting. Could mean they were made or procured in that general area. But why? Adds another layer of intrigue to an already confusing mystery.

B.B.

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Interesting. Could mean they were made or procured in that general area. But why? Adds another layer of intrigue to an already confusing mystery.

B.B.

Yes it does. It seems these odd various color plastic squares are just one big question mark. I must say this has been bothering me for quite some time. I have a bag full of these squares now, and I continue to get them as I win more auctions. Ive tried reaching out to the sellers, but they rarely respond. These squares seem to be directly related to the Luftwaffe. Every time I see them for sale the listing title contains the word 'Luftwaffe', and its bundled with other Luftwaffe related items such as aircraft parts. Hopefully someone can help me out with identifying these, as im very curious.

Best regards- Jarret

[Danmark]

Maybe they served the same purpose as the metal 'cargo tags' one sees regularly ( see this thread ) Luftwaffe cargo ( Stalingrad pass ) tags
.... but in an "ersatz" capacity?

I don't think anyone was much in the mood for board games in Stalingrad!!!

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Maybe they served the same purpose as the metal 'cargo tags' one sees regularly ( see this thread ) Luftwaffe cargo ( Stalingrad pass ) tags
.... but in an "ersatz" capacity?

I don't think anyone was much in the mood for board games in Stalingrad!!!

Very interesting theory. Ive never thought of that, they could very well be a last ditch replacement for the metal cargo tags. Thanks for that link! Ive seen many sellers claim those metal tags were used as a pass to get out of Stalingrad. Good to finally know their true purpose.

I wont argue with that statement. I dont think many recreational activities were taking place in Stalingrad LoL.

I did some digging on a popular Stalingrad seller's feedback on eBay, and I found a listing containing these peculiar squares. Here is a photo of that listing.

[24th Panzer Division]

These keep resurfacing. I first saw these about 20 or so years ago-and coming from "Stalingrad." They are like mentioned above-nothing but tags-not collectable. They are worth their weight in??????? plastic.

[Martin Bull]

They are the same colour as the metal 'cargo tags' which were used to indicate Luftwaffe signal wires. Possibly made up in Stalingrad due to a shortage of metal ones ( but that's a guess on my part ).

The metal signal tags are discussed and depicted in the new Heimdal book about German field telphones.

[Danmark]

They are the same colour as the metal 'cargo tags' which were used to indicate Luftwaffe signal wires. Possibly made up in Stalingrad due to a shortage of metal ones ( but that's a guess on my part ).

The metal signal tags are discussed and depicted in the new Heimdal book about German field telphones.

I'll have to track that down.......