Polish Forced Labour (Zwangsarbeiter/Fremdarbeiter) collection

[StefanM]

Any opinions on this set of "P" patches ?

Best regards,

kindzjal

I would ask myself a simple question; "Why are they in a strip of six (or more)?" ... and with the answer to that question in mind pass them by.

[kindzjal]

Because tehy haven't been used before.
Can You explain to me what is wrong with that, because I don't understand?
Such pieces are still often found in Poland and Germany.
Here an example found last year in Ohlau:

[StefanM]

Because tehy haven't been used before.
Can You explain to me what is wrong with that, because I don't understand?
Such pieces are still often found in Poland and Germany.
Here an example found last year in Ohlau:

Indeed many "batches" of these "unissued" badges have been "discovered" in recent years. Yet when I started collecting forced labour items even longer ago only the odd single used badge was found?

In the example found in Ohlau last year I would very much question why the <P> patches are mainly cut out as singles or in two and the same for those <OST> patches which seem to make up the "collection"... I would ask is this how they were normally issued to the forced workers by the Germans? How did the collection come to be found or put together? Also why would the much later "White Russian" worker patches be found with the earlier <OST> patches which were replaced by the new version(s) in June 1944?

Earlier thread post:
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polis...16/#post429198

Earlier thread post and another batch collection found:
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polis...15/#post427097

But at the end of the day it is your money that you will parting with (not mine ) and if you are absolutely sure of the reliability of the source of the patches and the context in which they were discovered; purchase Very best wishes!

[kindzjal]

The stuff found in Ohlau is 100% genuine and confirmed by historians as such!
It has been found during a renovation, in a safe that was recovered in one wall of the
Ohlau Town Hall, together with many German documents, stamps etc.

But at the end of the day it is your money that you will parting with (not mine ) and if you are absolutely sure of the reliability of the source

That's right, but I'm absolutly sure only when I find stuff by myself

Best regards,

kindzjal

[StefanM]

The stuff found in Ohlau is 100% genuine and confirmed by historians as such!
It has been found during a renovation, in a safe that was recovered in one wall of the
Ohlau Town Hall, together with many German documents, stamps etc.

I am a naturally sceptical person...

Is there an online link to the Ohlau find? I would like to know more about it, now you have said it is 100% confirmed by historians...it is even more interesting. I wonder why they would be kept in a safe? They are not that valuable even as historical artefacts as so many are to be found today?
Krgds also

[kindzjal]

I hope that You understand Polish:

Tajemnice ratusza - O?awa - Gazeta Powiatowa - gazeta-olawa.pl

Wojenna biurokracja w ?cianie - O?awa - Gazeta Powiatowa - gazeta-olawa.pl

O

[StefanM]

I hope that You understand Polish:

Tajemnice ratusza - O?awa - Gazeta Powiatowa - gazeta-olawa.pl

Wojenna biurokracja w ?cianie - O?awa - Gazeta Powiatowa - gazeta-olawa.pl

O

Quite an incredible story! Thank you for posting... I hope the finds can be kept by the town hall and they are not passed on to a museum elsewhere which the article seems to suggest might happen. As I mentioned earlier it is the context of the collection which is important and in this case it is perfect given the fact that with the patches were also found forced labour photos and documents for the nations conscripted etc. Has it been confirmed who actually sealed the metal box in the wall? When and why? The story about the bottle buried elsewhere in the same building is fascinating also... I wonder if there are more secrets buried in the walls and floors

If you have found a similarly reliable strip of patches...this would be truly great Krgds

Attached is a genuine letter <P> patch to compare details with the strip you posted. Can I ask what price the seller is expecting?

[kindzjal]

Yes, indeed a great find
It's still not confirmed who actually sealed the metal box in the wall.
I think that this is the work of some Nazi bureaucrats from the Town Hall, who
tried to cover it for use in "better times" and before the Red Army entered the city.
Later the Germans were expelled and no one knew (untill now) what that wall was hiding...
That kind of situations happened often in Silesia. Last year I did a similar find but that's another story

The sellers price is € 300,- but we still negotiate...

Thanks for the example.

Bestreg,

kindzjal

[StefanM]

I am going to contact the town hall at Olawa to ask what has happened to the find and if any more information has been uncovered... such a fascinating discovery.

At 300 Euro, as one collector to another, my main concern about the block of patches you are negotiating about is that they simply look as though they are drawn on a PC and then step and repeated (as we call it) with software rather than being drawn by hand—by a draughtsman, and step and repeated (or imposed to use the correct term) by a film planner—as they would have been at the time of manufacture. I have many years experience in producing artwork both by hand and by using software and I can assure you there is a visual difference between the two resulting types of artwork but of course I am not German so am not a perfect draughtsman... Vorsprung durch Technik

Krgds

[kindzjal]

I am going to contact the town hall at Olawa to ask what has happened to the find and if any more information has been uncovered... such a fascinating discovery.

That's a great idea! Keep us informed

I can assure you there is a visual difference between the two resulting types of artwork but of course I am not German so am not a perfect draughtsman

Heheh...yes indeed the Germans were perfectionists, with allmost everything they did...
I'm still thinking about purchasing this piece, but as longer You keep writing, as lesser I'm willing to buy it...

An interesting feature on this Ausweis is that the woman is wearing what seems to be a round "P" badge (see enlargement) almost like a large button badge rather than the standard "P" cloth patch? I have never seen this before and wonder if they were made especially by the "Wepoba" factory for its workforce?

That is possibly a Zugangsmarke or Eintrittsmarke that was made especially for Polish workers at "Wepoba".
Here You have an example of such a Zugangsmarke for Polish forced laborers (mostly POW's) from the ironworks in Malapane.




A friend of mine had the same badge with the "R" for Russian workers.