Blood group tattoo
The blood group tattoo was a hallmark of the members of the SS disposal troops , the SS death's head associations and later most of the Waffen SS . Originally intended to facilitate medical aid, it became an aid in the final phase of the war or after the end of the war, when it came to identifying members of the Waffen SS in hiding who pretended to be ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers.
Location and appearance
The tattoo was on the inside of the left upper arm, or in the armpit, and was about seven millimeters tall. It consisted only of the name of the blood group : A, B, 0 or AB.
The rhesus formula was not given because it had only recently been discovered and research on it was still in its infancy.
Benefits and consequences
The real purpose was to prevent the porters from receiving a blood transfusion from the wrong group if they were wounded .
Since this tattoo was a clear identification mark, many members of the Waffen-SS tried to get rid of it after the end of the war - for example, by shooting themselves in the upper arm.
In the post-war turmoil of defeated Germany, more and more allegedly “regular” soldiers appeared who were wounded at the area that was actually tattooed. For example, through self-fire or demanded fire from comrades. Removal by a paid doctor was also common. With this, many former members of the Waffen SS wanted to prevent their organizational affiliation, their true identity and the possible punishment from being discovered.
Executions
The tattoo was available in two different designs: one with German characters and one in Latin script . The latter was only used at the end of the war because it was not so complex or because Hitler made the Latin script standard script in the Reich (see Ordinance on Normal Script ). This played a role above all after the acceptance criteria for the Waffen-SS were lowered in the course of the war.
literature
- Nicholas Kulish, Souad Mekhennet: Dr. Death: The long hunt for the most wanted Nazi criminal. C. H. Beck 2015, ISBN 3-406-6726-20 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Guido Knopp : The SS: A Warning of History. C. Bertelsmann Verlag 2013, ISBN 3-641-1084-11 .