Clay crematorium tag stamped 5781
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Diameter: 2.375 inches (6.033 cm)
Archival History
The crematorium tag was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by John Birkelbach.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of John Birkelbach
Scope and Content
Clay disc, stamped with the number 5781, of the type that was placed with the body of deceased inmates to be able to identify the ashes after cremation. The numbers on the tags did not correspond to prisoner numbers. Produced in large quantities, not all the tags were used. Little is known about the origins of this clay tag. It was recovered by a retired United States Army colonel, identity unknown, shortly after his division liberated an unknown concentration camp in Germany. Similar discs were used at Dachau, Majdanek, Sachsenhausen, and Theresienstadt concentration camps.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Circular, white, clay tag with a coarse, cracked surface. It has an oblong recess in the center with an imprinted 4 digit number, and a hole near the top. The back has a blank, oblong recess.
Subjects
- Concentration camps--Germany--History--20th century.
- Prisoners and prisons, German.
- Crematoriums--Germany--History--20th century.
Genre
- Identifying Artifacts
- Object