Original German WWII DRK Red Cross Identity Disc Dog Tag from Military District Wehrkreis XII Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a genuine German WWII DRK Red Cross Nurse identity disc (aka; Dog Tag) Erkennungsmarke, used to identify members in the field. These were made of plated steel, aluminum, or zinc, and were designed so that if the wearer died, the bottom half of the tag would be broken off, while the other half remained with their body.

This example is made of stamped aluminum and is in very good condition, showing some scattered oxidation and still retaining an original neck string. It is marked as follows on both sides:

(Red Cross)
Freiwillige Krankelpflege
Wehrkreis XII No 106

The Dog Tag bears a “Red Cross” symbol, and indicates it is for Freiwillige Krankenpflege (Volunter Nursing), and that they were No. 106 stationed in Wehrkreis XII (Military District XII). These were not named to the nurse themselves but to the unit in which they were serving, and they were assigned a number, as with all German dog tags. The tag measures 2 ¾” x 2”, and does show some wear to the “red cross” symbol.

This is a really gorgeous dog tag ready for further research and display.

Wehrkreis XII
This military district was headquartered at Wiesbaden. Its territory was roughly equivalent to the modern-day German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, with the addition of a small part of northern Baden (around Heidelberg). Wehrkreis XII was the home district of the XII Army Corps, which was formed on 1 October 1936 with headquarters at Wiesbaden..  After the German victory over France (1940), Wehrkreis XII was expanded through the addition of parts of Lorraine (such as the Nancy area).

History of the German Red Cross (DRK)
The DRK, “Deutsches Rotes Kreuz” (German Red Cross), a voluntary civil assistance organization originally instituted in 1864, was officially acknowledged by the Geneva Convention in 1929. In December 1937 it gained status as a legally recognized organization by the NSDAP. As with other essential services in Third Reich Germany, it came under control of the NSDAP in late 1938 under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior’s Social Welfare Organization.

History of the “Red Cross” Symbol
It was important to clearly identify Medical personnel in the field. One of the early documents, such as the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Wounded in Armies in the Field signed August 22, 1864, by a number of Governments, already instructed that Flag and Arm Badges worn by Medical personnel would bear a Red Cross on a White Field. Both symbols when used on Hospitals, Ambulances, Evacuation and Aid Centers, were to be proof of their neutral status! These signs provided for neutrality of military and civilian protected personnel (it gave them non-belligerent status) exclusively engaged in removal, transportation, and treatment of wounded and sick, or the administration of sanitary formations and establishments, and entitled them to respect and protection from their enemies. The 1929 Geneva Convention which superseded the former agreement, was signed on July 27, 1929 by forty-seven countries (including the Axis countries, Germany, Italy, and Japan) and comprised numerous articles, among which Articles 9 and 21, recognizing that bearers of special identification cards and civilian protected personnel identified by armbands, and vehicles, and installations wearing Geneva Convention markings and markers, were all exclusively engaged in medical care activities, and consequently protected and respected by the Geneva Convention.