us-005578-irn521890-irn522366
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Rectangular, silver colored, metal identification tag with circular holes punched in 3 corners. The corner points are worn round from use. There is a line of 5 rectangular slots of varying lengths cut horizontally through the center. The prison name and prisoner number and 3 horizontal lines are incised on each side of the slots; one set is inverted. An offwhite string is inserted through the 2 top holes with the frayed ends tied in a knot. front, top, engraved : Nr.: 10998 Stalag IIA front, bottom, inverted, engraved : Nr.: 10998 Stalag IIA
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1939 September-1940 April, 1939 September-1945 May
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
history: The dog tag was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Eva Strauss-Marko, the wife of Salomon Strauss-Marko.
history: Salomon (Salek) Strauss was born on November 2, 1912 in Warez, Poland, into a religious family. He was the oldest of seven children born in to Lajb Strauss and Szajndla Markus Strauss: Izydor, born 1918; Genek, born 1920; Fanka born 1922; Bejla born 1926; Wilek born1928, and Heniek, born 1930. In 1939, Salek lived in Lvov, in a rented room in the Katz family home. He worked as a tailor, but devoted most of his time to his Communist party activities. He had a girlfriend, Klara Tabak,who lived in a nearbv village, Ksawerowka, with her father, Josef Tabak, and her extended family on the estate of a Polish landowner, whose land they rented. On September 1, 1939, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany. Salek was mobilized into the 19th Infantry Battalion, Polish Army, which moved west to defend the access to the Polish capital on the Kutno-Warsaw line. On September 16, Salomon and his battalion were captured by the Germans, near Plock. Salek was wounded and placed in a field hospital. There were rumors that the soldiers would be divided according to ethnic groups: Poles, Jews, and Ukrainians, and so on. Salek feared discovery not only as a Jew, but also as a Communist. Since he had been called Tomek by his Polish Communist friends, he considered introducing himself as Tomasz Strauss, and claiming he was German. Instead, he decided to call himself Tomasz Timofiej Marko; Marko after his mother’s maiden name and Timofiej as the Ukrainian version of Thomas. He destroyed his Polish identification, but kept his girlfriend’s photograph, since it was signed only with the letter “K”. He also kept a photograph of his paternal uncle in his WWI Austrian Army uniform, and renamed him Heinrich Marko, in place of Hersz Strauss. The possession of family photographs made it less likely that he would be accused of hiding his background. The prisoners-of war were moved to Piatek transit camp, and then to Stalag II A Neubrandenburg. Timofiej Marko was given prisoner number 10998. Conditions in …
identifier: irn522366
is or was included in: us-005578-irn521890
record resource extent: overall: Height: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Width: 2.375 inches (6.033 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Prisoner identification tag, stamped #10998, issued to Salomon Strauss when he was held as a prisoner of war in Stalag II A in Neubrandenburg, Germany. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and Salomon was mobilized into the 19th Infantry Battalion, Polish Army. On September 16, he was captured as a prisoner of war and taken to Stalag II A. Salek feared discovery as a Jew and a Communist and created an identity as a Ukrainian, Tomasz Timofiej Marko. He maintained this identity from September 1939- May 1945 in several POW stalags and concentration/labor camps. Salomon was declared a racially pure Ukrainian and released from Stalag VIII-B in February 1941. He was provided training in metal work and made the leader of groups of Ukrainian laborers in Germany and Austria. He was able to travel and provided many with false identification papers. On May 9, 1945, the Wiener-Neustadt region was liberated by the Soviet Army. Salomon identified himself and was arrested by the Soviets, charged with treason, and sentenced to death. He was released with the aid of a Soviet Jewish officer. His entire family was killed by Ukrainian collaborationists in 1943. After the war, he enlisted in the Polish Army. Salomon changed his name to Strauss-Marko to commemorate his wartime ordeal.
title: Prisoner id tag issued to a Polish prisoner of war passing as Ukrainian in a German stalag