A lot of two Second War POW tags, consisting of 1) A Stalag VIII-C POW Camp ID tag for allied prisoners housed in Sagan, Germany. The tag is crafted in zinc; the obverse stamped “Stalag VIII-C 23581”; the reverse also stamped “23581”; one drill hole; measuring 61 mm x 20 mm; very fine condition. 2) A Stalag Luft IV POW Camp ID tag for allied prisoners of housed in Gross Tychow, Pomerania. The tag is crafted in zinc; obverse stamped “Oflag Luft 4 267”; the reverse left blank; one drill hole; measuring 60 mm x 19 mm; better than very fine condition.
Footnote: The Stalag VIII-C POW Camp was constructed in 1939 by the Germans, occupied a total of 120 acres, and was located directly adjacent to Stalag III, where the “Great Escape” took place. Although the camp was intended to house Polish POWs from the September 1939 offensive, Stalag VIII-C housed mostly British, Canadian, Greek, and Yugoslavian soldiers. In 1941 nearly 50,000 additional Soviet prisoners were crammed into the camp designed to house only 15,000 soldiers. Toward the end of the war, Stalag VIII-C housed mostly Soviet POWs, while the majority of allied POWs were moved to Stalag III. The camp was liberated on February 14th, 1945 by Soviet troops. Stalag Luft IV was opened in May 1944 and was notorious for exposing the prisoners to extraordinarily harsh living conditions. None of the wooden huts had stoves, some did not have beds, and necessities such as water, food, and clothes were inadequately supplied, if at all. A report by the International Red Cross in October 1944 found that there were 7,089 American and 886 British POWS in the camp.The camp was liquidated on February 6, 1945, when 8,000 met set off on the “Black March” to evade the advancing Soviet troops. During the march, prisoners were treated terribly, resulting in countless deaths.