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Analysis of Trawniki ID Cards
Forms and Stamps

A.  Forms
Based on the argumentation of Winterberg and April1988 summarized in the ongoing Demjanjuk2009.html analysis in Section E(1), we have concluded that the Dienstausweis forms were not conceived and formulated by German administrative officials and were not printed by an officially approved printing shop (Druckerei). It is important to examine in detail the forms and stamps created by these clandestine Druckerei.

There are variations in the printed forms of the 48 or so Trawniki ID cards released by the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) for the 30Nov2009 Munich trial of John Demjanjuk. Although we originally labelled these variations as A, B and C, we have now adopted the general designation utilized by Lubomyr Prytulak as L and S, where L refers to a large 3 cm diameter circle and S refers to a small 2 cm diameter circle appearing on page 1 (outside) of the card. The official circular stamp is placed over this circle.

We have identified 4 variations, which we label as "L1", "L2", "S" and "Ben". These variations are reproduced as six tables below to try to simulate the actual appearance of these cards and to allow comparisons of their differences. We refer to pages 1 and 4, which comprise the outside of the card, and pages 2 and 3, which comprise the inside of the card.

Table A1:  Page 1 of "L1" and "S"

Type "L1" -- Page 1 (outside)  [1393-Demjanjuk]                  Type "S" -- Page 1 (outside)  [2626-Trawniki2626]
Der Beauftragte des Reichsführers-SS 
für die Errichtung der SS- und Polizeistützpunkte
im neuen Ostraum
*************************************
DIENSTITZ LUBLIN
AUSBILDUNGSLAGER TRAWNIKI

Dienstausweis Nr.______


Der ________________________________
(Name des Inhabers)

 ist in den Wachmannschaften des Beauftragten des
RF-SS für die Errichtung der SS-und Polizeistützpunkte
im neuen Ostraum als Wachmann tätig.


i. A.
Dienstsiegel
[Stamp over
3 cm circle]
SS-Hauptsturmführer
Der SS- und Polizeiführer
im Distrikt Lublin
Ausbildungslager Trawniki
===========================



Dienstausweis Nr.______


Der   _________________________________________
(Name des Inhabers)

ist in den Wachmannschaften des SS- und Polizeiführers
im Distrikt Lublin, Ausbildungslager Trawniki als Wachmann
tatig.


i. A.
Dienstsiegel
[Stamp over
2 cm circle]
SS- Hauptsturmführer

(1) The 5 bright red SS in the type "L1" (and "L2") forms indicate that these are actually SS ruhne as explained by April1988 in section 7 (pdf file). These were presumably hand-krafted by the personnel at the clandestine Druckerei that printed the forms.
The 3 SS in the Type "S" forms are typical capital letters of the Latin alphabet.
None of the 4 identified forms use the proper German letters ß (called sharp s) in the words Essgeschirr, Fusslappen, Grösse (Eßgeschirr, Fußlappen, Größe).

(2)  Page 1 of the "L2" forms differ from the "L1" forms in that the 5 handcrafted SS ruhne are slightly different. Secondly, the "ist" in type "L1" is displaced one letter to the right; whereas in type "L2" the "ist" aligns vertically with the letters below.

(3)  The colour fuchsia is used to indicate the position and content of stamped features. We speculate that these stamps were created at the same clandestine Druckerei that printed the forms.  Lubomyr Prytulak has identified four circular stamps (A, B, C, D) which were placed over the "Dienstsiegel" on Page 1 (outside) and over part of the photograph on Page 2 (inside).

Table A2:  Page 4 of "L1" and "S"

Type "L1" -- Page 4 (outside)  [847-Juchnowskij]                Type "S" -- Page 4 (outside)  [2626-Trawniki2626]
Raum für Anmerkungen der Dienststelle:
WIRD DER INHABER DIESES AUSWEISES
AUSSERHALB DES ANGEGEBENEN STAND-
ORTES ANGETROFFEN IST ER FEST ZU
NEHMEN UND DER DIENSTELLE ZU MELDEN		 Raum für Anmerkungen der Dienststelle:
WIRD DER INHABER DIESES AUSWEISES
AUSSERHALB DES ANGEGEBENEN STAND-
ORTES ANGETROFFEN IST ER FEST ZU NEH-
MEN UND DER DIENSTELLE ZU MELDEN

(1)  The 2 bright red t in Dienststelle indicate that type "L1" (and "L2") forms use a curved t as compared to normal t in Type "S" forms and the unique type "Ben" form.

(2)  The "rectangular" stamps (in the colour fuchsia) underneath the heading are obviously different on the two types of forms.  This strongly suggests that they were not created in the same clandestine Druckerei.

(3) The rectangular stamps on the type "L1" and the first three of the "L2" forms are identical on both pages 1 and 4. On the last 6 of the "L2" forms these stamps are missing.

Table A3:  Pages 2 and 3 of "L1"

Type "L1" -- Page 2 (inside)  [1393-Demjanjuk]                Type "L1" -- Page 3 (inside)
Photo
4 x 5.4 cm
                          Grösse: ___175_cm_______
                          Gesichtsform: __oval   _____
                          Haarfarbe: ______________
                          Augenfarbe: ___grau______
                          Besondere Merkmale:
                          ______________________

Familienname: ________________________
Vor=und Vatersname: __________________
geboren am: __________________________
geboren in:   __________________________
Nationalität: __________________________
Abkommandiert am_______zu ___________
Abkommandiert am_______zu____________
Abkommandiert am_______zu ___________
Abkommandiert am_______zu ___________
Abkommandiert am_______zu ___________
 ___Empfangene Ausrüstungsgegenstände:__
Mütze:    .  .  .  .  ____       Koppel:       .  .  ____
Mantel:   .  .  .  .  ____       Seitengewehrtasche: _
Bluse:     .  .  .  .  ____        Handschuhe:  .  ____
Hose:     .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhemd:    .  ____
Stiefel:    .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhosen:   .  ____
Schnurschuhe:  .  ____        Wollweste:    .  ____
Socken:  .  .  .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Fusslappen:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Essgeschirr:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Brotbeutel:    .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Trinkbecher:  .  .  ____       ___________ ____
Feldflasche:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Wolldecken:___________________________
Gewehr Nr.:___________________________
Seitengewehr Nr.:_______________________

    Ausgegeben:                Richtig empfangen:
________________          ________________

The table above, configured as one row and 2 columns, simulates the type "L1" Trawniki ID card -- such as 1373-Demjanjuk.
We have highlighted letters and words in red to bring the reader's attention to unusual or erroneous features of the card.

(1)  The unusual curved t appears in the words Ausrüstungsgegenstände, Vatersname, Nationalität and Abkommandiert on the type "L" forms and does not appear on the type "S" forms nor on the inside of the type "Ben" form. The font of the words using these t's is larger than the font of words in the rest of the document. According to researchers, such t's were not used in Germany, but were used in Czechoslovakia.

(2) None of the 4 identified forms use the proper German letters ß (called sharp s) in the words Essgeschirr, Fusslappen, Grösse (Eßgeschirr, Fußlappen, Größe).

(3)  There are 3 erroneous entries in the data for Demjanjuk:
- The height should have been "183 cm" rather than "175 cm".
- "Oval" is an English word and does not appear in my German dictionary.
- The eye colour should have been "blau" rather than "grau".

(4)  There is an equals sign (=) rather than a hyphen (-) in the term "Vor=und". This is corrected in two different ways in the type "S" and type "Ben" forms.

(5)  April1988 points out that proper German grammar does not use "Vatersname" or the term "zu".  You go "nach Berlin", not "zu Berlin".

(6)  Winterberg points out that "Schnurschuhe" should be spelled as "Schnürschuhe" with an umlaut over the first "u". Although such an umlaut is not visible in the photostatic copies from the Jerusalem trial, the latest high-resolution colour images from the Munich trial show remanents of such an umlaut.
 
(7)  April1988 also indicates the following improper German usage:
-  A member of the German forces never received a "Bluse".
- "Fußlappen" were issued with the marching boots and were never entered as a separate entry.
- The term "Eßgeschirr" was never used. The proper term is "Kochgeschirr". (See Solanchukow #2537 )
- "Trinkbecher" and "Feldflasche" were never entered separately. Proper entry was "Feldflasche und Brotbeutel".
- The carrying case "Seitengewehrtasche" for the bayonet was never entered. "Seitengewehr" had no number, thus could not be entered.
 
(8)  Punctuation/spelling errors:
- The third dot after "Mantel:" is displaced vertically upward.
- The upper dot in the colon in "Feldflasche:" is displaced vertically upward.
- The singular for blanket in German is Wolldecke. It is odd that the card displays the plural "Wolldecken".

(9)  On the actual card Seitengewehrtasche is written on two lines with "Seitengewehr-" above "tasche". However, the "tasche" is displaced horizontally 2 letters to the right in the type "S" cards.

(10)  The colon after "Ausgegeben:" is vertical (i.e. not italicized), whereas the colon after "Richtig empfangen:" is italicized. We note that the angle of slope from the vertical of italicized words for the type "L1" forms is about 10 degrees.

Table A4:  Pages 2 and 3 of "L2"

Type "L2" -- Page 2 (inside) [1333-Tkatschuk]                Type "L2" -- Page 3 (inside)
Photo
4 x 5.4 cm
                          Grösse: ________________
                          Gesichtsform: _____   _____
                          Haarfarbe: ______________
                          Augenfarbe: _____________
                          Besondere Merkmale:
                          ______________________
                          ______________________
Familienname: ________________________
Vor=und Vatersname: __________________
geboren am: __________________________
geboren in:   __________________________
Nationalität: __________________________
Abkommandiert am ______zu ___________
Abkommandiert am ______zu____________
Abkommandiert am ______zu ___________
Abkommandiert am ______zu ___________
Abkommandiert am ______zu ___________
 ___Empfangene Ausrüstungsgegenstände:__
Mütze:    .  .  .  .  ____       Koppel:       .  .  ____
Mantel:   .  .  .  .  ____       Seitengewehrtasche: _
Bluse:     .  .  .  .  ____        Handschuhe:  .  ____
Hose:     .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhemd:    .  ____
Stiefel:    .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhosen:   .  ____
Schnürschuhe:  .  ____        Wollweste:    .  ____
Socken:  .  .  .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Fusslappen:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Essgeschirr:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Brotbeutel:    .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Trinkbecher:  .  .  ____       ___________ ____
Feldflasche:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Wolldecken:___________________________
Gewehr Nr.:___________________________
Seitengewehr Nr.:_______________________

    Ausgegeben:                Richtig empfangen:
________________          ________________

The type "L2" form  makes some changes and corrections to the "L1" form, but retains the curved t. We summarize the observed differences as follows:
Page 1: The 5 hand-krafted ruhne appear slightly different.
             The "ist" is not displaced one letter to the right, such that it aligns vertically with the letters below.
Page 4:  Everything looks the same.
Page 2:  There is an extra horizontal line under "Besondere Merkmale:"
             The horizontal lines between "am _____zu" are a different length.
Page 3:  The 4th dot after "Mantel:" is vertically dispaced; the 1st dot after "Stiefel:" is vertically displaced.
             The colon after "Feldflasche:" is now normal.
             "Schnürschuhe" appears to have the required umlaut on the first u.
             The colon after "Ausgegeben:" is now italicized.

Table A5:  pages 2 and 3 of "S"

Type "S" -- Page 2 (inside)  [2626-Trawniki2626]              Type "S" -- Page 3 (inside)
Photo
4 x 5.4 cm
                          Grösse:  ________________
                          Gesichtsform:  _____   _____
                          Haarfarbe:  ______________
                          Augenfarbe:  _____________
                          Besondere Merkmale:
                          _______________________

Familienname:   ________________________
Vor- und Vatersname:    _________________
geboren am:  __________________________
geboren in:    __________________________
Nationalität:  __________________________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
 ___Empfangene Ausrüstungsgegenstände:__
Mütze:    .  .  .  .  ____       Koppel:       .  .  ____
Mantel:   .  .  .  .  ____       Seitengewehrtasche: _
Bluse:  .  .  .  .  .  ____        Handschuhe:  .  ____
Hose:  .  .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhemd:    .  ____
Stiefel:    .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhosen:   .  ____
Schnürschuhe:  .  ____        Wollweste: .  .  ____
Socken:  .  .  .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Fusslappen:.  .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Essgeschirr:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Brotbeutel: .  .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Trinkbecher:  .  .  ____       ___________ ____
Feldflasche:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Wolldecken:___________________________
Gewehr Nr.:___________________________
Seitengewehr Nr.:_______________________

    Ausgegeben:                Richtig empfagen:
________________          ________________
 
In the type "S" forms, some of the errors have been corrected, but one major spelling error has been inserted.
(1) All the curved t's have been removed.
(2) "Vor=und" has been changed to "Vor- und".
(3)  There is a very clear umlaut in "Schnürschuhe".
(4)  The punctuation errors in the dot and colon are not present, and there are more dots used. (See (8) above.)
(5)  The "tasche" in "Seitengewehrtasche" has been shifted 2 letters to the right.
(6)  The word "empfangen:" has been misspelled to read "empfagen:" and the colons are italicized.
(7)  Finally, the angle of slope of the italicized letters (about 17 degrees) in the type "S" forms is significantly greater than in the type "L" forms (about 10 degrees).

The evidence strongly suggests that the type "S" forms were printed by a different clandestine Druckerei.

Table A6: Pages 2 and 3 of "Ben"

Type "Ben" -- Page 2 (inside)  [4417-Ben]                          Type "Ben" -- Page 3 (inside)
Photo
4 x 5.4 cm
                          Grösse: _________________
                          Gesichtsform: ______   _____
                          Haarfarbe: _______________
                          Augenfarbe: ______________
                          Besondere Merkmale:
                          _______________________
                          _______________________ 
Familienname: _________________________
Vor-und Vatersname: ___________________
geboren am:  __________________________
geboren in:    __________________________
Nationalität:  __________________________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu____________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
 ___Empfangene Ausrüstungsgegenstände:__
Mütze:    .  .  .  .  ____       Koppel:       .  .  ____
Mantel:   .  .  .  .  ____       Seitengewehrtasche: _
Bluse:     .  .  .  .  ____        Handschuhe:  .  ____
Hose:     .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhemd:    .  ____
Stiefel:    .  .  .  .  ____        Unterhosen:   .  ____
Schnurschuhe:  .  ____        Wollweste:    .  ____
Socken:  .  .  .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Fusslappen:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Essgeschirr:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Brotbeutel:    .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Trinkbecher:  .  .  ____       ___________ ____
Feldflasche:   .  .  ____        ___________ ____
Wolldecken:___________________________
Gewehr Nr.:___________________________
Seitengewehr Nr.:_______________________

    Ausgegeben:                Richtig empfangen:
________________          ________________

A photocopy of the unique 4417-Ben Trawniki ID card was sent to the OSI by the FSB archives in Moscow on about 07Mar2001. (In time for the 29May2001 second denaturalization trial.) However, it was not officially translated by Hindrichs until 16Oct2001. Furthermore, the OSI has supplied only the inside of the card as a pdf document of poor quality. It is not known if the OSI has deliberately withheld the outside of the card from the court, the prosecution and the defense in the  2009 Munich trial, or whether the personnel at the FSB archives declined to send a photocopy of the outside of this card.

The type "Ben" form appears to be an evolution of the "L1" and "L2" forms -- with the main difference being the replacement of the curved t's with straight t's.

We have been able to make the following observations of the inside (pages 2 and 3) of this card:
(1) The curved t's in "L1" and "L2" have been replaced with straight t's.
(2)  There is an extra horizontal line under "Besondere Merkmale:" compared to type "L1". (Same as type "L2".)
(3)  "Vor-und" has replaced "Vor=und" in types "L1" and "L2". ("Vor- und" in type "S")
(4)  As far as we can ascertain, the vertically displaced dots after "Mantel:" and "Stiefel:" have been corrected.
(5)  The "Ausgegeben:                Richtig empfangen:"  term resembles the type "L2" form, with both colons italicized.
(Type "L1" had a vertical colon after "Ausgegeben:" The misspelled "empfagen:" is unique to the type "S" forms.)
(6)  As far as we can ascertain, the slope of the italicized letters resembles that of types "L1" and "L2".

Conclusion:

It is possible (and even likely) that the type "L1", "L2" and "Ben" forms were printed by the same clandestine Druckerei. However, as we have noted above, the evidence strongly suggests that the type "S" forms were printed by a different clandestine Druckerei.

Of the 50 cards listed in trawniki1393.html , 21 are "L1", 10 are "L2", 17 are "S", 1 is "Ben" and 1 is Pritsch. Specifically, the numbers are:
"L1" = 303, 415, 619, 847, 862, 869, 1040, 1123, 1185, 1211, 1329, 1393, 1573, 1653, 1759, 1926, 1999, 2059, 2091, 2112, 2128
"L2" = 749, 1333, 1337, 1991, 3183, 3213, 3323, 3427, 3440, 3443 (The last six cards have no rectangular stamps on pages 1 and 4.)
"Pritsch" = 941 (This card from Poland is completely different, but has curved t's.)
"S" = 1016, 2061, 2077, 2246, 2537, 2626 (from external source), 2633, 3312, 3349, 3555, 3594, 3596, 3659, 3683, 3684, 3695, 4188
 "Ben" = 4417

B.  Stamps

We presume that the creation of stamp-tools require the creation of an inverse metal mold into which a rubberized thick liquid is poured to create the stamp-tool. We would expect that the same clandestine Druckerei that created and printed the forms would also create the stamp-tools. The user presses the stamp-tool onto an inkpad of a particular colour and then presses the tool onto the document to create the stamp. A comparison of the colour of the stamp ink provides some information as to when the stamps were placed on the documents. This is possible on 7 of the high-resolution colour documents from the Munich trial. Unfortunately, all the pdf files are in black/white such that comparisons are not possible.

Stamp B1: Table A1 and Table A2 on pages 1 and 4

Examples of the two main rectangular stamps on pages 1 and 4 (outside) have already been displayed in Tables A1 and A2 above. We have noted that this stamp on the "L1" and "L2" type forms is different from the stamp on the "S" type form.

Other rectangular stamps sometimes appear beneath the rectangular stamp on page 4. For example, the 1926-Bondarenko B/W card has the following insert, where the top line is typewritten and the bottom 3 lines are a stamp.

Stamp B2: 1926-Bondarenko [internal],  1573-Odartschenko, 2091-Djatschuk, 2112-Swesdun

Zuständiger Truppenteil:
DER SS UND POLIZEI FÜHRER
   IN DISTRIKT WARSCHAU
   .   Arbeitslager Treblinka   .


On page 2 (inside) several cards have stamped entries for the first posting in the line
Abkommandiert am _______ zu ___________
 Examples of this are  3213-Turjanski and 3555-Melnitschuk (both of whom were deployed on 18.6.43 and where the red SS indicates that these are the hand-krafted SS ruhne.)

Stamp B3: 3213-Turjanski, 3555-Melnitschuk, 2537-Solanchukow

SS-Standortkommandantur
Lublin der Waffen-SS

The 2537-Solanchukov card is especially interesting since this stamp, which depicts the location of the posting, is preceded by the date of the posting in huge numbers and letters suggesting that they could not have been typewritten and may also be a stamp:
25 NOV. 1942

Normally, both the date and location of the postings are handwritten, but there are six cards where these are typewritten:
415-Kirelacha, 847-Juchnowskij, 862-Wutke, 869-Babenko,  1016-Daniltschenko, 1337-Kabirow

It is interesting that several cards have handwritten or typewritten date entries in the notation "17.V.43" rather than the normal "17.5.43".
This is the notation utilized by Bazilevskaya. (See 1329-Sidortschuk)

As we have noted above an official circular stamp is normally placed over a 2 or 3 cm circle on page 1 and also over the edge of the photograph on page 2. On his XoXoL website, Lubomyr Prytulak has identified 4 patterns A, B, C and D, illustrated them in detail and provided an English-language translation of these circular stamps. The reader is urged to consult these. Here we will reproduce the German-language wording only.

Circular stamp B4:  Pattern A (847-Juchnowskij-outside [internal], 847-Juchnowskij-inside [internal])

Der Reichsführer-SS und Chef der Deutschen Polizei                                                     [outer circle top]
Der Beauftragte für die Errichtung der SS- u. Polizeistützpunkte in neuen Ostraum  *      [inner circle]
*   Chef der Ordnungspolizei   *                                                                                    [outer circle bottom]

On the Juchnowskij card, the word "Ordnungspolizei" is not clear on both the outside and inside of the card. It looks something like
"Ordnung p    cl" . Although it is possible that the particular stamp-tool was defective, the more likely explanation is that the ink from the inkpad was not evenly distributed onto the stamp-tool. This further suggests that these two stamps were normally affixed at the same time and at the same location. The word "Ordnungspolizei" is clearly seen on 303-Gontscharuk and 1185-Kartaschow , both of which are also type "L1" forms.

It is rather odd that the the outer circle uses the SS ruhne, while the inner circle uses SS capitals.

Finally, comparison of the wording in the inner circle of this stamp " Der Beauftragte für die Errichtung der SS- u. Polizeistützpunkte in neuen Ostraum" with the heading shown in Table A1 "Der Beauftragte des Reichsführers-SS für die Errichtung der SS- und Polizeistützpunkte im neuen Ostraum" leads us to suggest that the stamp was created by the same clandestine Druckerei that printed the "L1" forms.

Circular stamp B5:  Pattern B (1393-Demjanjuk [internal])

Der SS u. Polizeiführer
*  Im Distrikt Lublin  *

Circular stamp B6:  Pattern C (1926-Bondarenko [internal])

SS-Standortverwaltung Lublin
       Waffen-SS
*  Zweigestelle Trawniki  *

Circular stamp B7:  Pattern D (3659-Kuschnir)

SS- Standortverwaltung Lublin
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