Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a genuine German WWII SS Erkennungsmarke (identity disc or Dog Tag) half, used to identify soldiers in the field. These were made of plated steel, aluminum, or zinc, and were designed so that if a soldier died, the bottom half of the tag would be broken off, while the other half remained with their body. This is what looks to be the top half, and we have no way of knowing whether it simply broke at some point, or whether the soldier it was issued to was killed in action.

It is marked on the front with the following regimental designation, which is a bit hard to see in the photos due to oxidation and dirt:

This indicates the soldier (No. 1412) was a member of the 1. Kompanie SS Ersatz Bataillon Nord, or the 1st Company of the Replacement Battalion of SS Division Nord, which would later be renamed 6th SS Mountain Division Nord.

Condition of the half disc is very good, though there is definitely some dried grease and/or oxidation on the top, though no real pitting or other damage. It is non magnetic, and looks to be made from zinc or some similar metal.

Ready to research and display!

The 6th SS Mountain Division Nord (6. SS-Gebirgs-Division Nord) was a World War II mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the German NSDAP Party, primarily consisting of ethnic Germans along with some Norwegian and Swiss volunteers. It was the only Waffen-SS division to operate in the Arctic Circle.

It was founded in early 1941 as the SS Battle Group Nord (German: SS-Kampfgruppe Nord) in southern Norway before being upgraded and renamed the SS Division Nord in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. Its original personnel came from Allgemeine-SS paramilitary units and had low combat effectiveness. In the second half of 1941 the division was effectively destroyed by the Red Army during Operation Arctic Fox, when it advanced into Soviet territory alongside the Finnish Army and the Wehrmacht. After taking massive losses in its first operation the Nord Division was entirely rebuilt starting from late 1941.

The SS Division Nord remained in Finland and northern Russia, where most of its personnel were replaced over the course of 1942 and 1943. From that point they consisted of combat veterans and graduates of the Waffen-SS mountain warfare school. With the improvement in its combat capability, the division fought off multiple Soviet attacks. It was also renamed again as the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord. After Finland signed an armistice with the Soviet Union in 1944, the Nord Division broke through lines of Soviet and Finnish troops in a fighting retreat back to Norway. It was then redeployed to the Western Front against the Western Allied invasion of Germany.