SS blood group tattoos () were worn by members of the ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

'' in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to identify the individual's blood type. After the war, the tattoo was taken to be ''

prima facie ''Prima facie'' (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "at first sight", or "based on first impression". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of ' ("first") and ' ("face"), both in the a ...

'' evidence of being part of the ''Waffen-SS'', leading to potential arrest and

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

Description and purpose

The SS blood group

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

was applied, in theory, to all ''

'' members, except members of the British Free Corps. It was a small black ink tattoo located on the underside of the left arm near the armpit. It generally measured around long and was placed roughly above the elbow. The tattoo consisted of the soldier's

blood type A blood type (also known as a blood group) is based on the presence and absence of antibody, antibodies and Heredity, inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycop ...

letter, either A, B, AB or O. The discovery of the Rh D antigen had been made in 1937, but was not fully understood during World War II, so was not implemented. In the early part of the war, tattoos were printed in

Fraktur Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. It is designed such that the beginnings and ends of the individual strokes that make up each letter will be clearly vis ...

, while later on they were printed in Antiqua. The purpose of the tattoo was to identify a soldier's blood type in case a blood transfusion was needed while unconscious, or his ''Erkennungsmarke'' (dog tag) or ''Soldbuch'' (pay book) were missing. The tattoo was generally applied by the unit's ''Sanitäter'' (medic) in basic training but could have been applied by anyone assigned to do it at any time during his term of service.

Usage

Not all ''Waffen-SS'' men had the tattoo, particularly those who had transferred from other branches of the military to the ''Waffen-SS'', or those who transferred from the ''

Allgemeine SS The ''Allgemeine SS'' (; "General SS") was a major branch of the '' Schutzstaffel'' (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (''SS-Hauptamt''). The ''Allgemeine SS'' was officially established in the autu ...

'', the "General" or non-military ''SS''. Some non-''SS'' men also had the tattoo: if a member of a branch of the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'' was treated in an ''SS'' hospital, he would often have the tattoo applied. Although the tattoo was widely used in the early war years, over the course of the war it was gradually applied to fewer and fewer soldiers, and towards the end of the war, having the tattoo was more the exception than the rule. The application of the tattoo to foreign volunteers was apparently an issue of contention with some, such as the British Free Corps, not required to have it, while other foreign units did not object. Very little specific information exists regarding the tattoo and foreign units, but it is claimed by some that the men of the 33rd ''Waffen'' Grenadier Division of the ''SS'' Charlemagne (1st French) had the tattoo applied. The archives of the Lille judicial police show that most of the men of the French Waffen-SS were tattooed. Out of a sample of 90 men, 73 indicated that they had been tattooed. Five attempted to remove their tattoos, one by burning it with a hot iron, the second with silver nitrate. One refused the tattoo, demonstrating that it was possible to refuse. Johann Voss of the 6th ''SS'' Mountain Division Nord and author of ''Black Edelweiss'', did not have the tattoo applied because he was visiting his father on that particular day, although the rest of his training company did.

Postwar

When the war ended, the Allies were keen to catch all ''Waffen-SS'' members on account of the high volume of war crimes committed by some units. The blood group tattoo helped greatly in identifying former members, leading to their prosecution and, in some cases, their

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

. Because of the lack of perfect consistency between having the tattoo and having served in the ''Waffen-SS'', some ''SS'' veterans were able to escape detection. Some members of the ''SS'' who evaded capture in part because they did not have the blood group tattoo included

Josef Mengele Josef Mengele (; 16 March 19117 February 1979) was a Nazi German (SS) officer and physician during World War II at the Russian front and then at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, often dubbed the "Angel of Death" (). He performed Nazi hum ...

and

Alois Brunner Alois Brunner (8 April 1912 – December 2001 or 2010) was an Austrian officer who held the rank of (captain) during World War II. Brunner played a significant role in the implementation of the Holocaust through rounding up and deporting Jews in ...

. Towards the end of the war and after, some (former) ''SS'' members tried to remove their blood group tattoos by various means, including surgery, self-inflicted burns and even shooting themselves there. In the post-war period, the existence of the tattoo was used by US immigration officials to identify former Nazis and deny them entry to the United States.

References

{{reflist

External links

A photograph of a man's arm being inspected for the tattoo from LIFE magazine's Aug 26, 1946 issue.
The caption read
Farmer's armpits are examined for tattooed insignia of SS, which SS men sometimes try to burn out.
Nazi SS Tattoo designs Tattooing and medicine

Description and purpose

Usage

Postwar

See also

References

External links