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IDENTITY DOCUMENTS IN GERMANY is a huge 8-1/4 x 12-1/2 inch (about 1-1/2 inches thick!) 400+ page, very heavily illustrated hardcover book printed in many colors in August 1944 by the G2 (Counter Intelligence) Division of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) Evaluation & Dissemination Section, in England. It was a very limited printing intended for Counter Intelligence Officers at the highest level and never intended for any sort of mass distribution.

The English language book was intended to be the primary guide for high-level Army Intelligence officers at various headquarters in the matter of the Ausweise, Mitgliedskarten, Bescheinigungen, Soldbücher, Kennkarten, and other papers and booklets, (identity documents) then in use by the Nazi government of Adolf Hitler in Greater Germany and across occupied Europe to identify specific individuals.

The book is extremely comprehensive. The sections include identity documents of the Germany Army, Navy and Air Force, Paramilitary Organizations like the SS, SA, NSFK, NSKK, HJ, etc., Party Organizations of the NSDAP, the Merchant Navy, civilians and even foreigners in Germany. It includes documents such as Organisation Todt Ausweis, RAD Ausmusterungsschein, Ausweis Auswärtiges Amt, Deutsche Reichsbahn Ausweis, Ausweis für Ein- und Auswanderung, Deutsches Reich Dienstpass, Durchlass-Schein, NSDAP Mitgliedsbuch, Fallschirmjägerschützenschein, HJ Dienstkarte, Luftwaffe Flugbuch, Geheime Feldpolizei Ausweis, Kennkarte, SA Ausweis, SA Führerausweis, Umsiedlerausweis, TeNo Ausweis, Wehrmacht Führerschein, SS Ausweis, Fremdenpass, Kleiner Wehrmachtfahrschein, DAF Mitgliedsbuch, Polizei-Dienstpass, RAD Entlassungsschein, Reichskleiderkarte, RLB Mitgliedsausweis, Rückkehrerschein, Nichtdeutscher Dienstausweis, Truppenausweis, SS Soldbuch, Waffenschein, etc.

Printed on high-quality paper, virtually every Nazi document is shown in accurate color at actual size (a great many on big fold-out pages because of their size) and explained at length in English. Some of the very seldom seen documents shown in this book are the Ausweis for the Geheime Feldpolizei, Kriegsberichter, Couriers, Military Leave Passes of all sorts, train tickets, and even the serial numbered oval bronze metal identity disk or badge of the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei). In most cases Allied Intelligence Officers producing this book deleted names and/or numbers from the documents they copied so that the Germans would not be able to figure out how the Allies obtained the samples.

At the back of the book is an excellent glossary of abbreviations used in German Third Reich identity documents and an index to the documents in the book. The binding of the book is of the "shoestring" type so that obsolete pages could be removed and replaced with updated ones if necessary.

Few collectors are even aware of the existence of this book (many advanced collectors DO NOT know of it) and almost no one has actually seen or held a genuine example of it. It is that rare.  This one is from the archive of Ray & Josephine Cowdery, authors of the full-color Third Reich identity document guidebook, "Papers Please!"

This extremely rare example of the CONFIDENTIAL Allied book IDENTITY DOCUMENTS IN GERMANY is in excellent condition. While the cover has some spots and shelf wear, the internal pages look almost as fresh as when they were printed 70+ years ago during World War II.

We are sorry that due to space limitations we are able to show only a tiny fraction of the huge number of Nazi documents depicted and explained in the English language in this very rare book. Where would you find another one?

If you know anyone or any institution with a very strong interest in the subject of this publication, we would encourage you to forward them the link of this USMBOOKS web page. We haven't seen another example of IDENTITY DOCUMENTS IN GERMANY offered for sale in years and it will probably sell fairly quickly.

A FINE EXAMPLE OF THE VERY RARE FULL-COLOR
CONFIDENTIAL
ALLIED WAR-TIME BOOK IDENTITY DOCUMENTS
IN GERMANY
AUGUST 1944