Special SD emigration Kennkarte

Volksdeutsche returning back home from the eastern territories.

 

Specially issued Kennkarte for those ethnic Germans returning back to the Greater Reich. The German government attached great importance to Germans, or those of German blood, who wished to “return back home”. And so, after their background was carefully checked by the SS, they were issued special set of papers. The Sicherheitsdienst (Nazi Security Service, of which Adolf Eichmann was also part of) was responsible for issuing these documents, for returning back to Germany, throughout the war. They began to appear following the occupation of Poland in 1939, the earliest sample I have seen, printed on grey-linen, is dated from November.

 

These types of documents were issued by the “Einwandererzentralstelle” (Central Immigration Agency), and the affixed photograph of the holder is stamped by a SD approval stamp. The agency was supervised and administrated by the Chief of the Sicherheitspolizei and Sicherheitsdienst (SD).

 

The item here is not the grey-linen regular SD issued document (RÜCKKEHRER AUSWEIS), but a temporary issue, most likely done so until the official Ausweis was issued later on or maybe the grey original issues in stock were exhausted. Though not a passport, it is related to passports & travel documents material because it was issued for the specific reason of “travelling” to Germany, issued by an immigration authority and also is stamped by the passport-office/permits-office (Passstelle) at Kolomea (occupied eastern Poland). The bottom-left of the document has an applied hand stamp “Vorgemerkt für die Anmeldung zur Einbürgerung” which roughly would indicate that the holder was allegeable to register for naturalization.

 

With this Kennkarte, the holder would be able to obtain the right train tickets & food vouchers for the journey to the West.

 

I welcome others to shed some more light or comment on this topic.

 

 

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