Medallions in the form of a plastic pencil case were introduced in 1941 by the order of the People’s Commissar of Defense. They served as identification tags for the servicemen. Two pieces of 4×18 centimeters paper were put inside, where the surname, name and patronymic of the soldier, year and place of his birth, information about his close relatives and blood group were written.
The black or brown capsule consisted of a body and a lid, which were connected with each other by screw threads. The medallion was five centimeters long.
In the absence of a capsule, soldiers made a medallion on their own: they put a piece of paper with their data into a cartridge case. However, not all of the fallen fighters were found with identification tags. Those were soldiers who did not receive medallions and did not make them themselves, and those who were not marked as dead or missing — this happened when the Red Army changed its recording system. In addition, according to the rules, the funeral team was supposed to take one copy of the paper inside the medallion and leave the second one with the deceased. But in reality, on the battlefields, the medallion was often taken away in its entirety. Soldiers were also influenced by military superstition: carrying a death medallion is to a quick death. That is why many servicemen went into a battle without a “death medallion” — they just threw it away or did not fill in the blanks.
Some servicemen found other uses for medallions. For example, they sawed off the bottom of the capsule and put a wood insert with a thin hole into the opening of the capsule to make a mouthpiece for smoking the precious tobacco at the front. The wood insert was used for roll-up cigarettes. Also, sewing and gramophone needles, threads and other small household items were stored inside the capsule. Search brigades found even fishing hooks in the capsules of medallions.
In November 1942, the medallions were discontinued, but some servicemen kept them for a whole year. The medallion from the museum’s collection belonged to Grigory Kolmakov. The owner of the medallion himself donated it to the exhibition in 1983.
The black or brown capsule consisted of a body and a lid, which were connected with each other by screw threads. The medallion was five centimeters long.
In the absence of a capsule, soldiers made a medallion on their own: they put a piece of paper with their data into a cartridge case. However, not all of the fallen fighters were found with identification tags. Those were soldiers who did not receive medallions and did not make them themselves, and those who were not marked as dead or missing — this happened when the Red Army changed its recording system. In addition, according to the rules, the funeral team was supposed to take one copy of the paper inside the medallion and leave the second one with the deceased. But in reality, on the battlefields, the medallion was often taken away in its entirety. Soldiers were also influenced by military superstition: carrying a death medallion is to a quick death. That is why many servicemen went into a battle without a “death medallion” — they just threw it away or did not fill in the blanks.
Some servicemen found other uses for medallions. For example, they sawed off the bottom of the capsule and put a wood insert with a thin hole into the opening of the capsule to make a mouthpiece for smoking the precious tobacco at the front. The wood insert was used for roll-up cigarettes. Also, sewing and gramophone needles, threads and other small household items were stored inside the capsule. Search brigades found even fishing hooks in the capsules of medallions.
In November 1942, the medallions were discontinued, but some servicemen kept them for a whole year. The medallion from the museum’s collection belonged to Grigory Kolmakov. The owner of the medallion himself donated it to the exhibition in 1983.
