Lyle Bouck
POW Dog Tag
Gift of Ben Cohen, 2001.198.001
Benjamin Cohen, a member of the 423rd Regiment, 106th Infantry Division, was issued this German identity tag while a POW at Stalag 9B at Bad Orb. Captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge, Cohen was separated from the rest of his unit because of his Jewish faith. The Jewish servicemen were isolated, and 350 of them were sent to Berga slave labor camp, where the conditions were more similar to a concentration camp than a POW camp. At least 70 of the American prisoners died during their imprisonment or during the death march preceding liberation. Approximately 10,000 German Jews, refugees of the Third Reich, served the US as interrogators, translators, and intelligence collectors. Many Jewish GIs, American and foreign-born, witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust firsthand as concentration camp liberators. Some of these Jews went on to help survivors regain strength and rebuild their lives.
