German WWII Kennkarte Identity Document - Dueren

A Kennkarte issued under the Deutsches Reich, its cloth-textured cover printed with the national eagle and swastika emblem above the heading "Kennkarte." The opened interior bears the issuing office "Dueren, " a registration number, and personal particulars for a woman named Kaethe Fassbender, nee Bekker (Katharina), born 27 May 1895, listed with no stated occupation. It carries an affixed photograph, fingerprint impressions, an official revenue/fee stamp for the city of Dueren, and stamped signatures of the local Buergermeister acting as Ortspolizeibehoerde, valid to September 1940.

Such identity cards were compulsory civil documents for German citizens, issued by local police authorities and used for personal identification in daily administrative life during the period.

The Kennkarte was introduced by the Nazi state in 1938 as a standardised internal identity document, mandatory initially for Jewish citizens and by 1939 extended to the general population, replacing earlier regional identification papers. Issued through local police authorities such as the Ortspolizeibehoerde in Dueren, it recorded biometric details including photographs and fingerprints, reflecting the regime's growing emphasis on civil registration and population control in the years leading into the Second World War. Such documents were required for everyday transactions, travel, and official business under the Deutsches Reich administration.