A dog tag belonging to an Italian soldier, captured during World War II, is to be returned to his family after being discovered in northeastern Poland.
Metal detectorists came across the find while exploring the remains of a former prisoner-of-war camp in the village of Bogusze.
Established in 1941 to hold Soviet POWs, after a series of name and function changes, between 1943 and 1944, Stalag I B/PR was used to hold interned Italians.
Many died of hunger, cold or executions.
Among the survivors was Giulio Comincioli, who was captured by German forces on September 9, 1943, near the Italian-Austrian border.
According to historical records, Comincioli served in the 2nd Alpini Regiment, a light infantry regiment that specialized in mountain warfare.
His capture followed Italy’s surrender to the Allies, officially announced on September 8, 1943.
Mariusz Jarząbek, president of the Historical and Exploratory Association “Jaćwież,” which made the discovery, said: “It’s always an emotional moment. We’ve been conducting searches here for over two years.
Established in 1941 to hold Soviet POWs, after a series of name and function changes, between 1943 and 1944, Stalag I B/PR was used to hold interned Italians.
Many died of hunger, cold or executions.
Among the survivors was Giulio Comincioli, who was captured by German forces on September 9, 1943, near the Italian-Austrian border.
According to historical records, Comincioli served in the 2nd Alpini Regiment, a light infantry regiment that specialized in mountain warfare.
His capture followed Italy’s surrender to the Allies, officially announced on September 8, 1943.
Mariusz Jarząbek, president of the Historical and Exploratory Association “Jaćwież,” which made the discovery, said: “It’s always an emotional moment. We’ve been conducting searches here for over two years.
“In addition to items such as coins, crosses, buttons and other parts of uniforms, we found an improvised shaving brush made of a shell with horsehair tied to it, or a thick wire hammered in such a way that it could be used to cut bread, for example.
“This is already the twelfth dog tag we’ve found here. In some cases, we’ve managed to trace the soldiers’ families. That was the case this time as well.
He added that he had now asked the local Conservator of Monuments to return the artifact to the soldier’s grandchildren.
According to reports, Comincioli’s family has confirmed that their grandfather survived till the end of the war in various camps and lived to the age of 93 but never spoke about his wartime experiences.
“Regarding his wartime years, they only know that he named his son Rudolf in honor of a German man by that name who helped his family,” historian Dr. Stefan Marcinkiewicz said.
“This is already the twelfth dog tag we’ve found here. In some cases, we’ve managed to trace the soldiers’ families. That was the case this time as well.
He added that he had now asked the local Conservator of Monuments to return the artifact to the soldier’s grandchildren.
According to reports, Comincioli’s family has confirmed that their grandfather survived till the end of the war in various camps and lived to the age of 93 but never spoke about his wartime experiences.
“Regarding his wartime years, they only know that he named his son Rudolf in honor of a German man by that name who helped his family,” historian Dr. Stefan Marcinkiewicz said.
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