Culver City,
California
x
Exercise 6
Maker: Unknown
Date Made: n.d.
Country: German Democratic Republic
Materials: paper; photograph paper
Measurements: 30 cm x 21 cm; 11 13/16 in x 8 1/4 in
Language: German
Genre/Form: document
This green, two-sided, hole-punched page represents an identity recognition exercise. The instructions at the top of the page state: "Überprüfen Sie die in den Bildpaaren 1 bis 5 abgebildeten Personen hinsichtlich der Indentität bzw. Nichtidentität! Stellen Sie zur Begründung Ihrer Entsheidung jeweils 4 Merkmale des Äußeren gegenüber!" The English translation is: "Verify the identity or non-identity of the people depicted in the picture pairs 1 through 5! In each case, justify your decision by comparing 4 external characteristics!" This exercise includes 5 pairs of black and white passport photos (10 total) glued onto both sides of the page - two pairs of women on the front and three pairs of men on the back. The exercise asks border guards in training to determine whether each pair of photos depicts the same person. Trainees were required to cite 4 characteristics for each person to assess if their identity matched. The "external characteristics" referred to in this document were standardised in a booklet used for training GDR border guards in identity recognition. This document is numbered as pages 9 and 10, suggesting that it was one of multiple exercises for identity recognition.
Collection/Series: Peter Bochmann Border Guard Collection
Accession Number: 2017.015.037