@ForbiddenDreamer @marlin @WilliamRockwell apparently, only the ones they weren't going to burn immediately got tattoos so that their bodies could be identified if they died. a lot of them didn't receive tattoos but instead numbers on their clothes or arm bands.

but why would the nazis have cared about identifying people? i can't find a reason for that beyond making sure that jews who were granted special roles, like enforcement or being able to work outside of the concentration camp, were recognized. up until now i didn't even know that was a thing, or that the numbers were mostly just used in Auschwitz and nowhere else.