How can I return an east German Identification card?

[Andrew]

My mother was at the wall when it was officially dismantled. At that time an east German citizen (for who I will keep his or her identity anonymous) gave her his/her ID papers, stating he did not need them anymore. That was in 1989, and my mother and I thought that he/she would like it back as a memento.

Any suggestions on how I could track this person down to give it back?

[Art]

Doubt you'd ever find the documents. As hated reminders of East Germany and the Stasi, they were surely quickly destroyed.

[Petra]

That's tricky because of the data protection laws in Germany. You can't just contact the authorities, telling them that you'd like to locate such-and-such person.

Is it an unusual name? Then maybe look up the name in the phone book of the city of residence your papers state. You'll find a phonebook under http://www.teleauskunft.de
That's the only thing you can do, really. Of course you could also try to trace the person on Facebook.

[CanProf]

You could send them to the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany with a note of explanation.