Cover sent from Lübeck to an address in Berlin. Featuring postage stamp Mi.542 tied with special cancel JB: Lübeck7/506. Ref: 21.07.1934 21st July 1934 JB: Lübeck 1/1 Cover sent from Lübeck to an address in Berlin. Featuring postage stamp Mi.542 tied with special cancel JB: Lübeck7/506. Ref: 21.07.1934 LÜBECK cancellations as featured in the Bochmann catalogues (1952) JB: Lübeck7/506 - 'Luebeck/ und seine/ Rotweine'. Ref: 21.07.1934 Note on JB:Lübeck7/506 - Rotspon (from Middle Low German spōn = wooden vessel) is an old German word for red cask wine and in a narrower sense a French red wine that is transported in a barrel and matured and bottled in a northern German Hanseatic city. The term Lübecker Rotspon refers to Bordeaux wines imported from France in barrels and stored in Lübeck until they were ready for bottling and then bottled. From the 16th century onwards, salt was shipped between Lübeck and the coast of Biscay as a preservative for fish. Barrels of Bordeaux wine were also included in the shipment. The idea of refining this red wine, which was transported by sea, by maturing and storing it in Lübeck goes back to the Lübeck councillor and merchant Thomas Fredenhagen. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

13th June 1945 Pages from 'PUNCH' 13th June 1945 Pages from 'PUNCH' Punch icon.png Punch icon.png 1/1 Cartoon from PUNCH magazine 13th June 1945. Most likely drawn in relation to the aftermath of the inundation of the Wieringermeer. The caption reads A LAND DESPOILED [A National Appeal for the Help Holland Fund is being launched at the Mansion House on June 14. Contributions should be sent to the Help Holland Fund, The Royal Exchange, London, E.C.3.] Inundation of the Wieringermeer From Wkipedia: On 17th April 1945, the retreating German occupying forces inundated the polder of Wieringermeer, the Netherlands. In 1945 German forces occupying the Netherlands planned to destroy the Zuiderzee Works to cover their retreat. Military reasons for this are still unclear, but it may have been done to deny the Allies a landing area for airborne troops or gliders. In preparation for this flooding, the water level of the IJsselmeer was deliberately raised. The level in the IJsselmeer was 3.62 m (12 ft) above the ground level of Wieringerpolder at the site of the breach, and varied between 3.12–5.12 metres (10–17 ft) above, across the polder. Inundation had already been used on some Dutch polders but this strategic inundation was shallow and was done by stopping the drainage pumping or allowing water to flow backwards through the pumping stations to give a shallow flooding. The rapid and deep tactical inundation planned for the Wieringerpolder, done by the destruction of a dyke, was new. It was known that even an explosive breach would not be enough, and it would be the enlargement of the breach by the water itself which would cause the most damage. In late February or early March 1945 Dutch workers started to undermine the dike around the polder under German command. The location is near the farm of Beetstra, in the dike with the IJsselmeer. Deep holes were dug in the dike both at the bottom and at the top of the dike. In these holes explosives would be put. The work was progressing slowly since none of the workers were motivated. In April, the work came to a complete stop. On 10th April, German officers came and inspected the work. New workers were sought and 25 to 50 people were taken from Schagen during a razzia to work on the digging. After a week, the holes were deep enough and explosives were installed. Each hole was loaded with 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of explosives; unexploded bombs from British and American aircraft were used. On 17th April at 12.15 am, the explosives were detonated. The 7,000 people in the Wieringermeer and an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 refugees had to leave the polder. Within 48 hours, the entire polder was full with water, with an average depth of 3.75 m (12 ft). The initial breaches were small, about 20 m (66 ft) wide and only 1 m (3 ft 3 in) below water level. These increased over the following hours until two huge pits were scoured out, the northern one 160 m (525 ft) wide and 23.5 m (77 ft) deep and the southern hole 200 m (656 ft) wide and 30 m (98 ft) deep. No one was killed as the polder slowly submerged again (the inhabitants had been warned), but the high water and a subsequent storm destroyed most of the infrastructure built in the previous decade. Buildings were not generally badly damaged by the flooding, but by the storms later. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

31st January 1945 Pages from 'PUNCH' 31st January 1945 Pages from 'PUNCH' Punch icon.png Punch icon.png 1/1 Cartoon from PUNCH magazine 31st January 1945. Soldiers with the coffin of Hindenburg enquire with Hitler as to its resting place. The caption reads THE REMOVAL "Where do you want this put?" Contrary to Hindenburg's will, he was interred with his wife in a magnificent ceremony at the Tannenberg Memorial. In 1944, as the Soviets approached, Generalleutnant Oskar von Hindenburg moved his parents' remains to western Germany. In January 1945, German troops blew up the memorial. (Source: Wikipedia) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

2nd November 1937 2nd November 1937 1/2 2nd November 1937 Sarvar to 27 Queens Square, Bath Dear Madeleine! Thank you so much for the nice book you send me. I am so pleased with it, especially as I like Shakespeare very much. I have read already some of the plays in it. It was so nice of you to send it to me. As you see we are now here in Sarvar to visit my parents. For my husband it will also be very amusing here as there are the shootings now and he likes that very much. We have been now for two weeks in Paris to see the Exhibition and to see Paris, I did not yet know it. I like it very much. On our way to Paris from Mandelieu we went for two days to Lourdes. In Mandelieu we have a nice little villa that we have arranged quite as it pleases us. We were often in Cannes to play tennis or go to the cinema. I saw there Greta Garbo in La Dame Au Camelia’s, I found it a very good film. I hope you are all well. I was very sorry you came to Leutstetten when I was already gone. It would have been nice to see you all there. You know my address, so when you like, you can always write to me. Now we will stay here for some time still. With best greetings Deidi Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

24th March 1934 1/1 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

21st June 1942 MHB 70 1/1 Cover sent from Berlin to an address in Voerde bei Hagen. Featuring postage stamp sequence KZ 40 taken from stamp booklet sheet MHB 71. Tied with JB:Berlin 376(a -I)/132 advertising the 'Das Sowjet-Paradies' exhibition. Ref: 21.06.1942 Stamps sequences from booklet sheet MHB 71 Stamp sequences from MHB 70 and MHB 71 are identical except for the use of label A13 ( 'Spare bei...' + 6 Pf - MHB 70) or A14 ('Glückwünsche...' + 6 Pf - MHB 71). Identical sequences: KZ39 (4+Z+Z+6), KZ40 (8+Z+Z+6), S278 (4+8), W151 (A13+4), W152 (A16+4), W153 (A16+4+8). KZ40 (Mi.786+Z+Z+Mi.785) from MHB 70 or 71. Ref: 21.06.1942 S278 (most likely taken from H-pane 119 due to the flattened perforations to the upper edge) from MHB 70 or 71. Ref: 14.11.1941 - 17/62) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

24th October 1942 1/0 Cover sent from the 'Resi' Lichtspiele cinema in Karlsruhe to the Deutsche Filmvertriebsgesellsch (German Film Distribution Company) in Frankfurt. Ref: 24.10.1942 Karlsruhe Cinema On 5th September 1896 the first film screenings in Karlsruhe took place in the Stadtgartentheater (which no longer exists today). The occasion was the 70th birthday of Grand Duke Friedrich. Between 1900 and 1905 the Varietétheater Colosseum also served as the city's movie theater. The first permanent cinema in Karlsruhe was opened in 1907 by Otto Alban Kasper at Waldstraße 26. It didn't have a name, it was just called a cinematograph (after the projection apparatus). Short films on political topics (E.g. 'The German Emperor in England - Arrival in Portsmouth' ) or cultural films were shown. It was purely an in-store cinema with darkened shop windows and a screen at the front. On 12th December 1908, a new cinema building was integrated into the building at Waldstraße 30 and opened with a sloping floor and staggered rows of seats. It was given the name Residenztheater ( 'Resi' for short). The first sound film was shown there in 1930. It existed until 1971.

1st November 1933 Mi.P240 1/0 Mi.P249 - see 30.01.1934 - 24/9 (also Süddeutscher Rundfunk) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Commercial postcard sent from A. Dotterweich & Co. to Emil Israel in Oppach. Featuring two Mi.548 Hindenburg mourning stamps. Ref: 14.11.1934 14th November 1934 1/1 Commercial postcard sent from A. Dotterweich & Co. to Emil Israel in Oppach. Featuring two Mi.548 Hindenburg mourning stamps. Ref: 14.11.1934 What's in a name? - Emil Israel - of Jewish origin? Answers from the internet David, John, Reuben, Rachel, Sarah, Naomi, Ruth - & many, many others - are Jewish names which have been adopted by non-Jews. Some are common, some are rare. Any Biblical name can be, & in most cases has been, used by Christians. When surnames were adopted, it was quite common to use a father’s personal name plus ‘son’ - & sometimes the ‘son’ was omitted. It’s possible that your ancestors were Jewish, or converts, but the name by itself doesn’t prove anything. I have never come across anyone with the surname “Israel” who was not Jewish, but that does not mean they do not exist. Your ancestors may have converted a long time ago, or perhaps they never were Jewish in the first place. Having a surname like that in the Nazi era would certainly have been a red flag and you can be sure someone would have researched your family tree if the family was in Germany at that time. If your family was left alone by the Nazis, it can only be because any Jewish ancestors you may have are far back enough to be free of the restrictions imposed by the Nuremberg laws. All of the people I know (including some of my own ancestors!) who have the last name of Israel are Jews. Unfortunately, many Jews were forcibly converted and horrifyingly some even chose to become Christians (although a Jew is always a Jew). I know a family who changed their surname to Israel after the father converted to Judaism, based on a line in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) about people changing their name to Israel. Also, there is a Christian teaching that CHristians are the new ISrael, so I guess it is possible that Christians would take on the name Israel to emphasize that belief. I am understanding from your question that your ancestors went by that name in the early 1800s but not in the 1930s-1940s, when such a name would have landed them in the round-up bringing them to slaughter. So if they were indeed Jews in the early 1800s, they may have unfortunately become Christians. Benjamin D’Israeli is the best known example of this: Israel in his name, but sadly the family ‘converted’ to Christianity to have rights and social mobility. A word such as Israel, was given to the 3rd patriarch of the Israelite people; that is Jacob. One of Jacob's sons was called Judah. Judah is the father of the Jewish people. The two terms became synonymous, after the Babylonian return to the land that God had given to Abraham, the 1st patriarch, and his sons forever. So generally speaking Israel and Jew imply the same culture, but such only developed with the passage of time, especially the disappearance of 'the 10 lost tribes'. These tribes never disappeared. Instead they were assimilated into the main Israelite body, Judah's tribe. Interestingly enough, early Christianity, as a body referred to itself as the "true House of Israel". And so it is not impossible to have the name that preceded Judah, and have no Jewish past whatsoever. But such is highly unlikely. As I pointed out "generally speaking Israel and Jew imply the same culture", but remember that the exception is what verifies a rule. Odds that some male was Jewish are high. It’s difficult to conceive of a surname Israel that isn’t Jewish. There is a chance the name was something close to Israel and switched, perhaps someone who worked with iron - Eisenhower - but that’s a stretch. It’s doubly a stretch because a) Jews were often mis-treated, as in locked in behind gates at night and sometimes massacred, and b) Jewish last names started to appear in Germany around that time because the authorities demanded they stop with the ‘son of’ stuff. Odds that someone would choose a Jewish last name while not Jewish are really low.I’ll add some detail. My name is often considered Jewish but nearly all the people with it are Lutheran and, who knows, we all may come from the same person at some point in time. The name came to me from my grandfather Kostya (Koss) Kurtzman, who was from Kiev. (As an aside, I did not know his name until I was cleaning out my grandmother’s apartment after her death and I discovered their citizenship papers. The people I knew as Kenneth and Jean were actually Kostya and Sonya. I have his wallet and every piece of ID in it says Koss. And her name was typed as Joan (!) but I guess she preferred Jean.) I know literally nothing about my family tree on my father’s father’s side. On his mother’s side, I have my great-great-grandfather’s passport which says his last name was Racowicki (or Rackowicz, etc.). The family name is Rackoff, but the passport was issued under Polish control so Polish spelling. And the first name is something we’ve never seen. I mention this because names can change. An example, my mother’s mother’s family name became Weine but was Wanger which my uncle believes was a corruption of a descriptive for Hungarian, that they were from Magyar. Since Weine is recent, it doesn’t refer to ‘wine merchant’. In my opinion, it’s probably more like Wagner, something having to do with carts because people used carts a lot.Some of his ideas are clever reaches. Example: he traced the other last name Gelfand - which is elephant, like in Oliphant as well - to Hamburg and he thinks it may mean they lived near the zoo but I think it’s more likely a name rooted in Olaf, which refers to heritage and thus son of your heritage. This idea connects at a Jewish humor level: elephant is about memory and so is Olaf so it’s a play on heritage. It actually converts the ‘son of’ naming convention into a memory of the naming convention.A name like Schwartz is typically taken to mean dark hair or complexion but, since dark hair is common, it could also be - and more likely is, IMO - an oblique reference to a group of people who trace their origins perhaps toward Spain and other places where Jews were expelled. It could also refer to an occupation, but I think it’s more likely a preservation of that memory. That means they were generally ‘darker’ not that they were really dark-skinned, dark-haired but that they belonged in memory to that group which appeared. A physically descriptive name that makes sense is Roth and other versions of ‘red’ because, being a redhead, I know they’re relatively rare and pass down through families, so that also has a ‘tribal’ memory quality.Since Jewish last names were generally chosen, humor and oblique references are part of them. You miss that if you just read the bare descriptions. And you especially miss the extreme importance of cultural memory, which is true in all cultures and is powerful among Jews. A name like Reichman or Rich could mean they were poor: if you were picking a name and were poor, that’s a pretty good choice and a good joke. My last name probably means something like advisor or lawyer, not ‘short’ as in stature but short of tongue, as in Kurt or Conrad, so the name preserves a memory or tradition - or aspiration - as well. But for all we know, the name might have been like naming a Great Dane ‘Tiny’. There are some offensive last names and, to me, most of those indicate communal jokes - which often were dropped by later generations. We forget that some people were probably not well liked and others were not cooperative and others were weird as people are today. So someone named ‘fart’ may not have been cooperative or liked and descendants then either chose to live with the name or changed it. I don’t know why we have this idea that somehow Christian authorities lined up Jews and said ‘your last name is now Goldberg or Rosenberg’. They generally avoided dealing with the Jewish community, which suggests the communities decided and gave a list to the authorities. I picked Goldberg and Rosenberg because those are considered highly Jewish names except they are typical Christian German names as well - so I doubt Christian authorities would ‘share’ or assign their own last names to Jews. One of the highest ranking Nazis executed at Nuremberg was Alfred Rosenberg. Not Jewish.Since I can’t end with that reference, consider Norman Jewison. His last name says ‘son of a Jew’. Except they’re not Jewish. The choice of the name Israel is a blunt identification with Jewish tradition, so I have to believe it was a Jewish choice. Ashkenazi Jews had no surbanes until the European Enlightenment enfranchised them politically as well as with civic status. Concurrently in Germany in particular the Reform movement was established. Its chief aim was to ease & speed Assimilation. To many if not most of these Jews it involved a conversion to the Lutheran Church. That said, if a Jew did so they would tend to try and hide their Jewish roots. Having "Israel" as a surname would tend to point to the opposite conclusion though. Israel comes from the Hebrew Yisra’el and far predates anything European. As a surname it began with the Jews so its oretty likly you have Jewish ancestors at some point in history. Im sure over time peoole with that name left the Jewish faith at times and chose other faiths. It happens as people marry and move about. Some apparently became Lutherans. Israel is the name God gave to Jacob, that’s why Eretz Israel , or “Land of Israel/Jacob”. Since Christians adopted a part of Jewish Torah as the Old Testament, many Jewish names were incorporated into Christian culture. For example, John ( Yohanan ), Rafael ( Rafa’el ), Gabriel ( Gavri’el ), etc, all are Hebrew names, from characters of the Torah that also became part of the Bible. So, no, Israel is not an exclusively Jewish name. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

War Directives 1939-1945 War Directives 1939-1945 1/1 Adolf Hitler: War Directives 1939-1945 (Source: H.R. Trevor-Roper, 1966) Transmission details, addresses and signatories have been omitted 1939 No.1 - 31st August Plan of Attack on Poland No.2 - 3rd September Hostilities in the West No.3 - 9th September Transfer of Forces from Poland to the West No.4 - 25th September Finishing the War in Poland No.5 - 30th September Partition of Poland No.6 - 9th October Plans for the Offensive in the West No.7 - 18th October Preparations for Attack in the West No.8 20th November Further Preparations for Attack in the West No.9 - 29th November 'Instructions for the Warfare against the Economy of the Enemy' 1940 No.10 - 19th January/ 18th February Concentration of Forces for 'Undertaking Yellow' No.10a - 1st March 'Case Weser-Exercise' against Denmark and Norway No.11 - 14th May The Offensive in the West No.12 - 18th May Prosecution of the Attack in the West No.13 - 24th May Next Object in the West No.14 - 8th June Continuation of the Offensive in France No.15 - 14th June Advance on the Loire No.16 - 16th July 'Preparations for a Landing Operation against England' No.17 - 1st August 'For the Conduct of Air and Sea Warfare against England' No.18 - 12th November plans to enter Spain and capture Gibraltar No.19 - 10th December 'Undertaking Attila' No.20 - 13th December 'Undertaking Marita' No.21 - 18th December 'Case Barbarossa' 1941 No.22 - 11th January 'German Support for Battles in Mediterranean Area' No.23 - 6th February 'Directions for Operations against the English War Economy' No.24 - 5th March 'Cooperation with Japan' No.25 - 27th March Plan of Attack on Yugoslavia No.26 - 3rd April 'Cooperation with our Allies in the Balkans' No.27 - 4th April Plan of Attack on Greece No.28 - 25th April 'Undertaking Mercury' No.29 - 17th May Proposed Military Government of Greece No.30 - 23rd May German Intervention in Iraq No.31 - 9th June German Military Organisation in the Balkans No.32 - 11th June 'Preparations for the Period after Barbarossa' No.32a - 14th July Supplement to 32: Reduction of the Army after Victory over Russia No.33 - 19th July Continuation of the War in the East No.33a - 23rd July Supplement to 33 No.34 - 30th July Change to Strategy in Russia No.34a - 12th August Supplement to 34 No.35 - 6th September Decision on Employment of Army Group Centre No.36 - 22nd September Objectives in Artic Theatre No.37 - 10th October Reorganisation of Forces in the Artic Theatre No.38 - 2nd December The Air War in the Mediterranean No.39 - 8th December Defence on the Eastern Front 1942 No.40 - 23rd March 'Competence of Commanders in Costal Areas' No.41 - 5th April Spring Campaign in the East No.42 - 29th May 'Instructions for Operations against Unoccupied France and the Iberian Peninsula' No.43 - 11 July 'Continuation of Operations from the Crimea No.44 - 21st July 'Operations in Northern Finland' No.45 - 23rd July 'Continuation of Operation Brunswick' No.46 - 18th August 'Instructions for Intensified Activity against Banditry in the East No.47 - 28th December 'Command and Defence Measures in the South-East' 1943 No.48 - 26th July 'Command and Defence Measures in the South-East' No.49 - 31st July Operation Alaric (later Axis) No.50 - 28th September 'Concerning the Preparations for the Withdrawal of 20th Mountain Army to North Finland and North Norway' No.51 - 3rd November The Danger of a Second Front in the West 1944 No.52 - 28th January The Battle for Rome No.53 - 8th March 'Commandants for Fortified Areas and Battle Commandants' No.54 - 2nd April Defensive Line in the East No.55 - 16th May 'Employment of Long-range Weapons against England' No.56 - 12th July Coordination of Shipping No.57 - 13th July Two Decrees of the Führer concerning Authority in the Event of Invasion of the Reich No.58 - 19th July Order concerning Preparations for the Defence of the Reich No.59 - 23rd July 'Reorganisation of Command Authority in the Area of Army Group North' No.60 - 26th July 'Alpine Approaches Position' (three orders) No.61 - 24th August 'Order for the Construction of German Defensive Positions in the West' No.62 - 29th August 'Order for the Completion of Defences in the German Bight' No.63 - 1st September 'Order placing the West Wall in a State of Defence' No.64 - 3rd September 'Direction for Further Operations by Commander-in-Chief West' No.64a - 7th September 'Military Powers of Commander-in-Chief West' No.64b - 9th September Further to 64a No.65 - 12th September 'Order for Defences in the South-east' No.66 19th - 22nd September Second Decree fo the Führer on Powers of Command in an Area of Operations within the Reich' (three documents) No.67 - 25th November 'Exercise of Command in Units which have been Isolated' 1945 No.68 - 21st January The Führer alone will determine Strategy No.69 - 28th January 'Employment of the Volkssturm' No.70 - 5th February 'Transport of Refugees from the East to Denmark' No.71 - 20th March 'Demolitions on Reich Territory' No.72 - 7th April Reorganisation of Command in the West No.73 - 15th April ' Führer's Order on the Organisation of Command in the Separated Areas fo Northern and Southern Germany' No.74 - 15th April Order of the Day to Soldiers of the Eastern Front Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

30th December 1940 MHB 68 30.12.1940 S266 MHB 68 reverse.jpeg 30.12.1940 S266 MHB 68 reverse.jpeg 1/1 Cover sent from Werl (note the senders address to the reverse states 'Horst-Wessel-Str.'), to an address in Geseke. Featuring stamp sequence S266 from MHB 68. Ref: 30.12.1940 Stamp sequences from booklet sheet MHB 68 S266 (Mi.756+Mi.751) from MHB 68. Ref: 30.12.1940 S268 (Mi.751+Mi.756) from MHB 68. Ref: 16.04.1941 W148 (A11.3+Mi.751). A11.3 - 'Werde Mitglied der NS. Volkswohlfahrt!' (Become a member of the NS. Charity!). Ref: 12.01.1941 - 32/20 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

31st October 1934 1/1 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page