11th February 1939 Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge 11th February 1939 Volksbund Deutsche kriegsgraberfursorge Cover sent from the 'Volksbund Deutsche kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.' to Wilhelm Meyer zu Eissen in Bad Salzuflen at the Villa Kurpark. Ref: 11.02.1939 - 18/13 VILLA KURPARK - With its thermal and brine springs, the town developed into a Lippe state spa from 1818 onwards and was given the additional name 'Bad' in 1914. This naturally had an impact on the development of the town and led to a whole series of new buildings in the style of the time. Between 1855 and 1906, a number of classicist bathing and treatment houses were built in the area of the rose garden, such as the Bathhouse I (1855–1856), the Leopold Bath (1903) and the Inhalatorium (1903), which are still well preserved today, although some of them have a different function. In the Parkstrasse area, the Kurpark, the Kurhaus (1900) built according to plans by Fritz Seiff, with the Kurtheater (1908) and a large number of guest houses and villas were built in Bismarckstrasse and Parkstrasse. The most important of these buildings is certainly the Villa Dürkopp , built in the neo-baroque style in a prominent location between 1914 and 1917 as the retirement home of the Bielefeld manufacturer Nikolaus Dürkopp. Also worth mentioning are the houses at Parkstrasse 4 (Haus Erdbrügger), Parkstrasse 13 (Villa Kurpark), Parkstrasse 15 (Villa Luise), Parkstrasse 39 (Haus Seeblick) and the Hotel "Fürstenhof" (built in 1908, park sanatorium since 1959). Other guest houses and Art Nouveau villas can be found in Waldstrasse, Wenkenstrasse and Moltkestrasse. Particularly worth seeing here is a group of four picturesque Art Nouveau villas at Waldstrasse 1 and 3 and directly opposite at 18 and 20. Many buildings from 1909 onwards were designed by the well-known Salzuflen architect Rudolf Günther (1880–1941), such as Haus Hansa, Parkstrasse 36–38, the house Wenkenstrasse 1–5, Am Herforder Tor 9 and Haus Bender, a corner building in a prominent location (corner of Bleichstrasse/Parkstrasse), one of the most important buildings of spa architecture of the early 20th century in Westphalia that has survived to this day. Note that a Dr. Wilhelm Meier zu Eissen passed away on 10th July 1936 in Bad Salzuflen. A mis-spelling of Meier/Meyer by the Volksbund and sent long after his death? See 23.06.1943 - 19/115 Volksbund Deutsche kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. The German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V.), also known as the Volksbund for short, was founded on 16th December 1919 and is a registered non-profit organisation with a humanitarian mission. It maintains and looks after the graves of victims of war and tyranny (war cemeteries) abroad, helps relatives to search for graves and develops the war cemeteries into places of learning about history. The graves of victims of war and tyranny within the country are financed and maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Graves Act. Right at the beginning of the Nazi Party 's seizure of power, the association attempted to lobby the Reich government to ensure legal protection of the Day of Remembrance. This aroused great interest. Eulen reported after a conversation with Adolf Hitler that he had 'shown warm interest in the work of the war graves commission'. Eulen also campaigned for more government support for the Day of Remembrance. He continued: 'I have also promoted our Reminiscere National Day of Mourning and prepared the Chancellor for our request to announce the legal recognition of this day in a solemn act at the beginning of our meeting.' – Sigfried Emmo Eulen In 1933, the Volksbund adopted a new statute that included not only the victims of the World War, but also the so-called martyrs of National Socialism and the victims of the post-war struggles in its own work. Thus, the Volksbund placed itself entirely at the service of honouring National Socialist heroes. As part of the Gleichschaltung, Emmo Eulen became the federal leader in accordance with the Führer principle. Through direct intervention with Goebbels, he succeeded in changing the National Mourning Day into Heroes' Remembrance Day in 1934. The Volksbund remained in existence. The mentality changed from standing up for peace to a spirit of sacrifice. Jewish members were pushed out. The Volksbund was only responsible for the fallen of the First World War. The Wehrmacht Information Office and the Wehrmacht Graves Service under the High Command of the Wehrmacht were responsible for the war dead of the Second World War. During the Nazi era, the number of members rose sharply: at the end of 1934, there were 151,110 members in 1,830 local groups, in 1936 there were 4,747 local groups with 295,000 members, and in 1943 there were 993,572 members. During the 1930s, the Volksbund profited from numerous major projects and built so-called death castles, for example on the St. Annaberg in Upper Silesia and for the approximately 4,000 German soldiers who fell in the Battles of the Piave in Quero, northern Italy. The Reich office was destroyed in an air raid on Berlin on 15th February 1944, the Volksbund was dissolved in 1945 and its re-establishment in the GDR was prohibited. In 1946, a provisional office was set up in Oldenburg, where Wilhelm Ahlhorn worked to rebuild the organisation. At the request of the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, the Volksbund was authorised in the US-American occupied zone on 4th September 1947, and the office was moved to Nienburg on the Weser in May 1948. An additional agreement to the Geneva Convention now guaranteed the permanent right of rest for the war dead. In May 1951, the headquarters were moved from Nienburg to Kassel. In the western occupied zones, the association was tasked with registering and maintaining war graves in Germany. In 1952, the 'Law on the Care of War Graves' was passed by the Bundestag. Since then, the Volksbund has been responsible for war graves abroad, and the federal states for war graves in Germany. Initially, activities were only possible in the western states. The Graves Act of 1965 provides in Section 1 Paragraph 2 No. 4 that graves of fallen soldiers of both world wars, victims of National Socialist violence and civilian bombing victims are now to be cared for. In 1956, there were almost 600,000 members. In 1958, the reburial service had 117 German and 150 foreign employees. From 1966, the Volksbund also looked after the war graves of the First World War and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871. In 2019, the total of 82,030 paying members were distributed among 81,046 in Germany and 884 abroad. There were a total of 208,103 paying donors in 2019. The number of members leaving/deaths exceeds the number of new members joining. On average, the association loses 9,000 members per year; since the mid-2000s, the number of members has fallen by around 40%. The average age of members is over 70 years. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

1st June 1939 1st June 1939 Research Jakob Sprenger Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

1st January 1939 Cobra 1st January 1939 Cobra Postcard depicting the Cobra. Ref: 01.01.1939 Cover sent by Wolf-Dietrich Henning (Leutnant) on the minelayer 'Cobra' (following its requisition and conversion by the Kriegsmarine in 1939). Ref: 10.02.1942 - 32/59 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

2nd May 1939 2nd May 1939 Gau Saxony coat of arms printed on a 26mm x 38mm metallic finished paper vignette Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

30th April 1939 NSDAP - Kameradschfts-Abend 30th April 1939 Kameradschaft Abend Neu-Eichwald See 29/59 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

12th February 1939 JB: Oberjoch 12th February 1939 Bochmann Oberjoch Self-addressed CTO postcard sent from Oberjoch (Allgäu) to Magdeburg. Featuring cancellation JB:Oberjoch1/602. Ref: 12.02.1939 - 22/81 OBERJOCH cancellation as featured in the Bochmann catalogues (1952) JB:Oberjoch1/602 - 'Besucht die Winterlager der fränkischen HJ 1938/39'. Ref: 12.02.1939 - 22/81 This cancellation was used from 21st December 1938 to 4th May 1939 It was the only special cancellation for Oberjoch. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

10th May 1939 10th May 1939 RDB Frankfurt eagle Ref: 10.05.1939 - Fleurs & Papillons Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Stamps of Latvia Stamps of Latvia Stamps of Latvia Postcard sent from Riga to an address in Hamburg. Featuring postage stamp Mi.267 (20th Anniversary of Latvian Independence). Ref: 23.11.1939 Latvia - stamps within the Brief History collection Mi.267 (first issued 1938) - 20th Anniversary of Latvian Independence. Ref: 23.11.1939 Country post during German occupation (1st July - 30th October 1941) Soviet Union 5 kopeck definitive stamp, overprinted with "Latvija 1941 I. VII", issued on July 18, 1941. Ref: 29.10.1941 - 21/32 Soviet Union 10 kopeck definitive stamp, overprinted with "Latvija 1941 I. VII", issued on July 18, 1941. Ref: 29.10.1941 - 21/32 Soviet Union 15 kopeck definitive stamp, overprinted with "Latvija 1941 I. VII", issued on July 19, 1941. Ref: 29.10.1941 - 21/32 Soviet Union 20 kopeck definitive stamp, overprinted with "Latvija 1941 I. VII", issued on July 17, 1941. Ref: 29.10.1941 - 21/32 Soviet Union 30 kopeck definitive stamp, overprinted with "Latvija 1941 I. VII", issued on July 17, 1941. Ref: 29.10.1941 Soviet Union 50 kopeck definitive stamp, overprinted with "Latvija 1941 I. VII," issued on July 18, 1941. Ref: 29.10.1941 - 21/32 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Mi.699 (12.07.1939) Mi.699 (12.07.1939) Mi.699 Mi.699 Mi.699 (Ref: 23.07.1939) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

14th March 1939 Mährisch-Ostrau 14th March 1939 Mahrisch-Ostrau Ostrava See 14.03.1939 and B&M Mi.34a - 10.03.1941 - 17/76 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

26th August 1939 26th August 1939 Barlog 1480 Barlog cartoon postcard depicting a woman sat waiting on a park bench whilst soldiers run back to their barracks. Bestell-Nr.1480. Ref: 26.08.1939 The caption reads: Translation required Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

1st September 1939 1st September 1939 Hitler's Speech, Berlin Postcard depicting Adolf Hitler at the podium addressing the Reichstag. The speech served as public declaration of war against Poland and thus of the commencement of World War II (Germany did not submit a formal declaration of war to Poland). To the reverse a violet cachet states, 'Der Weltgeschichtliche Tag/ 1. September 1939/ Danzig kehrt heim'. (World History day, 1st September 1939, Danzig returns home'). The 12 Pf postage stamp (Mi.715) was issued on 18th September 1939 to commemorate the reintegration of Danzig into the German Reich. Ref: 19.09.1939 Adolf Hitler's speech of 1st September 1939 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page