9th December 1939 9th December 1939 Mi.22 Mi.30 Mi.31 Bohemia and Moravia Cover with Mi.31 Cover featuring three stamps of Bohemia and Moravia (Mi.22, Mi.30 and Mi.31). Ref: 09.12.1939 link to details of these stamps Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

30th August 1939 30th August 1939 Barlog 8703 Barlog cartoon postcard depicting a group of soldiers playing cards with an NCO at their door. Bestell-Nr.8703. Written by a soldier at Eschwege Luftpark. Ref: 30.08.1939 The caption reads: 'Wunsch träum' (It’s all a dream): The smiling Corporal being greeted by the card school with shouts of 'I’ve just won!', 'Cheers Corporal!' and 'Share a bottle with us!'. Eschwege Luftpark Eschwege (GER) (51 12 00 N – 10 01 40 E) General: airfield (Fliegerhorst) 41.6 km ESE of Kassel in Hesse and 2.4 km NW of Eschwege. History: construction began on 1 October 1935 and the airfield was officially opened on 30 March 1936. Officially designated a Lw. Fliegerhorstkommandantur on 1 October 1936. Existed mainly for the air park (Luftpark) there, but also used by bomber and short-range reconnaissance units to 1940. Wartime role was storage, aircraft maintenance training and aircraft maintenance replacement. Dimensions: approx. 915 x 1050 meters (1,000 x 1,150 yards). Runway: grass surface with paved hangar apron and perimeter road surrounding the landing area. Infrastructure: fuel, oil, water, ammunitions and communications available. The building area was at the S end of the field and consisted of 5 hangars including a large repair hangar, additional workshop buildings adjacent to the hangars, a flight operations building (Flugleitung), a motor pool with garages, supply buildings, barrack blocks, messes, station HQ and dispensary. A sports ground and swimming pool were sited on the W side of the landing area. A branch railway ran to the rear of the hangars and to storage warehouses at the SW corner of the airfield. Dispersal: a small area with 4 open aircraft shelters at the SE corner of the field. Defenses: a single tower for light Flak off the SSE boundary. Remarks: repeatedly bombed and strafed during the war beginning the night of 18/19 July 1940. 19 Apr 44: bombed by 53 B-17 Fortresses. 27 Sep 44: low-level attack by VIII Fighter Command P-51s – claimed 1 x Fw 190 and 1 x Ju 88 destroyed. 22 Feb 45: town marshaling yards bombed by 30 B-24 Liberators but some of the bombs fell on the airfield. 3 Apr 45: airfield taken by U.S. forces and a USAAF tactical reconnaissance group moved in on 9 April after repair work was completed. Operational Units: II./KG 254 (Apr 37 – Mar 38); Stab, 1.(H), 2.(H), 4.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 23 (Nov 38 – Aug 39); II./KG 1 (Nov 39 – Jan 40); 3. (H), 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 23 (Dec 40 – Apr 41); Stab, 1., 2., 3./NSGr. 2 (Mar-Apr 45). Station Commands: Fl.H.Kdtr. A Eschwege (1940); Fl.Pl.Kdo. A 25/VI (c. Feb 43 – Mar 44); Fl.H.Kdtr. A(o) 13/VI (Apr 44 – Apr 45). Kommandant (prior to the establishment of a numbered station command – not complete): Maj. Siebel (fall 36 - Aug 38). Station Units (on various dates – not complete): Luftpark Eschwege (fall 1936 - 1940); Feldwerft-Ers.Abt. (c.1941-45); NSFK-Gruppe “Mitte”; Ln.-Techn.Kp. (Bord) 1 (Jan 45); Ln.-Heimatreparaturbetrieb 4/VI (Wanfried, c.1942-45). Source: ww2.dk Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

24th July 1939 Thüringer Hitler-Jugend 24th July 1939 Leistungs-Schau der Thüringer Hitler-Jugend See Fleurs & Papillons Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

22nd February 1939 JB:Auerbach (Erzgeb) 22nd February 1939 Bochmann Auerbach S245 Cover sent from Auerbach (Erzgeb) to an address in Grimma. Featuring stamp configuration S245 (Mi.677 and Mi,678), with staple holes to the edge piece indication it's from booklet 45 (Ostmark scenery and flowers), H-Pane 111. Complete with special cancellation JB:Auerbach (Erzgeb)1. Ref: 22.02.1939 AUERBACH (ERZGEB) cancellation as featured in the Bochmann catalogues (1952) Note: This is the only special cancellation of the 3rd Reich period. This design was used between 1937-1942, and once again from 1945 to 1949 JB:Auerbach (Erzbeg)1/49 - 'Strumpf-Auerbach'. Ref: 22.02.1939 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

10th March 1939 JB: Hahnenklee 10th March 1939 Bochmann Hahnenklee See 10.03.1939 - 22/92 - JB:Hahnenklee3/340 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

9th March 1939 JB: Stuttgart 9th March 1939 Bochmann Stuttgart JB: Stuttgart53/711 - See 07.08.1939 JB: Stuttgart64/712 - See 09.03.1939 JB: Stuttgart77/714 - See 29/5 JB: Stuttgart92/715 - See 35/15 JB:136/815 - See 03.05.1933 JB:269/828 - See 20.03.1939 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

2nd August 1939 2nd August 1939 Wilhelm (Willy) Dörr (1882-1954) German Zeppelin pilot, researcher and designer at Potsdam during WW1. Dörr patented many inventions for lighter than air craft, including containers to hold and mix the hydrogen and helium gasses during flight. Dörr is quoted as saying, 'Count Zeppelin was a role model of German toughness; his luftschiff is an expression of German skills.' Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Mi.1-14 (12.1939/ 06.1940) Postage Due Stamps Mi.1-14 (12.1939/ 06.1940) Postage Due Stamps Mi.1-14 Postage Due Stamps Bohemia and Moravia Commercial postcard sent from a client in Roudnice to the 'Eko' chemical and pharmaceutical factory in Prague. Posted without stamps and corrected with postage due stamps to the value of 60 heller. Ref: 16.02.1940 Mi.1 - Mi.14 Postage Due Stamps (issued on 1st December 1939 & 10th June 1940) Notes: Design: Anton Erhardt . Letterpress printing. Sheets 5 x 10. Without watermark. Perf. 14. Quantity issued: unknown. Valid until 31.03.1943 Anton Erhardt Anton Erhardt (1889 - 1961) was a German/Czech painter and graphic artist. Mi.2 (10 H - Dec. 1939). Ref: 16.02.1940 Mi.6 (50 H - Dec. 1939). Ref: 16.02.1940 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Stamps of Ecuador Stamps of Ecuador Stamps of Ecuador Cover featuring stamp image Mi.400, sent from Guayaquil to Hamburg. Ref: 28.01.1939 - 1/22 Ecuador - stamps within the Brief History collection Mi.400 (first issued 1938) - 150th Anniversary of U.S. Constitution. ref: 28.01.1939 - 1/22 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

21st January 1939 21st January 1939 Hermann Schoemann Postcard depicting German Type 1934A Class destroyer Z7 'Hermann Schoemann'. Ref: 21.01.1939 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

3rd June 1939 45th Deutscher Philatelistentag 3rd June 1939 45th Deutscher Philatelistentag 45th Deutscher Philatelistentag See Ref: 26/25 (3 Pf unused), 05.06.1939 and 29/45 (5 Pf air), 28/49 ( 4 Pf envelope) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Mi.686-688 (17.02.1939) Automobile Exhibition, Berlin Mi.686-688 (17.02.1939) Automobile Exhibition, Berlin Mi.686-688 Postcard issued for the International Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition in Berlin. Featuring a Mercedes M154 racing car, as well as a full set of postage stamps issued to commemorate the event (Mi.686-688). Ref: 01.03.1939 Mi.686-688 International Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition, Berlin Mi.686. Ref: 18.02.1939 Mi.686 - The first motor car of Benz (1885), a three wheeler with Karl Benz at the wheel, and a four wheeled car with Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler and his son Paul Daimler at the wheel (1886). Mi.687. Ref: 18.02.1939 Mi.687 - 1938 racing cars, the Auto-Union (D-Type?) and the Mercedes Benz (W154?) models on the Nurburgring racing circuit. Mi.688. Ref: 18.02.1939 Mi.688 - The Volkswagen - The People's car, designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. The cost of the car was to be 990 RM. Their sale and manufacture was a state project. A new factory at Fallersleben was built in 1938, destined to be one of the largest car factories in the world. The public had to register for one of the new cars, and then pay monthly instalments (or you could pay cash up front), but one would not receive the car until their registration number was reached. Once you owned a Volkswagen no one could take it away from you and at the same time you could neither sell it or give it away. The state deemed the Volkswagen a necessity and not a luxury (in this way the owner could still apply for charity relief etc.) If you stopped payments, 20% of the money already paid was deducted and the remainder returned, although it was not in that person's interest to do so and it could be construed as anti-state. By the time the factory was ready to start production, the war had broke out and the factory was immediately turned over to war production. The few cars that had been delivered were immediately confiscated and used in the war effort, the owners given a voucher promising replacement after the war. Unsurprisingly, none of the money collected was ever refunded and post war civil actions against Volkswagen were unsuccessful. Souvenir Sheets - Dresden = 18.02.1939 - 22/8, Deutscher = 18.02.1939 - 22/83 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page