15th June 1942 Vierhöf kaserne 1/1 Parcel card for a package sent from Vierhöf Kaserne to Regensburg. Featuring Bohemia and Moravia postage stamps 2.50k (Mi.71) and 5k (+ blank field) Mi.57 (a or b?) LW. Ref: 15.06.1942 - 10/57 Vierhöf kaserne Čtyři Dvory (German: Vierhöf) is a part of České Budějovice (German: Budweis) The four courts (Čtyry Dvory) were originally created as a group of farm courts of the townspeople of České Budějovice (the first of the four large courts that gave the settlement its name was first mentioned in 1369). In 1850, a self-governing village named Čtyry Dvory (less than 200 inhabitants) was established here, in 1900 there were already 1,945 inhabitants. In 1952, the village became a settlement of České Budějovice and in 1970 it was administratively abolished and incorporated into the České Budějovice 2 district. Source: Wikipedia A number of barracks were built in České Budějovice in the 19th and 20th centuries, but only one was private. In the village of Čtyři Dvory, the landowner Karel Ploner built large barracks on his land in 1915-1916 and rented them to the military administration for the location of artillery regiment No.105. The area is located between Husová and Rošického (Haklodvorská) streets. Apparently Ploner was counting on renting them out. He built them for 3.5 million crowns. There was a courtyard next to it across the street, and to the left of Haklodvorská lay the older Execier Platz (literally, military training ground). Karel Ploner was a member of the board of directors of Měšťanské pivovar, owner of houses and real estate. He pushed to build an aircraft factory in the city, but there was not enough interest. In 1924, he sold "his" barracks to the state for 7 million CZK. Artillery Regiment No.105 was still based in the area, and the headquarters of the motorized artillery division was added. The staff building with a tower in the late Art Nouveau style was built by the České Budějovice company Procházka and Bazanella, the buildings for the team, warehouses and stables were also built by a local company – Bratří Petrášové. It was the last built barracks in the city (in other words, the youngest, if we do not count the unit of the Border Guard at the military cemetery). At that time, these were modern barracks. It's a shame that the tower of the staff building was later needlessly demolished and the park in front of it was cancelled. The UNION hotel was built on the opposite side of Husova. Source: ceskobudejovicky-denik-cz Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

12th June 1938 1/0 12th June 1938 Sarvar to 27 Queen Square, Bath Dear Madeleine! Thank you very much for your letter. Deidi has got a baby. It is a beautiful strong boy. It was born on 6th. Mammi is there to help Deidi. She is very happy. I feel very proud to be an aunt and to think that Mammi is grandmother. Doesn’t it sound funny? The child is weighing 3470gr and 52cm long. I am very curious on seeing my nephew here in August. They will come to Baby’s wedding. It will be so nice to have such a small child in the house. I remember still perfectly Rasso when he was born. Ludwig is godfather and the baby we baptized Louis Gaston Joseph Marie Pie. I do hope your exams will be alright. My thumbs hurt already from keeping them up for you. We have got a sweet little deer. People found it on the crops and bought it here. It drinks the milk out of a bottle like baby’s do. We are going to the kindergarten exams. It is very amusing to see the small children play or say poems. Some of them are very clever and are able to dance the Csardas, that’s the Hungarian national dance. We are to be the Princesses and sit smiling in the burning sun and receive flowers and be looked at. It gives me such a shy feeling. Much love Loll Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

14th September 1942 Birth certificate request 14.09.1942 feldpost Letter reverse.jpeg 14.09.1942 feldpost Letter reverse.jpeg 1/1 Feldpost cover sent from FPN 23098 to Willy Schulz in Offenbach. It appears unusual that a civilian (?) is requesting a birth certificate copy 1) from a senior officer, and 2) one that is from 1816. The letters are displayed below. The final paragraph of the French text states, 'The child's father having declared that he had no use for the child', is possibly a mis-translation or refers to the nature of the fathers relationship with the mother? Ref: 14.09.1942 Acknowledgement of Birth Certificate request, 'Please find enclosed the birth certificate for Ferdinand Stolpe requested by the Bar-le-Duc registry office.' Certificate in French language. English translation: 'Extract from the register of birth certificates for the year 1816. In the year one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, on the sixteenth of January, before Us, Claude Xavier Herbillon-Contant, Deputy Mayor of the town of Bar-le-Duc, acting by special delegation as public registrar, appeared Sieur Michel XXX Stolpen, soldier in the 18 battalion, 28 regiment, 48 company, under the orders of Lieutenant-General de Perich, in garrison at the said Bar, aged twenty-seven, native of Neidorff-Chleisin in Prussia, who declared to us that Gertrude Schmitzen, his wife, native of Aix-la-Chapelle, gave birth yesterday, at four o'clock in the evening, at the home of Mr Gaudry, rue du Repos, to a male child to whom the forename FERDINAND was given. In witness of which declaration, he presented to us as witnesses, Sieurs François Gaudry, manufacturer, aged twenty-nine and André feuchel, Prussian soldier, aged twenty-six, XXX the first witness domiciled at the said Bar, the second in garrison at Bar-le-Duc, who signed with Us after reading. The child's father having declared that he had no use for the child.' To the reverse of the French text there is a German translation. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

6th June 1942 1/7

Mi.19-20, Mi.21-22 (04.1946) Spremberg Unofficial Mi.19-20, Mi.21-22 (04.1946) Spremberg Unofficial 1/1 Collectors cover featuring Spremberg (Niederlausitz) unofficial issues Mi.19A/B-20A/B (8 pf orange & 12 Pf pink-red) and Mi.21A/B-22A/B (8 Pf cyan & 12 Pf dark green), together with Mi.8A (4 Pf Spremberg official issue). Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.19A/B - 20A/B, Mi.21A/B - 22A/B Spremberg Reconstruction (III & IV) Mi.19A/B - Mi.20A/B Mi.19A. Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.19B. Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.20A (left edge). Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.20B. Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.19A/B - Mi.20A/B Mi.21A (lower left corner). Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.21B. Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.22A (upper edge). Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Mi.22B. Ref: 18.04.1946 - 16/91 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

31st August 1945 Post-war Luxembourg 31st August 1945 Post-war Luxembourg 31.08.1945 Luxembourg Liberation reverse.jpeg 31.08.1945 Luxembourg Liberation reverse.jpeg 1/1 Postcard postmarked in Wiltz with artwork depicting the events of 31st August 1942 when passive resistance resulted in a General Strike and the deaths of 21 strikers, over which is depicted 'liberation' and a new dawn. Ref: 31.08.1945 1942 Luxembourgish general strike Post-war Luxembourg Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

2nd October 1936 1/1 'The Hammer, that closes the open ring, expresses how the unfinished material is completed by the craft to the beautiful, the whole piece. The Malkreuz on the hammer indicated as ancient symbol creative action on the essence German craftsmanship towards ... oak leaf and acorn, which are arranged together with the hammer handle in the form of old Hagal-Rune, to the insertion of the craft in the folkish life order ... represent, the colours of the mark are blue in gold, blue is the colour of loyalty, stability and clarity, gold is the colour of perfection. With simplicity to perfection is the meaning of these colours.' From the Yearbook of German Craft, 1935 Better translation from original required Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

15th November 1945 15th November 1945 1/1 Self addressed envelope featuring stamps Mi.1 (Saw-Tooth) and Mi.6A (Perforated). Ref: 15.11.1945 Item found within the present envelope Receipt (12.43) Receipt (12.43) reverse

Mi.482-495 (04.-08.1933) Hindenburg Medallion Definitives 1/1 Mi.482-Mi.495 Definitives (Hindenburg Medallion) Notes: Design: Karl Goetz ('medallion' first used for the 1st Oct. 1932 Hindenburg issue - Mi.467-473). Letterpress printing (Rotary - Harper & Scheck). Sheets 10 x 10. Watermark: horizontal waffles (mesh). Perf. 14:14¼ (14:14½ - Harper & Scheck). Quantity issued: unknown. Valid until May 1945 Karl Goetz Born on June 28th, 1875, in Augsburg, Goetz attended the school of art in Augsburg, and continued his education in schools of art in Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, and Düsseldorf from 1895 to 1897. He then went to Utrecht, in Holland, and later to Le Locle, during the years 1897 to 1899, spent 5 years in Paris, and in 1904 moved to Munich. He grew to love this ancient city and it became his home. One of the proudest moments of Goetz's life came when the city of Munich awarded him rights as a citizen. He lived there for forty six years, until his death on 8th September 1950. Now an artist in his own field, Goetz led an active life, becoming a member of the Munich Artists Society, The Numismatic Society, The Antique Club of Munich, and The Austrian Association for Numismatics in Vienna. Nevertheless, Goetz managed to create over 800 medals. A great number of these medals are shown and possessed by the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin, the Münzkabinett in Munich, the Germanische Museum Nürnberg, and the Münzkabinetts Vienna, Grafenhage, and London. The Universitetets Myntkabinett in Oslo, Norway has 69 Goetz medals on display. There are also many medals which are owned by the American Numismatic Society in New York. Some of the largest private collections in the United States are the Saginaw Valley Collection, and, of course, the KarlGoetz.com Collection. Many of the medals made by Goetz were reduced in size to 60, 36, and 21 mm. The metal molds and steel dies were worked over and finished by Goetz himself, since he had gone through an engraver's apprenticeship in Augsburg. These medals were minted in bronze, silver, and gold by the Bayerisches Hauptmünzamt in Munich. One of the most common was the 'Hindenburg' 80th birthday commemorative, K-386, struck in silver and gold, Mintage figures of these medals exceeded one million struck. Hundreds of metal moulds and steel dies, which had been stored in the Hauptmünzamt in Munich, were rendered unserviceable by the bombings of World War II. Because of this portrait medal of Hindenburg, made in 1927, Goetz received the commission to design the Hindenburg postage stamp for the government in the year 1932. In 1946 Karl Goetz worked on his last medal, the great K-633, 'The German Passion.' On the reverse side is inscribed a passage taken from the Lord's prayer, 'Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.' On the other side the figure of a man, praying to Jesus Christ on the cross, resembles Goetz himself. This medal seems to have a wealth of symbolic meaning. One is reminded that Goetz and his fatherland, at the end of World War II in 1945, faced the question of what evil deeds had been committed during the fatal twelve years of the Hitler regime. This last medal by Goetz deserves recognition as the culmination of his lifework. It is fitting that his son Guido, who finished this medal due to his father's illness, changed the date from 1946, to 1950. It was an appropriate act to date this medal with Karl Goetz's year of death. Goetz was a man of genius who lived for his work. In the last years before his death, he had suffered from paralysis of the right hand; yet he continued his work as long as he was able. By the time of his death the right side of his body had become completely paralyzed. Karl Goetz died at the age of seventy-five on 8th September 1950. Source: karlgoetz.com Mi.482 (Apr.1933). Ref: 31.07.1933 Mi.482 (Apr. 1933) Printing error. Ref: 25.04.1935 - 28/64 Mi.483 (4 Pf) Mi.484 (Apr.1933). Ref: 07.06.1933 Mi.485 (Apr.1933). Ref: 30.01.1934 Mi.486 (10 Pf) Mi.487 (Apr.1933). Ref: 05.11.1933 Mi.488 (Aug.1933) Ref: 20.06.1934 Rare on cover. Could be Mi.520? Mi.489 (20 Pf) Mi.490 (30 Pf) Mi.491 (40 Pf) Mi.492 (50 Pf) Mi.493 (60 Pf) Mi.494 (80 Pf) Mi.495 (100 Pf) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

19th December 1939 Maison Vide/ Al Mittente 19th December 1939 Maison Vide/ Al Mittente 1/1 Cover sent from Milan (date cancel 19.12.1939) to a 'premises unoccupied' in London. Hand-stamped 'MAISON VIDE' (empty house) in violet together with date stamped (27.12.1939). Further hand-stamp 'AL MITTENTE' (return to sender) in black. Opened by British censor and resealed ('P.C. 66/ OPENED BY/ CENSOR/ 1193'). With Milan date stamp to reverse (08.01.1940). Note: It appears that 84 Oxford Street may have been destroyed during the blitz on London. Ref: 19.12.1940 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

18th October 1938 1/0 18th October 1938 Sarvar to 27 Queen Square, Bath Dear Madeleine! Many thanks for your letter. I don’t feel like writing at all, so please excuse me if it is going to be a stupid one. Your letter was laying on my writing desk for ages and I have to answer it. We are very busy choosing bridesmaids dresses. Muck and I are going to be bridesmaids a third time. There is a saying here, “Three times a bridesmaid will never make a bride”, I don’t feel frightened about it. My cousin Lucia of Bourbon-Sicile is going to be married to the Duke of Ancona, an Italian, cousin to the King. I am very excited about the wedding as the Italian Crown Prince is to be “best man”. There are a lot of Italians coming to that wedding and I can’t speak Italian except “Buona Notte”, which means “good night”. The wedding is going to be at Nymphenburg Palace again, where Deidi was too. I am looking forward to seeing Baby again at it, and Deidi too. Deidi and her husband are coming here for the shootings in November. Muck and I have got all our winter things now. It is great fun getting things. I always prefer buying things to having them made. You can judge much better trying them on. What have you decided for your evening gown? I have got 5 evening dresses, but you see, I wear the bridesmaids dresses for that too. I have got a wonderful blue woollen suit with a zip down the front. I’m sorry my drawing is so awful. I haven’t been at a dance for ages. During the shooting I want to gather some nice young people and dance. However, most of the young men are soldiers now. I wish they would stop threatening with the war. Here in Hungaria things don’t look very bright. I have given up worrying by now. It’s no use. Its high time for lunch. Fondest love Loll Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

6th March 1945 6th March 1945 1/1