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5th January 1942 1/3

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25th July 1946 25th July 1946 25.07.1946 US Civil Censorship reverse.jpeg 25.07.1946 US Civil Censorship reverse.jpeg 1/1 Cover sent from Hessen to an address in Linz. Featuring black/grey hand-stamp 'US CIVIL CENSORSHIP/ "B"/ FFM'. Postage stamp Mi.934. Ref: 25.07.1944 Contact Brief History to inform us of additonal information regarding this page

Education & Research establishments Education & Research establishments 1/1 Education and Research establishments Schools, Universities etc. Berlin Berlin Universitäts-Bibliothek see - 10.04.1937 Hanover Ratsgymnasium (and feature on schooling in Hanover) Karlsruhe Fichte-Gymnasium Ruttelerfeld (Zetel) Kreisschule der NSDAP Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

15th November 1942 Munster Lager Postcard depicting a view of Munster Lager. Reverse. Postcard depicting a view of Munster Lager. Reverse. 1/1 Postcard depicting a view of Munster Lager. Sent via Feldpost from an unknown soldier. Ref: 15.11.1942 - 22/67 Munster Lager The Munster Training Area (German: Truppenübungsplatz Munster ) is a military training area in Germany on the Lüneburg Heath. It comprises two separate areas with different purposes: Munster North ( Munster-Nord ) (size: 102 square kilometres (39 sq mi)) and Munster South ( Munster-Süd ) (size: 74 square kilometres (29 sq mi)). The two areas are separated geographically by the town of Munster and several barracks. When the military training area was established a camp or Lager was built about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the town centre which became known as Munsterlager. Between Munster North and South there is a road corridor to the nearby training area of Bergen-Hohne over which exercising troops can transfer from one area to the other. There are many rare and endangered plant species on this terrain today that thrive in the environment created by the training area. The Landesschützen-Bataillon 675. The Rifle was formed on 8th April 1940 in Wehrkreis X. After its formation, the battalion was subordinated to Division z.b.V. 410. From 18th June 1940 to 25th July 1940, the battalion formed the III Battalion of the Landesschützen-Regiment 105, which was subordinated to the Division z.b.V. 460 and deployed in Denmark. The battalion was then transferred back to Lüneburg, also Wehrkreis X, and renamed Landesschützen-Bataillon z.b.V. 675 again. From 9th August 1940, the battalion was again subordinated to Division z.b.V. 410. In 1941, the battalion was stationed in Munsterlager, also Wehrkreis X . In November 1941, the battalion was transferred to the east. There, the battalion was alternately subordinated to the Wehrmacht Commander Ostland and the Army Group Centre. From the beginning of 1943, the battalion also had a 4th (East) Company. In June 1944, the battalion was deployed on the Berezina. There it was also destroyed and disbanded by Army Group Centre that month. Postcard ref: 10.11.1941 - 22/68 In 1916 the so-called Breloh Camp ( Breloh-Lager ) was built in north Munster by a regiment of gas warfare engineers (‘Gaspionier-Regiment’). In January 1917 the Prussian War Office issued an order for the construction of a facility for gas munitions. Gasplatz Breloh was built on a piece of land about 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) in size in the Raubkammer Forest (part of the present-day Munster North Training Area). Three factories were erected for the manufacture of chemical war material and associated munitions. Production began as early as July that year and, by the end of the First World War in 1918 extensive facilities had been built, the majority of which were working. At the end of the war in 1918 the Gasplatz held about 48,000 tonnes (47,000 long tons; 53,000 short tons) of chemical munitions, several thousand tonnes of chemically-filled captured munitions and 40 tank wagons of unfilled chemicals. These supplies were sunk in the North Sea and the Baltic. During the preparations for this there was a tragic accident on 24th October 1919. A train laden with chemical weapons and munitions exploded. Apart from the Clarkwerk factory and the power station almost the entire facility was destroyed, a total of 42 buildings. Chemical grenades were catapulted for miles around and clouds of poison gas threatened the surrounding villages, some having to be evacuated. Many houses in the surrounding area were badly damaged. In addition to the immediate victims of the explosion there were numerous deaths in the months that followed. Feldpost cover from Munster Lager. The briefstempel reads,'Stellv. Gen Kdo' (Representative of the Headquarters), 'X.A.K.' (X Army Corps), 'Wehrkreiskommando X' (Military District X). The briefstempel being applied by the offices of the Commander of the Training Center at Munster lager, which was directly subordinate to X Army Corps. Ref: 21.08.1943 The terrain was supposed to be cleared by 1925. Roughly 1,000 workers combed the surface of the land out to a radius of 3 km (1.9 mi) from the explosion site. There was no detection equipment at that time. A considerable quantity of chemical munitions remained live. In 1921 the Hamburg firm of Stolzenberg took over the work that had been previously carried out by König and Evaporator AG. Stolzenberg established a chemical incineration facility and a site to convert chlorine gas and diphosgene. The latter installation exploded on being taken into service in April 1922. In spite of everything, clearance work was completed in 1925 and the remaining facilities were blown up at the behest of the Allies. In 1935 the Wehrmacht opened Breloh again as a Weapon Testing and Firing Site ( Kampfstoffversuchs- und Geschützübungsplatz ). The plan was for an overall split of 15% chemical and 85% explosive munitions. The chemical weapons were to be filled with mustard gas ( Lost ) and phenacyl chloride. The 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) or so of the old Gasplatz were transferred in 1934 to the Reich Defence Ministry and were expanded through purchases and expropriation to about 10,200 hectares (25,000 acres). The whole complex, which was largely built between 1935 and 1938, was called the Munster North Army Testing Facility ( Heeresversuchstelle Munster-Nord ), often referred to as the Raubkammer Army Testing Facility. The main purpose of the facility was the testing of chemical weapons that had been developed in Berlin at the Army Chemical Defence Laboratory in Spandau Citadel ( Heeresgasschutzlaboratorium Zitadelle Spandau ). No. 9 Weapon Testing Office of the Army Weapons Office ( Heereswaffenamt ) and the Army Chemical Defence Laboratory moved at the beginning of March 1945 from Berlin to Munster (Örtze), due to air raids, and carried on working there until the end of the Second World War. An extensive range of tests were carried out on a wide variety of shells of various calibres, as well as on mines, projectiles, bombs (up to 500 kg (1,100 lb)) and spray equipment. The substances tried included arsenic oil, hydrogen cyanide, mustard gas ( Lost ), Tabun, Sarin, cyanogen chloride, phenacyl chloride, Adamsite, Aeroform, Excelsior (10-chlor-9,10-dihydroacridarsin) and many others. Chemical munitions were filled at the so-called 'fog-filling point' ( Nebelfüllstelle ), which had a tank capacity for about 3,000 t (3,000 long tons; 3,300 short tons) of chemical. At this filling point there was a large underground facility that was partly linked with walkways. During a spraying demonstration by the Luftwaffe on 8th September 1944, a Do-217E-3 crashed, killing all those on board. The facilities were mostly disguised as 'simple' bunker complexes or as houses in rural style. A network of railway branches linked the individual parts of the site with one another. There was also a link to the Reichsbahn network. Following occupation of the site by British forces in 1945 almost all the chemical installations were demolished in the succeeding years and most of the stocks of chemicals were also destroyed. In spite of that, it has left a dangerous legacy behind which is one of the largest areas of residual contamination caused by armaments in Germany. Since April 1956 there has been intensive work to clear the pollution. Today this is the responsibility of the specialist Group for Chemical Weapon Clearance ( Gruppe für Kampfmittelbeseitigung ), the Chemical Defence Research Establishment ( Wehrwissenschaftliches Institut für Schutztechnologien ) and the federal Chemical Weapon and Armament Pollution Disposal Company ( Gesellschaft zur Entsorgung chemischer Kampfstoffe und Rüstungsaltlasten ). Source: Wikipedia (2025) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

4th June 1942 Andritz bei Graz 04.06.1942 Andritz reverse.jpeg 04.06.1942 Andritz reverse.jpeg 1/1 Postcard depicting a view of Andritz bei Graz. Ref: 04.06.1942 Andritz bei Graz From: Diepresse.com April 2015. It is spring in Graz. People are drawn to the outdoors and many do sports. One of the most popular leisure routes is the Murpromenade. The people of Graz walk, skate or cycle along the Mur in the south of the city towards Liebenau, past the soap factory, small allotments, tennis courts and the Puchsteg, not far from the Liebenau stadium. April 1945. The Second World War is almost over in Europe. National Socialism once again showed itself to be truly violent in the last weeks of the war. Fanatical Nazis are herding forced laborers - mostly Hungarian Jews who previously had to do entrenching work - into a camp near today's Liebenau stadium, exactly where allotments and tennis courts are today. Liebenau Stadium and environs The prisoners began their final journey from the Graz-Liebenau camp: to the Mauthausen concentration camp. “The march started from Liebenau and became a death march. However, the camp staff executed the sick, weak and those unable to transport directly on site,” says Helmut Konrad, professor of contemporary history at the University of Graz and plenary participant at the conference “The Camp Graz” organized by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute (LBI) for research into the consequences of war. Liebenau” on April 28th in the Glockenspielhaus Graz. The collection camp remained unexplored for a long time, partly because the site's Nazi past was quickly suppressed after the war. It was only Rainer Possert, a doctor who practices in Liebenau, who did valuable memorial work on a private initiative and also brought the LBI on board. The first prisoners lost their lives in Andritz , north of Graz. Many more were to follow, dramatically many at Präbichl, near Eisenerz. In total, around 23,000 people died - that's one and a half times the sold-out Liebenau stadium - as a result of these events. “Residents of Styria and Lower Austria – from where prisoners also marched towards Mauthausen – saw for the first time emaciated people being brutally driven through the country,” says Konrad. Many Austrians showed a surprising amount of charity. They gave the prisoners something like bread. They hid some too. Most Austrians saw the Nazi horror for the first time. People saw the dying and the killing. That was the first thing that opened many eyes. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Spanish Civil War. Commercial cover sent from Bilbao to Leipzig. Featuring a 'Censuro Militar' hand-stamp and propaganda cachet. ref: 13.04.1938 - 16/57 13th April 1938 SCW - Bilbao 13.04.1938 - 16_57 Bilbao reverse.jpeg 13.04.1938 - 16_57 Bilbao reverse.jpeg 1/1 Spanish Civil War. Commercial cover sent from Bilbao to Leipzig. Featuring a 'Censuro Militar' hand-stamp and propaganda cachet. ref: 13.04.1938 - 16/57 Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of more than 347,000 as of 2023. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it the most populous metropolitan area in northern Spain; with a population of 875,552, the comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region. The Spanish Civil War in Bilbao started with a number of small uprisings suppressed by the Republican forces. On 31st August 1936, the city suffered its first bombing, with a series of air bombs dropped by Nationalist airplanes. In September, the Nationalists distributed pamphlets threatening further bombing if the city did not give up, which finally took place on 25th September when German planes, in coordination with Francoist forces, dropped at least a hundred bombs on the city. In May 1937, the Nationalist army besieged the town. The battle lasted until 19th June of that year, when Lieutenant Colonel Putz was ordered to destroy all bridges over the estuary, and the troops of the 5th Brigade took the borough from the mountains Malmasin, Pagasarri, and Arnotegi. With the war over, Bilbao returned to its industrial development, accompanied by steady population growth. In the 1940s, the city was rebuilt, starting with the bridges and by 1948, the first commercial flight took off from the local airport. Over the next decade, there was a revival of the iron industry, which became a strategic industrial sector in Spain, as a consequence of the economic model promoted by Francoism. The city received migrants from other Spanish regions looking to work in the iron industry. The demand for housing outstripped supply, and workers built slums on the hillsides. It was in this context that the first social movements arose and the strike of the Euskalduna shipyard in 1947 was the first one to take place during the Francoist dictatorship In this environment of social repression, on 31st July 1959 the separatist organisation ETA was created from Basque nationalist movements. During the 1960s the city was the scenario of several urban projects, with the creation of new neighbourhoods like Otxarkoaga and the motorway to the French border. In June 1968 the University of Bilbao, the first public university, was established. It would later be integrated into the University of the Basque Country. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

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1st July 1946 1st July 1946 1/1 Cover and enclosed letters with mismatched correspondents and dates (Captain Kenneth B. Gundry being identified as Captain Charles Gundry)... with a heartfelt letter from former Camp Grant POW Wilhelm Struckmann. Together with a copy reply from 'Hauptmann' Gundry. Ref: 01.07.1946 - 13/5 Enclosed letter and copy reply Letter from Wilhelm Struckmann to Captain Charles Gundry, dated 1st July 1946. Copy of the reply sent by 'Kenneth B. Gundry, Hauptmann, Infantry' to Wilhelm Struckmann, dated 19th August 1946

5th October 1933 1/2 Postcard Mi.P281/I with special cancel - Bochmann: Zwickau9 (Sachsen) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

17th August 1937 SCW - Tenerife 17th August 1937 SCW - Tenerife 17.08.1937 Tenerife front.jpeg 17.08.1937 Tenerife front.jpeg 1/1 Spanish Civil War. Postcard sent from Tenerife to an address in Scotland. Featuring a military censor hand-stamp for 'Santa Cruz de Tenerife'. Ref: 17.08.1937 Santa Cruz de Tenerife General Francisco Franco was not made the Military Governor of the Canary Islands in March 1936 without reason. He was a thorn in the flesh of the newly elected republican government in Madrid. So some bright spark thought of sending him out of harm’s way to the far flung Canary Islands. Franco chose Tenerife as his headquarters. He spent the next few months, if not dodging bullets, at least wary of assassination. In the meantime the anarchists and communists of the republican movement had turned against the Catholic Church and acts of vandalism against the churches were increasing throughout Spain. Over lunch at Simpsons-in-the-Strand in Piccadilly, Douglas Jerrold, the Conservative Roman Catholic editor of the English Review met with a fellow journalist, Luis BolÃn, London correspondent of the monarchist ABC newspaper of Madrid. They were hatching a daring plot. Speed was of the essence. Jerrold knew of just the man to carry this out. Major Hugh Pollard had retired from the army and was living a quiet life in the English countryside writing books and employed by the Country Life magazine as sports editor. He and Jerrold were old friends and both men belonged to well established Catholic families. Jerrold spoke of the plan. He told Pollard that they were looking for someone to take charge of a small plane which was to land in the Canary Islands. The plane would then be used by General Franco to fly to Spanish Morocco. The mission would have to be top secret. The flight would be registered as a pleasure trip and to add some credence to this, Jerrold suggested that a couple of girls should join the party. Jerrold and Bolin had already organised the plane, a DH-89 Dragon Rapide chartered to the British company Olley Air Service at Croydon Airport. The pilot was to be Captain Cecil Bebb. Pollard had to move quickly. Surprisingly he engaged the services of his 19 year old daughter, Diana, and a friend Dorothy Watson to act as his fellow joy-riders. The plane took off from Croydon airport, near London on July 11th 1936. Pleasure trip? It was less than 10 years since Lindbergh had flown the Atlantic. In order to avoid Spanish air space they flew by way of Biarritz, Oporto, Lisbon and Casablanca. The last hop was from Cape Juby to Gran Canaria. Pollard and the girls caught the ferry to Tenerife and booked into the Hotel Pino de Oro. Pollard had been given a password in order to convince Franco of their authenticity and was instructed to proceed to the Clinica Costa in Santa Cruz and ask for Dr. Gabarda. The password was Galicia saluda a Francia (Galicia greets France). Gabarda paid no attention, possibly because Pollard pronounced this badly. However, the password written down, according to Bolin, was Galicia saluda a Franco (Galicia greets Franco) which makes much more sense as Franco was born in Galicia. Pollard told a reporter three years later that, when he gave the password, Gabarda looked scared to death. No wonder – he’d been confronted with an incorrect password. Pollard was told to return to the hotel and wait until he was contacted. This happened almost immediately and Pollard confirmed to Captain Bebb he was to take the new passengers on to Tetuan in Spanish Morocco. To maintain a semblance of normality, just before he left Tenerife, Franco played golf with Mrs Moore, the wife of the director of Fyffes. Franco made his escape. He took over the Spanish Army of Africa which heralded the start of the Spanish Civil War. Hugh Pollard was an experienced member of the British secret services being a firearms expert who had served in wars and revolutions in Ireland, Mexico and Morocco, sometimes posing as a journalist. He spoke Spanish fluently. His comical lack of the command of the language must have been part of the act. Luis Bolin described Pollard in his memoir of the venture as a bluff officer type who spoke no Spanish. Pollard’s friend Douglas Jerrold was also a leading figure in MI6. Had the plot failed especially in these tempestuous times, Pollard and company would probably have been shot. The Catholic connection would have been too brittle to escape death, but it served to deceive their co-plotters ““ the Spanish monarchists. But why on earth did this man include his daughter in such a dangerous mission? My only guess is that she had joined the service. I can find no record of how they returned to Britain. Captain Cecil Bebb also came across as being a simple adventurer. He lived to be 97 and in a television interview in 1983 declared that he had been 'approached by a gentleman from Spain, who asked me if I was prepared to go to the Canary Islands to get a Riff leader who was to start an insurrection in Spanish Morocco. I thought what a delightful idea, what a great adventure.' Who are you kidding, Captain Bebb? Both Pollard and Bebb were awarded medals by Franco at the end of the Civil War. Source: tenerifemagazine.com Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page