Search Results

POW Camps in India POW Camps in India 07.10.1944 Bombay Censor DP4.7 reverse.jpeg 07.10.1944 Bombay Censor DP4.7 reverse.jpeg 1/1 Letter-sheet sent from Italy to Camp 26, Yol, India. Ref: 07.10.1944 POW Camps in India Group I – Bangalore: Camps 1 to 8 - Italian prisoners. Group II – Bhopal: Camps 9 to 16 – Italian prisoners. Camp 16 was a hospital. Group III – Ramgarh: Camps 17 to 20 – German Civil Internees and later Italian prisoners. Had a punishment camp for difficult Italian pows. Group IV - Clement Town (Dehradun): Camps 21 to 24 – Separated in Wings 1: pro-Nazi, 2: anti-Nazi, 3: Italians. One of the camps was a Central Internment Camp. Group V – Yol: Camps 25 to 28 – Italian prisoners. CAMP 26 CAMP 27 Camp 27 - Postcard (138 x 85mm), with pre-printed address panel, sent to an address in Italy (also see above: 28.09.1942). Ref: 08.08.1943 Group VI – Bikaner: Camp 29 – Japanese prisoners. It was also a punishment camp for difficult Italian pows. Central Internment Camp (Dehradun/ Premnagar): This was mixed civilian internment and prisoner-of-war camp. Italian prisoners of war and German civilian internees housed in separate camps. Wing 1 and Wong 6 held German internees. Delhi – Japanese Camp: Delhi housed the Japanese prisoners captured in Burma. Deoli – Civil Internment Camp: Deoli housed German civilian internees and Japanese civilian internees. It was also a punishment colony for Germans. Link to an excellent website detailing the currency coupons issed by each cam p Contact Brief History to inform us of additonal information regarding this page

4th June 1939 Nuremberg Zeppelin Field 4th June 1939 Nuremberg Zeppelin Field 1/0 See 04.06.1939 - 24/48 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

16th December 1941 Oflag V-A 16th December 1941 Oflag V-A Screenshot 2021-11-27 at 09.29.50.png Screenshot 2021-11-27 at 09.29.50.png 1/1 Oflag V-A Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

11th February 1939 Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge 11th February 1939 Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge 1/1 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? 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

24th March 1940 Rudolf A. Wendl 1/1 Portrait photograph of film actor Rudolf A. Wendl. Ref: 24.03.1940 Little is known about Wendl. More research required. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

23rd September 1945 23rd September 1945 British Zone postcard (Mi.P792IIa) with imprint 'WSS' within a circle and '6.45'. The 'WSS' denotes the printer W. Sandmeyer, Schwerin. Note: lower case 'p' in 'prepaid'. Uppercase 'P' version has a much higher value. 1/0

26th September 1940 26.09.1940 Hans Bar Briefmarken.jpeg 26.09.1940 Hans Bar Briefmarken reverse.jpeg 26.09.1940 Hans Bar Briefmarken.jpeg 1/2 Cover sent from Hans Bär in Rumburg to an address in Bonn (with additional manuscript text with an 'Adolf Hitler Platz' address). Featuring danzig definitive overprint Mi.724. RefL 26.09.1940 - 13/11

Postcard depicting 'Reichspräsident von Hindenburg' written and posted just two days after his death. The photograph, Martin Höhlig, has dated the image '1933'. A short biography of Höhlig can be found at the bottom of this page. Ref: 04.08.1934 4th August 1934 Paul von Hindenburg 1/1 Postcard depicting 'Reichspräsident von Hindenburg' written and posted just two days after his death. The photograph, Martin Höhlig, has dated the image '1933'. A short biography of Höhlig can be found at the bottom of this page. Ref: 04.08.1934 Paul von Hindenburg (1847 - 1934) Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1847-1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I. He later became president of Germany from 1925 until his death. During his presidency, he played a key role in the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933 when, under pressure from his advisers, he appointed Adolf Hitler as chancellor of Germany. By January 1932, at the age of 84, Hindenburg was vacillating about running for a second term. Brüning recalled that once the president came to meet him at the railway station, but failed to recognise him. On the other hand, Franz von Papen, a later chancellor, found that despite minor lapses the president remained competent until his last days. Hindenburg was persuaded to run by the Kamarilla, and supported by the Centre Party, the Deutsche Volkspartei (DVP) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which regarded him as the only hope of defeating Hitler. His fighting spirit was evoked by Nazi taunts when he appeared in public and in a few weeks three million Germans signed a petition urging him to carry on. Brüning proposed to the Reichstag that in light of the still-escalating economic disaster — now some of the largest banks had failed — the election should be postponed for two years, which would have required a two-thirds assent, to which the Nazis would never agree. Hitler was to be one of his opponents in the election. Hindenburg left most campaigning to others; in his single radio address he stressed the need for unity. 'I recall the spirit of 1914, and the mood at the front, which asked about the man, and not about his class or party.' Hitler campaigned vigorously throughout Germany. In the first round of voting in March 1932, Hindenburg was front-runner, but failed to gain the required majority. In the runoff the following month Hindenburg won with 53 percent of the vote. However, he was disappointed because he lost voters from the right, only winning by the support of those who had strongly opposed him seven years before. He wrote 'Despite all the blows in the neck I have taken, I will not abandon my efforts for a healthy move to the Right'. He called in the party leaders for advice. During the meetings Meissner led the discussions while Hindenburg would only speak briefly on crucial points. Schleicher took the lead in choosing the cabinet, in which he was Reichswehr Minister. Groener was now even more unpopular to the right because he had banned wearing party uniforms in public. On 13th May 1932 Schleicher told Groener that he had 'lost the confidence of the Army' and must resign at once. Once Groener was gone, the ban was lifted and the Nazi brownshirts were back battling on the streets. To cope with mounting unemployment, Brüning desperately wanted an emergency decree to launch a program in which bankrupt estates would be carved up into small farms and turned over to unemployed settlers. When they met, Hindenburg read a statement that there would be no further decrees and insisted that the cabinet resign and that there must be a turn to the right. Brüning resigned on 1st June 1932. He was succeeded as chancellor by Papen from the Centre Party, who was Schleicher's choice; Hindenburg did not even ask the party leaders for advice. He was delighted with Papen, a rich, smooth aristocrat who had been a famous equestrian and a general staff officer; he soon became a Hindenburg family friend (Schleicher was no longer welcomed because he had quarrelled with Oskar). The president was delighted to find that eight members of the new cabinet had served as officers during the war. The Social Democratic government of the State of Prussia was a caretaker, because it had lost its mandate in the preceding election. In his new role as chancellor, Papen accused it of failing to maintain public order, and removed it as the Prussian government on 20th July in what came to be known as the Prussian coup d'état. The national elections came eleven days later. Eight parties received substantial numbers of votes, but those supporting the government lost strength, while opponents on the right and left gained. The Nazis polled almost the same 37 percent they had in the presidential election, making them the largest party in the Reichstag. Schleicher negotiated with them, proposing that Hitler become vice-chancellor. Hitler demanded the chancellorship along with five cabinet positions and important posts in the state governments; additionally the Reichstag would have to pass an Enabling act giving a new government all needed powers, otherwise it would be dissolved. Around the country Nazi stormtroopers were running riot, attacking their political opponents. Hindenburg refused to make Hitler chancellor, so he met with Hitler to explain that he was unwilling to bring a single party to power, concluding with 'I want to extend my hand to you as a fellow soldier.' The following morning he left for Neudeck; most of the newspapers praised his defence of the constitution. The constitution mandated a new election within sixty days, but owing to the crisis Hindenburg postponed it. Papen published an economic recovery plan that almost all of the parties and the labor unions lambasted. His scant support crumbled further. To add enough votes to gain a parliamentary mandate, Schleicher tried to persuade some of the Nazi leaders, like the war hero Hermann Göring, to defect and to take a position in his government. None of them would, so he became another presidential chancellor, still courting prominent Nazis—otherwise his days as chancellor were numbered. Papen continued to negotiate with Hitler, who moderated his conditions: he would settle for the chancellorship, the Reich Commissioner of Prussia and two cabinet positions: interior and a new slot for aviation. He also promised that he would respect the rights of the president, the Reichstag and the press, and Papen would be vice-chancellor. On these terms, Hindenburg allowed Oskar and Meissner to meet secretly with Hitler, culminating in an hour's tête-à-tête between Hitler and Oskar. Schleicher learned of the secret meeting and the following morning met with the president to demand emergency powers and the dissolution of the Reichstag. Hindenburg refused the powers but agreed to the election. Before a new government could be formed Hindenburg called General Werner von Blomberg, an opponent of Schleicher, back from a disarmament conference and appointed him Reichswehr minister, perhaps unaware that he was a Nazi sympathiser. To break the stalemate, Hindenburg proposed Hitler as chancellor, Papen as vice-chancellor and Reich commissioner of Prussia, and Göring as Prussian interior minister (who controlled the police). Two other cabinet ministers would be Nazis; the remaining eight would be from other parties. When Hindenburg met with Hitler, Papen would always be present. The new cabinet included only three Nazis: Hitler, Göring and Wilhelm Frick. Besides Hitler, Frick was the only Nazi with a portfolio; he held the nearly powerless Interior Ministry (unlike the rest of Europe, at the time the Interior Ministry had no power over the police, which was the responsibility of the Länder ). Göring did not receive a portfolio, but critically was made Prussian interior minister, controlling the largest police force in which he promoted Nazis as commanders. Blomberg was Reichswehr minister, Hugenberg was both economics and agriculture minister, and Seldte (the leader of the first World War ex-servicemen's organization Der Stahlhelm ) was labor minister. The other ministers were holdovers from the Papen and Schleicher cabinets. Hitler's first act as chancellor was to ask Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag, so that the Nazis and Deutschnationale Volkspartei ('German Nationalists' or DNVP) could win an outright majority to pass the Enabling Act that would give the new government power to rule by decree, supposedly for the next four years. Unlike laws passed by Article 48, which could be cancelled by a majority in the Reichstag , under the Enabling Act the chancellor could pass laws by decree that could not be cancelled by a vote in the Reichstag . Hindenburg agreed to this request. In early February 1933, Papen asked for and received an Article 48 bill signed into law that sharply limited freedom of the press. After the Reichstag fire on 27th February, Hindenburg, at Hitler's urging, signed into law the Reichstag Fire Decree via Article 48, which effectively suspended all civil liberties in Germany. Göring as Prussian Interior Minister had enlisted thousands of Sturmabteilung (SA) men as auxiliary policemen, who attacked political opponents of the Nazis, with Communists and Social Democrats being singled out for particular abuse. Fritz Schäffer, a conservative Catholic and a leading politician of the Bavarian People's Party met Hindenburg on 17th February 1933 to complain about the ongoing campaign of terror against the SPD. Schäffer told Hindenburg: 'We reject the notion that millions of Germans are not to be designated as national. The socialists served in the trenches and will serve in the trenches again. They voted for the banner of Hindenburg... I know many socialists who have earned acclaim for their service to Germany; I need only mention the name of Ebert.' Hindenburg, who had always hated the Social Democrats, rejected Schäffer's appeal, saying that the SPD were 'traitors' who had 'stabbed the Fatherland in the back' in 1918, and who could never belong to the volksgemeinschaft . Therefore, the Nazis had his full support in their campaign against the Social Democrats. Hindenburg disliked Hitler, but he approved of his efforts to create the Volksgemeinschaft . For Hindenburg, the 'Government of National Concentration' headed by Hitler was the fulfilment of what he had been seeking since 1914, the creation of the Volksgemeinschaft . Despite the ensuing anti-red hysteria, the Nazis received only 44% of the vote, though with the support of the DNVP they had a majority in the Reichstag. Hitler soon obtained Hindenburg's confidence, promising that after Germany regained full sovereignty, the monarchy would be restored; after a few weeks Hindenburg no longer asked Papen to join their meetings. The opening of the new Reichstag was celebrated with a Nazi extravaganza: Hindenburg descended into the crypt of the old garrison church in Potsdam to commune with the spirit of Frederick the Great at his grave, attended by Hitler who saluted the president as 'the custodian of the new rise of our people.' An Enabling Act was prepared that transferred law-making from the Reichstag to the government, even if the new laws violated the constitution. With the Communist deputies and many Social Democrats kept out of the chamber (in violation of Articles 36 and 37 of the constitution), the Reichstag passed the act with well more than the needed two-thirds majority, effectively ending the Republic. As it turned out, that meeting took place in such an intimidating atmosphere that the Enabling Act would have garnered the required supermajority even with all deputies present and voting. During 1933 and 1934, Hitler was very aware that Hindenburg was the only check on his power. With the passage of the Enabling Act and the banning of all parties except the Nazis, Hindenburg's power to sack the chancellor was the only means by which Hitler could be legally removed from office. Given that Hindenburg was still a popular war hero and a revered figure in the Reichswehr , there was little doubt that the Reichswehr would side with Hindenburg if he ever decided to sack Hitler. Thus, as long as Hindenburg was alive, Hitler was always very careful to avoid offending him or the Army. Although Hindenburg was in increasingly bad health, the Nazis made sure that whenever Hindenburg did appear in public it was in Hitler's company. During these appearances, Hitler always made a point of showing him the utmost respect and deference. Economic austerity was abandoned as Hitler poured money into new programs hiring the unemployed, buying armaments, and building infrastructure—especially roads and autobahns . Within a year, unemployment fell by almost 40%. Hitler gained the support of the armed forces by promising to rebuild their strength. The German states were taken over by the national government, the labor unions were suppressed, political opponents were imprisoned, and Jews were ejected from the civil service which included the universities. Hindenburg only objected about the treatment of Jews; he wanted war veterans retained, to which Hitler acceded. When Hitler moved to eject Hugenberg from the cabinet and to suppress the political parties, a trusted colleague of Hugenberg's was sent to Neudeck to appeal for assistance but only met with Oskar. Hindenburg delayed the appointment of one Nazi Gauleiter , but failed to obtain the installation of a Lutheran bishop he favored. The honor guard at Neudeck now were storm troopers. On 27th August at the stirring ceremonies at Tannenberg the president was presented with two large East Prussian properties near Neudeck. On the night before the plebiscite on Nazi rule scheduled for 11th November 1933, Hindenburg appealed to the voters to support their president and their chancellor, 95.1% of those voting did so. When a new commander of the army was to be appointed the president's choice won out over the chancellor's, but Hindenburg accepted a change in the military oath that eliminated obedience to the president and placed the swastika on military uniforms. By summer 1934, Hindenburg was dying of metastasised bladder cancer and his correspondence was dominated by complaints of Nazi stormtroopers running amok. In the autumn of 1933, a group of Hindenburg's friends led by General August von Cramon asked Hindenburg to restore the monarchy. Hindenburg replied: 'Of course, I recognise your fidelity to our Kaiser, King and Lord without reservation. But precisely because I share this sentiment, I must urgently warn against the step you plan to take... The domestic crisis is not yet completely over, and foreign powers will have a hard time imagining me on the sidelines if it comes to a restoration of the monarchy... To say this is unbelievably painful for me.' During the summer of 1934, Hindenburg grew increasingly alarmed at Nazi excesses. With his support, Papen gave a speech at the University of Marburg on 17th June calling for an end to state terror and the restoration of some freedoms. When Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels got wind of it, he not only canceled a scheduled tape-delayed broadcast of the speech, but ordered the seizure of newspapers in which part of the text was printed. Papen was furious, telling Hitler that he was acting as a 'trustee' of Hindenburg, and that a 'junior minister' like Goebbels had no right to silence him. He resigned and immediately notified Hindenburg about what happened. Hindenburg was equally outraged, and told Blomberg to give Hitler an ultimatum—unless Hitler took steps to end the growing tension in Germany and in the SA, Hindenburg would sack him, declare martial law and turn the government over to the army. Not long afterward, Hitler carried out the Night of the Long Knives, in which the SA's leaders were murdered, for which he received Hindenburg's personal thanks in a telegram. A day later, Hindenburg learned that Schleicher and his wife had been gunned down in their home; Hitler apologized, claiming that Schleicher had drawn a pistol. During the Nuremberg Trials, Göring admitted the telegram was never seen by Hindenburg, and was actually written by the Nazis. Hindenburg remained in office until his death at the age of 86 from lung cancer at his home in Neudeck , East Prussia, on 2nd August 1934. The day before, Hitler received word that Hindenburg was on his deathbed. He then had the cabinet pass the 'Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich', which stipulated that upon Hindenburg's death, the office of president would be abolished and its powers merged with those of the chancellor under the title of Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor of the Reich). Two hours after Hindenburg's death, it was announced that as a result of this law, Hitler was now both Germany's head of state and head of government, thereby eliminating the last remedy by which he could be legally dismissed and cementing his status as the absolute dictator of Germany. Publicly, Hitler announced that the presidency was "inseparably united" with Hindenburg, and it would not be appropriate for the title to ever be used again. In truth, Hitler had known as early as April 1934 that Hindenburg would likely not survive the year. He worked feverishly to get the armed forces—the only group in Germany that would be nearly powerful enough to remove him with Hindenburg dead—to support his bid to become head of state after Hindenburg's death. In a meeting aboard the Deutschland on 11th April with Blomberg, army commander Werner von Fritsch and naval commander Erich Raeder, Hitler publicly proposed that he himself succeed Hindenburg. In return for the armed forces' support, he agreed to suppress the SA and promised that the armed forces would be the only bearers of arms in Germany under his watch. Raeder agreed right away, but Fritsch withheld his support until 18th May, when the senior generals unanimously agreed to back Hitler as Hindenburg's successor. According to Günther von Tschirschky und Bögendorff, an interwar German diplomat and associate of Hindenburg who later defected to the United Kingdom, President Paul Von Hindenburg's last will and testament had criticised the Nazis and supported democracy. The defector said that it had also argued for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy with clear separation of powers along with the abolition of all forms of racial and religious discrimination. He alleged that the document had been handed over to Hitler by Hindenburg's Nazi supporting son. A few days after his death the Nazis released their own version of Hindenburg's final 'political testament' which was complimentary of Hitler. Hitler had a plebiscite held on 19th August 1934, in which the German people were asked if they approved of Hitler taking the office of Führer . The Ja (Yes) vote amounted to 90% of the vote. This referendum, as well as all efforts to make Hitler Hindenburg's successor, violated the Enabling Act. Although it gave Hitler the right to pass laws that were contrary to the constitution, it stated that the president's powers were to remain 'undisturbed', which has long been interpreted to forbid any attempt to tamper with the presidency. The constitution had also previously been amended in 1932 to make the president of the High Court of Justice, not the chancellor, first in the line of succession to the presidency and even then only on an interim basis until fresh elections. 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 [ link to 'PUNCH' magazine cartoon ] . In January 1945, German troops blew up the memorial. In 1949, Polish authorities razed the site, leaving few traces. His remains were temporarily interred in Thuringia along with the remains of Frederick the Great, Frederick William I, the standards of the Imperial German Army from 1914 to 1918, the files of the Foreign Office, artworks from Prussian state museums, the library of Sanssouci and the Prussian crown jewels. By April 1945, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section of the United States Army uncovered the remains and transported them to Marburg, where they were interred in St. Elizabeth's Church in Marburg, where they remain to this day. A plaque on his grave only commemorates the victims of war and violence, without mentioning Hindenburg's name. Source: Wikipedia Martin Höhlig (1882-1948) Around 1920, Höhlig founded his own studio in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz, at Bellevuestrasse 21. The prominent photographer Nicola Perscheid also had his studio on the same street. The noble, prominent location of the studio and his excellent contacts with well-known personalities of social life identify him as a photographer of the upper class of society. From 1933 to 1937, Höhlig was a member and photographer of the Association for the History of Berlin. In 1937, all members of Jewish origin were excluded. In the same year, Höhlig also left the association. It is assumed that he was branded a 'friend of the Jews' and ostracised because of the Jewish personalities he portrayed and the comprehensive depiction of Jewish business life in his photographic work, so that he voluntarily left the association or was also excluded. After the war, Höhlig's life and that of so many other artists was marked by a lack of prospects and stagnation. A lack of commissions meant he could barely make a living. He increasingly fell into depression. On 17th December 1948, he committed suicide. He shot himself in his apartment at Havelstrasse 15 in Charlottenburg. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

1st March 1942 Gino Boccasile 1/1 'Cartolina Postale per le Forze Armate' propaganda postcard illustrated by Gino Boccasile depicting German and Italian 'Brothers in Arms'. Ref: 01.03.1942 Gino Boccasile Gino Boccasile (1901-1952) was an Italian illustrator. Born in Bari, Boccasile was the son of a perfumer. Early in his youth, he lost his left eye by having it struck by a splash of quicklime while he was drinking from a fountain. Nonetheless, he showed a precocious aptitude for design and completed studies at the fine art school of his hometown. After the death of his father in 1925, he moved to Milan. Despite some initial difficulties, he eventually gained a post at the Mauzan-Morzenti Agency. Over the next few years, he produced posters, illustrated fashion magazines and gained fame for his sensuous renderings of the female form. Following the lead of fellow poster artist Achille Mauzan, Boccasile went to Buenos Aires, where he met his future spouse Alma Corsi. In 1932, he moved to Paris, where an issue of 'Paris Tabou' was dedicated to his work. He also participated in the Salon des Indépendants, that same year. Shortly after returning to Milan, he opened a publicity agency called ACTA, in Galleria del Corso, with his friend Franco Aloi. He illustrated for the Italian periodicals 'La Donna' (1932), 'Dea' and 'La Lettura' (1934), 'Bertoldo' (1936), 'Il Milione' (1938), 'L'Illustrazione del Medico' (1939), 'Ecco', 'Settebello' and 'Il Dramma' (1939) and designed many book covers for publishers Mondadori and Rizzoli'. A supporter of Benito Mussolini, Boccasile produced propaganda material for his government. As the tide of war turned against Fascism he became more involved in it, becoming a supporter of the German puppet state, RSI, established by Mussolini in Northern and Central Italy after his liberation from the Gran Sasso exile. Boccasile enlisted in the Italian SS Division, drawing their recruitment posters and illustrating propaganda material. After the war, Boccasile was imprisoned and tried for collaborating with the fascists. Though acquitted, he remained an outcast. He could not find work for several years, as his notoriety was feared by prospective employers. He supported himself briefly by doing pornographic sketches for English and French publishers, and by 1946, after changing his style, Boccasile was back at work. He set up his own agency in Milan where he created memorable posters for Paglieri cosmetics, Chlorodont toothpaste, Iperchina liquors and Zenith footwear. He died in Milan, from bronchitis and pleurisy, in 1952. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

27th September 1941 Vienna 27th September 1941 Vienna 27.09.1941 Vienna reverse.jpeg 27.09.1941 Vienna reverse.jpeg 1/1 Postcard depicting a roof-top view of Vienna, with emphasis on a Hochhaus (tower block) located on the Herrengasse. Ref: 27.09.1941 Vienna Link to map of Vienna (Herrengasse) Vienna (German: Wien) is the capital, most populous city, and one of nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. Its larger metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.9 million, representing nearly one-third of the country's population. Vienna is the cultural, economic, and political center of the country, the fifth-largest city by population in the European Union, and the most-populous of the cities on the Danube river. The city of Vienna became the center of socialist politics from 1919 to 1934, a period referred to as Red Vienna ( Das rote Wien ). After a new breed of socialist politicians won the local elections they engaged in a brief but ambitious municipal experiment. Social democrats had won an absolute majority in the May 1919 municipal election and ruled the city council with 100 of the 165 seats. Jakob Reumann was appointed by the city council as city mayor. The theoretical foundations of so-called Austromarxism were established by Otto Bauer, Karl Renner, and Max Adler. In the Austrian Civil War of 1934 Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss sent the Austrian Armed Forces to shell civilian housing such as the Karl Marx-Hof occupied by the Republikanischer Schutzbund, the socialist militia. In 1938, after a triumphant entry into Austria, the Austrian-born German Chancellor Adolf Hitler spoke to Austrian Germans from the balcony of the Neue Burg, a part of the Hofburg at the Heldenplatz. In the ensuing days the new Nazi authorities oversaw the harassment of Viennese Jews, the looting of their homes, and their on-going deportation and murder. Between 1938 (after the Anschluss) and the end of the Second World War in 1945, Vienna lost its status as a capital to Berlin, because Austria ceased to exist and became part of Nazi Germany. During the November pogroms on 9th November 1938, 92 synagogues in Vienna were destroyed. Only the city temple in the 1st district was spared, as the data of all Jews in Vienna were collected in the adjacent archives. Adolf Eichmann held office in the expropriated Palais Rothschild and organised the expropriation and persecution of the Jews. Of the almost 200,000 Jews in Vienna, around 120,000 were driven to emigrate and around 65,000 were killed. After the end of the war, the Jewish population of Vienna was only about 5,000. Vienna was also the center of the important resistance group around Heinrich Maier, which provided the Allies with plans for V-1, V-2 rockets, Peenemünde, Tiger tanks, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and other aircraft. The information was important to Operation Crossbow and Operation Hydra, both preliminary missions for Operation Overlord. In addition, factory locations for war-essential products were communicated as targets for the Allied Air Force. The group was exposed and most of its members were executed after months of torture by the Gestapo in Vienna. The group around the later executed Karl Burian even tried to blow up the Gestapo headquarters in the Hotel Metropole. On 2nd April 1945, the Soviet Red Army launched the Vienna Offensive against the Germans holding the city and besieged it. British and American air-raids, as well as artillery duels between the Red Army and the SS and Wehrmacht, crippled infrastructure, such as tram services and water- and power-distribution, and destroyed or damaged thousands of public and private buildings. The Red Army was helped by an Austrian resistance group in the German Wehrmacht. The group tried under the code name Radetzky to prevent the destruction and fighting in the city. Vienna fell eleven days later. At the end of the war, Austria again became separated from Germany, and Vienna regained its status as the capital city of the Republic of Austria, but the Soviet hold on the city remained until 1955, when Austria regained full sovereignty. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

South West Africa (S.W.A.) Postage stamps South West Africa (S.W.A.) Postage stamps 1/0 South West Africa - Stamps within the Brief History collection Potted History of S.W.A. P re-German colonisation: Nomadic (later pastoral) tribal groups, including the San, Damara, Nama, Oorlam and Herero; German South West Africa (1884-1915, officially recognised by the Germans in 1919 after the Treaty of Versailles); South West Africa (1915-1990); Namibia (1990-). The first European explorers were the Portuguese in the late 15th century. They made no claim to the area. Postage stamp issues: German - 1897, 1900; South African Administration - 1923, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1937-1939, 1941, 1943, 1945 onwards. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

3rd June 1937 JB: Schneefernerhaus 3rd June 1937 JB: Schneefernerhaus 1/1 Postcard depicting the Münchnerhaus on the Zugspitze. The Münchner Haus ('Munich House') on Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the Munich Section of the German Alpine Club (DAV). The foundation stone for the Münchner Haus was laid in 1894. Construction was very controversial and led to a rift within the Munich Section of the German Alpine Club, the outcome of which was the foundation of the Bayerland Section. Three years later the Alpine Club celebrated the opening of the hut on 19th September 1897. On 19th July 1900 the meteorological station with its prominent tower was inaugurated. The first meteorologist on the Zugspitze was Josef Enzensperger, who was the first to winter alone in 1900/1901. To the reverse is postage stamp Mi.647 (taken from the lower left portion of Block 8 miniature sheet). The stamp is tied with JB:Schneefernerhaus1/670. Ref: 03.06.1937 SCHNEERFERNERHAUS cancellation as featured in the Bochmann catalogues (1952) Note: This is the only special cancellation for Schneerfernerhaus of the 3rd Reich period. JB:Schneerfernerhaus1/670 - '2650m/ 2966m/ mit der Baÿrischen/ Zugspitzbahn'. Ref: 03.06.1937 'Baÿrischen Zugspitzbahn' The Bavarian Zugspitzbahn is, along with the Wendelsteinbahn , the Drachenfelsbahn and the Stuttgart rack railway, one of four rack railways still in operation in Germany. The meter-gauge line leads from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district of Garmisch to the Zugspitze , the highest mountain in Germany. It is operated by the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG (BZB), a subsidiary of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen municipal utility company. In 2007, the Zugspitzbahn was nominated for the award of 'Historic Landmark of Civil Engineering in Germany'. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page