5th March 1944 Collector's Card 1944 5th March 1944 Collectors Card 1944 Sammlerausweis Collector's card (Sammlerausweis) issued in Wasserburg 5th March 1944. Featuring two receipt cancellations for issues collected from the post office. Ref: 5.03.1944 The cards were probably introduced in early 1943 (it is to be noted that 'The Special Cancellations Stamp', specifically for stamp collectors, was issued 19th January 1943. At first, due to a lack of centrally supplied forms, local makeshift editions were used. These were beige postal forms, some of which were produced regionally and mostly had imprint marks from 1943. The cards had an address field for the recipient of the postage stamps and generally cancellation fields on the back, on which the purchase was noted by affixing a date stamp . However, there are also larger format cards with only one-sided printing. With the fee-based ID card (1 RM ), 20 issues of special stamps, postcards and official stamps could be obtained; in some cases official stamps were not listed on the forms. The ID card was renewed when all 20 fields had been stamped. Postal customers had to collect the issues within 7 days of the first day of issue. Due to a shortage of materials due to the war, it was not uncommon for makeshift forms for collectors' ID cards to be used. So far, based on the stamp date, the Volkssturm stamp from February 1945 is known to be the last issue collected. Collector's Card (Sammlerausweis) 1944 A postal document (ID for the purchase of postage stamps), usually subject to a fee, which entitles stamp collectors and other postal customers to continuously obtain a certain number of special postage stamps (special stamps , blocks and miniature sheets), but also official stamps, postal stationery and first day covers from a post office within a specified collection period. The cards instruction reads as follows: Conditions Special requests cannot be considered. New issues will only be issued on presentation of this card. They must be issued within one week of the 1st day of issue. Otherwise the date stamp (reverse) will be omitted. Allocation may be limited for smaller quantities of special stamps. After the 20th issue of special stamps, the application can be renewed against payment of a fee of RM 1. No compensation will be paid in the event of loss or misuse. Sammlerausweis with 1 Rm fee stamp cancelled Wasserburg 5th March 1944. Ref: 05.03.1944 Receipt dates in relation to issues being collected within 7 days (as per instruction): 6th March 1944, 22nd March 1944 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

13th April 1944 'Feldpost' labels 13th April 1944 Feldpost Label Feldpost Label (Red block: 18.5 x 37.5mm) Feldpost label variations Red block: 42 x 7mm. Ref: 24.04.1941 Red block: 40 x 9.5mm. Note 'e' and 'l'. Ref: 02.12.1940 - 30/89 Red print: 36.5 x 7mm. Ref: 25.01.1943 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

13th January 1944 13th January 1944 Feldpost label FPN 22631 Felpdostbrief sent from Fürth to Luftwaffe FPN L 22631 (Via the L.G.P.A. - Luftgau personnel office - in Brussels). Ref: 13.01.1944 Enclosed correspondence Loose translation using DeepL We wish you all the best for the new year and that you will be reunited with your loved ones in good health. We are very pleased with your kind lines and thank you very much for them. We could see from it that your present sphere of activity suits you quite well. How could it be otherwise, perhaps it's also in the south of France and even more so in a castle. Unfortunately, your family was also affected by the attack. All this can still happen to us and we have to get through this time as well as possible. In life, everything passes and it will be granted to us to still experience the good times, that is our wish. I have one piece of news to tell you: I have got engaged and if it works out, I may get married very soon. Aren't you very surprised about this? We are doing quite well. I hope you will come and visit us when you are on leave. Bring us peace right away, that would be the greatest joy you could bring us.This year, the decision must be made. This year, the decision must be made. We wish you all the best for the great task in life that you have to fulfil, and we send you our warmest greetings.

12th June 1944 Stalag 398 12th June 1944 Stalag 398 Stalag 398 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

19th May 1944 19th May 1944 Bahnbetriebswerk Feldpost cover sent from the 'Bahnbetriebswerk' (Railway Depot) in Minsk to FPN 19375N. Ref: 19.05.1944 Minsk Bahnbetriebswerk and the Minsk Offensive of June 1944 From Wikipedia: 'On the eve of the offensive, Soviet partisans carried out large-scale sabotage activities behind enemy lines, aimed at disrupting Army Group Center's logistical and communications capabilities. Some 10,500 explosives were detonated along the rail networks connecting the Dnieper to Minsk, all bridges in the area were blown up, and telephone lines extensively cut, paralyzing Army Group Center's communications for the first 48 hours of the offensive.' Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

5th November 1944 5th November 1944

Mi.136-137 (20.04.1944) B&M AH 55th Birthday Mi.136-137 (20.04.1944) B&M AH 55th Birthday Mi.136-137 B&M Adolf Hitler 55th Birthday Self addressed envelope (FDC), featuring Bohemia & Moravia Mi.136 and Mi.137 issued to commemorate Adolf Hitler's 55th Birthday. Ref: 20.04.1944 - 35/43 Mi.136-137 (20th April 1944) Adolf Hitler's 55th birthday Mi.136. Ref: 25.04.1944 - 9/26 Mi.137. Ref: 25.04.1944 - 9/26 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

14th June 1944 Feldpost 'k' designation 14th June 1944 Feldpost 'k' designation Feldpost cover with 'k' designation to the cancel. Ref: 14.06.1944 'FELDPOST ' designation letters: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o , a1etc. , Aa etc. , Misc. Feldpost designation letter 'k' variations Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

19th June 1944 Stalag IV-G 19th June 1944 Stalag IV-G Stalag IV-G See 15.11.1944 - 19/84 (Postcard - Forwarded to internee used as forced labour?) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Mi.887 (14.04.1944) Adolf Hitler's 55th Birthday Mi.887 (14.04.1944) Adolf Hitler's 55th Birthday Mi.887 Registered cover sent fro 'Luftgaupostamt Amsterdam' to an address in Berlin. Featuring postage stamp Mi.887 tied by special cancellation JB:Amsterdam2/40 (only ever used in conjunction with Mi.887). Ref: 20.04.1944 - 34/1 Mi.887 55th Birthday of Adolf Hitler Notes: Design: Gottfried Klein . Engraving: Jan Piwczyk . Recess printing. Sheets 10 x 5. Without watermark. Perf. 14¼:14½. Quantity issued: unknown. Valid until May 1945 Gottfried Klein Gottfried Klein (1904 - 1981?) was a German designer, illustrator and artist of stamps and postcards and creator of a ' typical Gottfried Klein style' . He was a well-known Third Reich artist whose Gothic style art was bold and dramatic. Source: Wikimedia Jan Piwczyk Jan Piwczyk (1897 - 1972) was born in Poland. He worked for the Polish stamp printers PWPW in Warsaw, where he started engraving stamps in 1937. From 1943, Piwzcyk started engraving for the Government Printing Works in Berlin, Germany. In 1951, Piwczyk engraved the well-known Posthorn definitives of West Germany. Despite the fact that such designs would normally be mainly etched, Piwczyk actually engraved all the fine lines of this design. Piwczyk’s final (known) stamp engraving dates from 1953; a single value for the West Germany set promoting the Transport Exhibition in Munich. After that, Piwczyk would move to the printing company Giesecke & Devrient in Munich. Source: stampengravers.blogspot.com Mi.887 (54+96 Pf). Ref: 20.04.1944 - 34/1 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

1st April 1944 1st April 1944 A lebenszeichen (signs of life) air raid survivors card. Sent following the R.A.F. raid on Nuremberg on the 30th/31st March 1944. This would normally have been the moon stand-down period for the Main Force, but a raid to the distant target of Nuremberg was planned on the basis of an early forecast that there would be protective high cloud on the outward route, when the moon would be up, but that the target area would be clear for ground-marked bombing. A Meteorological Flight Mosquito carried out a reconnaissance and reported that the protective cloud was unlikely to be present and that there could be cloud over the target, but the raid was not cancelled. 795 aircraft were dispatched - 572 Lancasters, 214 Halifaxes and 9 Mosquitos. The German controller ignored all the diversions and assembled his fighters at 2 radio beacons which happened to be astride the route to Nuremberg. The first fighters appeared just before the bombers reached the Belgian border and a fierce battle in the moonlight lasted for the next hour. 82 bombers were lost on the outward route and near the target (note: the POW mail from Stalag Luft 1 - shown above - is sent by a crewman shot down during this outward engagement). The action was much reduced on the return flight, when most of the German fighters had to land, but 95 bombers were lost in all - 64 Lancasters and 31 Halifaxes, 11.9% of the force dispatched. It was the biggest Bomber Command loss of the war. Most of the returning crews reported that they had bombed Nuremberg but subsequent research showed that approximately 120 aircraft had bombed Schweinfurt, 50 miles north-west of Nuremberg. This mistake was a result of badly forecast winds causing navigational difficulties. 2 Pathfinder aircraft dropped markers at Schweinfurt. Much of the bombing in the Schweinfurt area fell outside the town and only 2 people were killed in that area. The main raid at Nuremberg was a failure. The city was covered by thick cloud and a fierce cross-wind which developed on the final approach to the target caused many of the Pathfinder aircraft to mark too far to the east. A 10-mile-long creepback also developed into the countryside north of Nuremberg. Both Pathfinders and Main Force aircraft were under heavy fighter attack throughout the raid. Little damage was caused in Nuremberg. 69 people were killed in the city and surrounding villages. Note: Pilot Officer C.J. Barton, a Halifax pilot of 578 Squadron, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for carrying on to the target in the Nuremberg operation after his bomber was badly damaged in a fighter attack and 3 members of his crew baled out through a communication misunderstanding. Although the navigator and wireless operator were among the men who had parachuted, Barton decided to attempt the return flight to England in spite of the fact that only 3 engines were running. An unexpected wind took the Halifax steadily up the North Sea and it was short on fuel when the English coast was reached near Sunderland. Barton had to make a hurried forced landing when his engines failed through lack of fuel and he died in the crash, but his 3 remaining crew members were only slightly hurt. Pilot Officer Barton's Victoria Cross was the only one awarded during the Battle of Berlin, which had now officially ended. Extract from Middlebrook and Everitt, 1985

9th June 1944 9th June 1944