Postcard depicting the Ehrentempel (Honour Temples) located on Königsplatz in Munich. Ref: 05.10.1938 5th October 1938 Ehrentempel 1/1 Postcard depicting the Ehrentempel (Honour Temples) located on Königsplatz in Munich. Ref: 05.10.1938 Also see - 09.05.1937 The Ehrentempel monuments The Honour Temples were two structures in Munich, erected by the Nazis in 1935, housing the sarcophagi of the sixteen members of the Party who had been killed in the failed Beer Hall Putsch (the Blutzeugen, 'blood witnesses'). On 9th January 1947 the main architectural features of the temples were destroyed by the U.S. Army as part of denazification. On 8th November 1933 Hitler addressed the party’s old guard at the Bürgerbräukeller (where the putsch had begun) and the next day unveiled a small memorial with a plaque underneath at the east side of the Feldherrnhalle. Two policemen or the SS stood guard on either side of the memorial’s base and passers-by were required to give the Hitler salute. The memorial could be circumvented, and the salute avoided, by choosing a small nearby side street, which came to be known as Drückebergergasse ('Shirker's Alley'). In 1934 no commemorative march was made on the anniversary because of Hitler’s purge of the SA’s ranks in the Night of the Long Knives. The next year on 8th November the putschists were exhumed from their graves and taken to the Feldherrnhalle, where they were placed beneath sixteen large pylons bearing their names. The next day, after Hitler had solemnly walked past from one to the next, they were taken down the monument’s steps and taken on carts, draped in flags to Paul Ludwig Troost’s new Ehrentempel monuments at the Königsplatz, through streets lined with spectators bustling between 400 columns with eternal flames atop. Flags were lowered as veterans slowly placed the heavy sarcophagi into place. In each of the structures eight of the martyrs were interred in a sarcophagus bearing their name. The martyrs of the movement were in heavy black sarcophagi in such a way as to be exposed to rain and sun from the open roof. When Gauleiter Adolf Wagner died from a stroke in 1944 he was interred metres away from the north temple in the adjacent grass mound in between the two temples. At the temples visitors were required to be silent, not wear hats and keep children from running over the centre of the temples. The Ehrentempel was made of limestone except for its roof which was made of steel and concrete with etched glass mosaics. The pedestals of the temples, which are the only parts remaining, are 70 feet (21 m). The columns of the structures each extended 23 feet (7.0 m). The combined weight of the sarcophagi was over 2,900 pounds (1,300 kg). On 5th July 1945 the American occupying army removed the bodies from the Ehrentempel and contacted their families. They were given the option of having their loved ones buried in Munich cemeteries in unmarked graves, their family plots or having them cremated, common practice in Germany for unclaimed bodies. The columns of the structures were recycled into brake shoes for municipal buses and new material for art galleries damaged in the war. The sarcophagi were melted down and given to the Munich tram service who used it for soldering material to repair rail and electrical lines damaged by the war. On 9th January 1947 the upper parts of the structures were blown up. The centre portion was subsequently partially filled in but often filled with rain water which created a natural memorial. When Germany was reunited there were plans made for a biergarten, restaurant or café on the site of the Ehrentempel but these were derailed by the growth of rare biotope vegetation on the site. As a result of this, the temples were spared complete destruction and the foundation bases of the monuments remain, intersecting on the corner of Briennerstrasse and Arcisstrasse. In the intermittent period of the 1947 destruction and 1990 handover, basements (hitherto unknown to the Americans) were uncovered beneath the structures. A small plaque added in 2007 explains their function. Interments: Felix Alfarth, Andreas Bauriedl, Theodor Casella, William Ehrlich, Martin Faust, Anton Hechenberger, Oskar Körner, Karl Kuhn, Karl Laforce, Kurt Neubauer, Klaus von Pape, Theodor von der Pfordten, Johann Rickmers, Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter, Lorenz Ritter von Stransky, Adolf Wagner (buried in the grass mound between steps in 1944), and Wilhelm Wolf. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

21st May 1936 JB: Bayreuth 1/0 See 28/62 (JB:Bayreuth3/83) See 12.07.1936 (JB:Bayreuth4/83) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Postcard depicting 'Haus Vaterland' (c.1931) in Berlin. Ref: 19.04.1935 Buildings of significance 1/1 Postcard depicting 'Haus Vaterland' (c.1931) in Berlin. Ref: 19.04.1935 Significant buildings within the Brief History collection Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Wagner) - see 12.07.1936 Haus der Deutschen Erziehung (House of German Education) - see 26/94 (x2) Berchtesgaden Haus Wachenfeld (the Berghof) Berlin Deutschlandhalle 27.09.1939 Dietrich Eckart Bühne Haus Vaterland (Food, drink & entertainment complex) '...the essence of Berlin' National Gallery Reichssportfeld - see 14.08.1938 Bocholt Bocholt Stadtwald 05.10.1939 Dresden Rudolf Heß Krankenhaus Gmunden Schloss Cumberland Hamburg Carl Hagenbeck's Tierpark (Zoo) 11.09.1934 Husum Ludwig Nissen Haus Munich Braunes Haus 17.10.1936 Feldherrnhalle 02.02.1936 Haus der Deutschen Kunst (including 'HDK' postcard number references) Nuremberg Der Deutsche Hof (Hotel), Frauentorgraben Kongressbau (The Nuremberg Congress Hall) Nuremberg Castle (Nürnberger Burg) Saarbrücken District Theatre Stuttgart Tagblatt Tower Vienna Burgtheater Wiener Messe Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Self address collectors card featuring a special cancel from Stettin (ref: JB:Stettin13/697). Ref 09.01.1938 9th January 1938 JB: Stettin 09.01.1938 Stettin reverse.jpeg 09.01.1938 Stettin reverse.jpeg 1/1 Self address collectors card featuring a special cancel from Stettin (ref: JB:Stettin13/697). Ref 09.01.1938 STETTIN cancellations as featured in the Bochmann catalogues (1952) JB:Stettin10/696 - see 12.05.1935 JB:Stettin13/697 - 'Tag der Briefmarke/ Reichsbund der/ Philatelisten/ 9.1.1938/ R d P'. Ref: 09.01.1938 JB:Stettin16/697 - 'Gautreffen 1938 - Gau Pommern - Stettin/ 12.6.1938'. Ref: 12.06.1938 - 15/11 JB:153A/817 - See 19.06.1934 Contact Brief History to inform us of additonal information regarding this page

Newspapers Postal ephemera & publications Newspapers Postal ephemera & publications 1/1 Wrapper from 'Presse-Versand G.m.b.H.' (book printers) in Uelzen to an address in Hannover. Date unclear, c.1947. ref: 17/77 Newspapers: Postal ephemera and publications Angriff (NSDAP in Berlin) Die Luftpost (envelope) - see 33/21 Eichsfelder Volksblatt (wrapper) Essener Allgemeine Zeitung (on postcard) - see 30/65 Heilbronner Tagblatt (envelope) Leipziger Bienenzeitung (envelope addressed to the editor) Niederdeutschen Beobachter (envelope) Ostfriesische Tageszeitung (envelope) Pommersche Zeitung (envelope) - see 19.06.1934 Südverlag (wrapper) - see 34/64 Voelkischer Beobachter (NSDAP national newspaper) Westfälische Landeszeitung/ Rote Erde (envelope) Wochenschaü (on postcard) - see 30/65 Zeitschriftenvertrieb - Ernst Gilowy (wrapper to Italian Embassy) FELDPOST Wrapper for unknown publication to FPN 44744 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Postcard depicting a view of Stuttgart. Beneath the image is printed (in part) an homage to Stuttgart by Karl Gerok. Ref: 17.05.1934 17th May 1934 Stuttgart 17.05.1934 Stuttgart reverse.jpeg 17.05.1934 Stuttgart reverse.jpeg 1/1 Postcard depicting a view of Stuttgart. Beneath the image is printed (in part) an homage to Stuttgart by Karl Gerok. Ref: 17.05.1934 Stuttgart (Überroller-post - Allied occupation 21./22.04.1945) The poem (above) is taken from 'Greetings to Stuttgart' (c.1867) by Karl Geroks. It reads: There you lie now in the sunshine Beautiful as I have ever seen you In your mountain green wreath My Stuttgart, there again. Lying there, flamed by the evening gold Nestled in the valley As if set in green velvet A golden jewel lies there! Karl Gerok (1815 - 1890), German preacher and religious poet. He studied at Tübingen, and became chief court preacher and chief consistorial councillor in Stuttgart in 1868. Postcard depicting the Marktplatz in Stuttgart. The correspondence on the reverse reads, in English, 'We are spending three days here & then going on to the Black Forest. These are some of the old houses, but just round the corner are some modern German skyscrapers.' Ref: 02.08.1934 - 24/15 See 20.03.1939 - image of Stuttgart See 03.05.1933 - Schloß parade Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

9th March 1939 JB: Stuttgart 9th March 1939 JB: Stuttgart 1/0 JB: Stuttgart53/711 - See 07.08.1939 JB: Stuttgart64/712 - See 09.03.1939 JB: Stuttgart77/714 - See 29/5 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

Hotels Postal Stationery Hotels Postal Stationery 18.08.1941 St. Moritz Hotel censor reverse.jpeg 18.08.1941 St. Moritz Hotel censor reverse.jpeg 1/1 Postal stationery from the 'St.Moritz on-the-park' hotel in New York. Air-mail cover sent to Germany featuring censor tape and hand-stamps. Ref: 18.08.1941 - 15/73 Hotel postal stationery Bohemia & Moravia Hotel Národní Dum , Čelákovice (see 9/25) Germany Golf Hotel, Baden-Baden (former Hotel Früh) - see 28/32 Hotel Bristol , Unter den Linden, Berlin Hotel Continental, Hamburg - see 30/62 Hotel Lippischer Hof, Detmold - see 34/65 Hotel Senefelder Hof, Senefelderstrasse, Munich USA St.Moritz , Central Park, New York (with additional information on the Hotel Bolivar, N.Y.) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

27th November 1947 Joint Zone Mi.P962 27th November 1947 Joint Zone Mi.P962 27.11.1947 Mi.P962 reverse.jpeg 27.11.1947 Mi.P962 reverse.jpeg 1/1 Official issue postcard Mi.P962 (12 Pf). First issued March 1947. Featuring additional postage Mi.965 (12 Pf) and Mi.949 (16 Pf). The correspondence reads, 'I would be grateful if you would kindly send me your stock list for zone stamps and your exchange list. Reference: Your advert in the Stamp Exchange Register.' Ref: 27.11.1947, MPS422 Also see 34/58 (compare font and puntuation style) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

POW Allied Camps POW Allied Camps 1/1 ALLIED POW CAMPS Prisoner of war correspondence sent from Allied camps in Britain, France America, Canada, East Africa, North Africa and India. AMERICAN POWs detained in American camps (within the USA) POWs detained in American camps (outside of the USA) BRITISH POWs detained in British camps in Great Britain EAST AFRICAN POWs detained in British camps in East Africa NORTH AFRICAN POWs detained in British camps in North Africa Camp 211 (Algeria) SOUTH AFRICAN POWs detained in British camps in South Africa Camp 43 External PDF with further information regarding South African camps MIDDLE EASTERN POWs detained in British camps in the Middle East INDIAN POWs detained in British camps in India CANADIAN POWs detained in British camps in Canada FRENCH Depot 148 (L'Etivallière - St. Etienne) - Post-war. See 33/28 RUSSIAN Axis POW's held in Russian camps Post-war mail: Lager 7099 /III (see - 24.06.1948 - 34/56) , Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

15th September 1940 Berlin 1/1 Postcard depicting a view of Berlin. Sent via feldpost (FPN 35671) from Berlin and featuring the briefstempel of 'Kommandant von Berlin 12'. Note: The Kommandant of Berlin would be made responsible for: The order and (military) discipline in the city and therefore could proclaim Standort regulations - streamlining the local military support in case of emergencies - giving orders to the Streifendienst - liaison with the local civilian services (police, fire brigade, local political representatives, etc.) - organisation of military ceremonies - point of contact for military personnel on leave in the city for administrative matters. Also featuring special 'Luftschutz' cancel ref: JB:203/822. Ref: 15.09.1940 See 26.05.1939 - 29/38 (Prachtstraße & Brandenburger Tor) See 01.02.1941 - 32/37 (Westache - https://immermodern.de/en/strassen-von-heute/westachse ) See 08.10.1939 - Cafe Viktoria (story of Magarete Schütte-Lihotzky) Berlin (Überroller-post - Allied occupation by district - all 1945: Aldershof 24.4., Alt-Glienicke 24.4., Schles. Bhf. 24.4, Charlottenburg 28.4, Dahlem 26.4., Friedenau 28.4., Friedrichsfelde 22.4.,Gartenstadt 26.4., Grunewald 28.04., Köpenick 23.4., Lichterfelde 25.4., Mahlsdorf 22.4., Mariendorf 24.4., Marienfelde 23.4., Moabit 28.4., Neukölln 27.4., Pankow 23.4., Reinickendorf 24.4., Rudow 24.4., Ruhleben 28.4., Siemensstadt 26.4., Schmargendorf 27.4., Schöneberg 28.4., Spandau 27.4., Steglitz 27.4., tegel 24.4., Tempelhof 27.4., Treptow 25.4., Weißensee 22.4., Wilmersdorf 28.4., Wittenau 24.4., Zehlendorf 25.4.) Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, as measured by population within city limits. Simultaneously, the city is one of the states of Germany, and is the third smallest state in the country in terms of area. Berlin is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and Brandenburg's capital Potsdam is nearby. The urban area of Berlin has a population of over 4.5 million and is therefore the most populous urban area in Germany. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr region, and the fifth-biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union. Postcard depicting a section of the Spree running through the centre of Berlin featuring the Schloß and Cathedral. Ref: 21.11.1939 - 30/1. Article regarding the Cathedral: As early as December 1940, the blast from a British air raid on Berlin had destroyed the precious altar windows designed by Anton von Werner, as well as all other Cathedral windows. The western and eastern façades were also damaged. The stoker Paul Scheffel was killed in this attack. On 24th May 1944, a bomb hit the dome lantern, setting fire to it and the entire outer dome. The lantern construction’s collapse under its own weight subsequently smashed the inner stone dome, plunging it into the Sermon Church where it smashed through the church floor before finally breaking open the precious coffins in the Hohenzollern family crypt. (Source: berlinerdom.de) By 1931, the Great Depression had severely damaged the city's economy. Politics were in chaos, as militias controlled by the Nazis and the Communists fought for control of the streets. President Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor in January 1933, and the Nazis quickly moved to take complete control of the entire nation. On 27th February 1933, a left-wing radical was alleged to have set afire the Reichstag building (a fire which was later believed to have been set by the Nazis themselves); the fire gave Hitler the opportunity to set aside the constitution. Tens of thousands of political opponents fled into exile or were imprisoned. All civic organisations, except the churches, came under Nazi control. Postcard depicting the new Reichs Chancellery on Wilhelmstraße, Berlin. Ref: 08.09.1936 Around 1933, some 160,000 Jews were living in Berlin: one third of all German Jews, 4% of the Berlin population. A third of them were poor immigrants from Eastern Europe, who lived mainly in the Scheunenviertel near Alexanderplatz. The Jews were persecuted from the beginning of the Nazi regime. In March, all Jewish doctors had to leave the Charité hospital. In the first week of April, Nazi officials ordered the German population not to buy from Jewish shops. CLICK HERE FOR THE NATIONAL GALLERY The 1936 Summer Olympics were held in Berlin and used as a showcase for Nazi Germany (though the Games had been given to Germany before 1933). In order to not alienate the foreign visitors, the 'forbidden for Jews' signs were temporarily removed. Nazi rule destroyed Berlin's Jewish community, which numbered 160,000 before the Nazis came to power. After the pogrom of Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's Jews were imprisoned. Around 1939, there were still 75,000 Jews living in Berlin. The majority of German Jews in Berlin were taken to the Grunewald railway station in early 1943 and shipped in stock cars to death camps such as Auschwitz, where most were murdered in the Holocaust. Only some 1200 Jews survived in Berlin by hiding. Approximately 800 Jews survived in Berlin's Jewish Hospital. Causes for their survival include bureaucratic infighting, hospital director Dr. Walter Lustig's relationship with Adolf Eichmann, the Nazis' bizarre system for classifying persons of partly Jewish ancestry, German leader Adolf Hitler's ambivalence about how to handle Jews of German descent, and the fact that the Nazis needed a place to treat Jews. Thirty kilometers (19 mi) northwest of Berlin, near Oranienburg, was Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where mainly political opponents, Jews, Poles, Russian prisoners of war, etc. were incarcerated. Tens of thousands died there. In Berlin, Sachsenhausen had 17 subcamps for men and women, including teenagers, near industries, where the prisoners had to work. The prisoners were of various nationalities, including Polish, Jewish, French, Belgian, Czechoslovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Romani, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Spanish, Luxembourgish, German, Austrian, Italian, Yugoslavian, Bulgarian, Hungarian. There was also a camp for Sinti and Romani people, and the Stalag III-D prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities. In the late 1930s Hitler and his architect Albert Speer made plans for the new Berlin—a world city or Welthauptstadt Germania . All the projects were to be of gigantic size. Adjacent to the Reichstag, Speer planned to construct the Volkshalle (The People's Hall), 250 m high, with an enormous copper dome. It would be large enough to hold 170,000 people. From the People's Hall, a southbound avenue was planned, the Avenue of Victory, 23 m wide and 5.6 kilometers (3.5 mi) long. At the other end there would have been the new railway station, and next to it Tempelhof Airport. Halfway down the avenue there would have been a huge arch 117 m high, commemorating those fallen during the world wars. With the completion of these projects (planned for 1950), Berlin was to be renamed "Germania." The war postponed all construction, as the city instead built giant concrete towers as bases for anti-aircraft guns. Today only a few structures remain from the Nazi era, such as the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (National Ministry of Aviation), Tempelhof International Airport, and Olympiastadion. Hitler's Reich Chancellery was demolished by Soviet occupation authorities. Initially Berlin was at the extreme range of British bombers and attacks had to be made in clear skies during summer, increasing the risk to the attackers. Better bombers came into service in 1942 but most of the British bombing effort that year was spent in support of the Battle of the Atlantic against German submarines. 1940 : A token British air-raid on Berlin on 25 August 1940; Hitler responds by ordering the Blitz on London. 1943 : Polish resistance group Zagra-Lin successfully carries out a series of small bomb attacks. 1943 : The USAAF strategic bombing force began operations against Berlin. The RAF focused their strategic bombing efforts on Berlin in their 'Battle of Berlin' from November. It was halted at the end of March 1944, after 16 mass bombing raids on the capital, due to unacceptable losses of aircraft and crew. By that point about half a million had been made homeless but morale and production was unaffected. About a quarter of the city's population was evacuated. Raids on major German cities grew in scope and raids of over 1,000 4-engined bombers were not uncommon by 1944. (On 18th March 1945 alone, for example, 1,250 American bombers attacked the city). 1944 : USAAF bombing switched to forcing encounters with the German air force so that it could be defeated by the bombers' fighter escorts. Attacks on Berlin ensured a response from the Luftwaffe, drawing it into a battle where their losses could not be replaced at the same rate as the Allies. RAF focus switched to preparations for the invasion of France but Berlin was still subjected to regular nuisance and diversionary raids by the RAF. March 1945 : The RAF begins 36 consecutive nights of bombing by its fast de Havilland Mosquito medium bombers (from around 40 to 80 each night). British bombers dropped 46,000 tons of bombs; the Americans dropped 23,000 tons. By May 1945, 1.7 million people (40%) had fled. April 1945 : Berlin was the main objective for Allied armies. The Race to Berlin refers to the competition of Allied generals during the final months of World War II to enter Berlin first. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower halted Anglo-American troops on the Elbe River, primarily because the Soviets made their capture of the city a high national priority in terms of prestige and revenge. The Red Army converged on Berlin with several Fronts (Army Groups). Hitler remained in supreme command and imagined that rescue armies were on the way; he refused to consider surrender. 30th April 1945 : Hitler committed suicide in the Führerbunker underneath the Reich Chancellery. Resistance continued, though most of the city was in Soviet hands by that point. 2nd May 1945 : Berlin finally capitulated. Destruction of buildings and infrastructure was nearly total in parts of the inner city business and residential sectors. The outlying sections suffered relatively little damage. This averages to one fifth of all buildings, and 50% in the inner city. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

3rd September 1947 JB: Leipzig 3rd September 1947 JB: Leipzig 03.09.1947 Leipzig Messe Souvenir Sheet reverse.jpeg 03.09.1947 Leipzig Messe Souvenir Sheet reverse.jpeg 1/1 Souvenir Sheet for the Leipzig Autumn Fair featuring Mi.965 and Mi.966. Featuring cancelaltion JB:Leipzig198/486The image to the reverse depicts the charter where all three annual market/fair dates are confirmed for the first time by Royal Decree of the Roman-German King Maximilian I (appointed Holy Roman Emperor in 1508.) Ref: 03.09.1947 - 15/76 LEIPZIG cancellations as featured in the Bochmann catalogues (1952) JB:Leipzig118/477 - 'Presse-/ Postamt/ Haus der/ Nationen/ Messestadt'. Ref: 02.09.1937 JB:Leipzig128/478 - 'Reichsmessestadt'. Ref: 19.10.1945 Note on JB:Leipzig128/478 - This cancel was used in Leipzig between 1938 and 1946 with numerous alpha-numeric sequences (mostly C1 and C2). However, it is noted that cancellations post-war 1945 command a higher price in the Bochmann catalogue. Sequences: C1 - o (11.01.1943 - 7/11), Sequences: C2 - i (29.06.1941 - 34/18), Sequences (other): JB:Leipzig135/480 and JB:Leipzig137/480 see 12.03.1939 JB:Leipzig143/481 - 'Gautag Sachsen' (watchman figure). Ref: 22.05.1938 JB:Leipzig144/481 - 30/57 JB:Leipzig163/483 - 29/51 JB:Leipzig164/483 - 34/55 JB:Leipzig179/484 - 7/11 JB:Leipzig183/485 - 7/11 JB:Leipzig185/485 - 'Volkssolidarität/ gegen/ Volksnot' (date dial to right). Ref: 28.01.1946 - 15/77 JB:Leipzig185/485 - 'Volkssolidarität/ gegen/ Volksnot' (band stamp). Ref: 29.03.1946 - 15/78 JB:Leipzig198/486 - 'Gedenkfeier 450 Jahre Messe-Privileg/ 1497 1947'. Ref: 03.09.1947 - 15/76 Notes on JB:Leipzig198/486 - The postmark was used by the special post office at the commemoration, where only invited guests were allowed to post. After the end of the fair, the fair office sold commemorative sheets with special stamps bearing this postmark. JB:Leipzig219/488 - 'Kampf/ gegen Krieg und/ Faschismus/ Woche des Friedens und der Völkerverständigung'. Ref: 12.09.1948 - 15/47 Generic cancellations JB:408/842 - see 33/100 JB:411/842 - 'Ein/ Postsparbuch/ bietet viele Vorteile!' Ref: 05.01.1944 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page