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27th November 1939 27th November 1939 1/1 Feldpost postcard depicting Straßburg Kaserne at Grimma. Featuring a Type 19 feldpost cancel. Ref: 27.11.1939, MFPaP78 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

25th November 1939 'Der Reichsprotektor' 25th November 1939 'Der Reichsprotektor' 25.11.1939 Der Reichsprotecktor Mitlaufer reverse.jpeg 25.11.1939 Der Reichsprotecktor Mitlaufer reverse.jpeg 1/1 Official cover of the Reichsprotektor in Böhmen und Mähren. Sent from Prague to an address in the city. Featuring 'mitläufer' stamps Mi.M278 and Mi.M355. Ref: 25.11.1939 - 1/86 'Der Reichsprotektor in Böhmen und Mähren' At the time of this cover being posted the Reichsprotektor was: Konstantin von Neurath (1873-1956) From Wikipedia: Konstantin Hermann Karl Freiherr von Neurath was a German diplomat and Nazi war criminal who served as Foreign Minister of Germany between 1932 and 1938. In the early years of the Nazi regime, Neurath was regarded as playing a key role in Hitler's foreign policy pursuits in undermining the Treaty of Versailles and in territorial expansion in the prelude to World War II . However, he was often averse to Hitler's aims for tactical, not necessarily ideological, reasons. That aversion eventually induced Hitler to replace Neurath in 1938 with the more compliant Joachim von Ribbentrop , a fervent Nazi. In March 1939, Neurath was appointed Reichsprotektor of occupied Bohemia and Moravia, serving as Hitler's personal representative in the protectorate. Hitler chose Neurath in part to pacify the international outrage over the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Soon after his arrival at Prague Castle, Neurath instituted harsh press censorship and banned political parties and trade unions. He ordered a crackdown on protesting students in October and November 1939 (1,200 student protesters went to concentration camps and nine were executed). He also supervised the persecution of Czech Jews according to the Nuremberg Laws. Draconian as those measures were, Neurath's rule overall was fairly mild by Nazi standards. Notably, he tried to restrain the excesses of his police chief, Karl Hermann Frank. However, in September 1941, Hitler decided that Neurath's rule was too lenient and so stripped him of his day-to-day powers. Reinhard Heydrich was named as his deputy but in truth held the real power. Heydrich was assassinated in 1942 and succeeded by Kurt Daluege. Neurath officially remained as Reichsprotektor . He tried to resign in 1941, but his resignation was not accepted until August 1943, when he was succeeded by the former Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick. On 21st June 1943, Neurath had been raised to the honorary rank of an SS-Obergruppenführer , the equivalent to a three-star general. Late in the war, Neurath had contacts with the German resistance. The Allies prosecuted Neurath at the Nuremberg trials in 1946. The prosecution accused him of ' conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war crimes and crimes against humanity '. Neurath's defence strategy was predicated on the fact that his successor and fellow defendant, Ribbentrop, was more culpable for the atrocities committed in the Nazi state than Neurath was. Neurath was held as a war criminal in Spandau Prison until November 1954, when he was released in the wake of the Paris Conference , officially because of his ill health, as he had suffered a heart attack . He retired to his family's estates in Enzweihingen , where he died two years later, aged 83. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

23rd November 1939 23rd November 1939 23.11.1939 Latvia reverse.jpeg 23.11.1939 Latvia reverse.jpeg 1/1 Postcard sent from Riga to an address in Hamburg. Featuring Königsberg ABP censor Prüfstempel 'Auslandsnachrichtenprüfstelle'(HLAP1.1/21) and 'Von der Wehrmacht zugelassen' (HLAPZ1.2/24). Cancelled in Riga upon Mi.267 (20th Anniversary of Latvian Independence). Ref: 23.11.1939 Latvian Independence Extract from Wikipedia The Declaration begins by reiterating several historical facts. On the basis of these facts, it argued that the Republic of Latvia was still de jure a sovereign country. It observes that Latvia's declaration of independence on 18th November 1918 was internationally recognized in 1920, and that Latvia was admitted to membership in the League of Nations in 1921.The first country to recognize the independence of Latvia de jure was Soviet Russia on 11th August 1920, when the Soviet-Latvian Peace treaty was signed (it is generally considered that the independence of Latvia de jure was internationally recognized on 26th January 1921, when it was recognized by the Allies of World War I). The declaration notes that in April 1920 the Latvian nation followed the principle of self-determination by electing a Constitutional Assembly of Latvia, which adopted the Constitution of Latvia on 15th February 1922, in general, equal and direct elections, based on proportional representation. On 23th August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which included a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. Latvia was apportioned to the Soviet sphere and on 5th October 1939, signed a mutual assistance pact. On 16th June 1940, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Latvia accusing it of not carrying out the treaty, namely of forming a military alliance against the USSR, and requested a new government to be formed and to guarantee Soviet military free entrance in Latvia. The Latvian government decided to give in to the ultimatum and on 17th June 1940, Soviet forces entered Latvia. The Declaration states that the Soviet ultimatum and ensuing invasion amounted to an 'international crime', and contended that the government formed in accordance with Soviet demands should not be recognized as a representative of Latvian state power, since it represented Soviet, not Latvian, interests. On 14th–15th July 1940, elections were held for the People's Saeima (a Soviet-type parliament of Latvia). The People's Saeima met on 21th July 1940 and declared accession to the Soviet Union. The declaration states that the election of the People's Saeima took place on the basis of unconstitutional and illegally adopted election law in a state of political terror. It noted that the 'Latvian Working People's Bloc' (installed by the legalized Communist Party of Latvia) was the only party allowed to contest the election out of 17 parties which submitted lists. According to the declaration, the Labor People's Bloc gave no indication prior to the election that it intended to make Latvia part of the Soviet Union, and the election results were heavily falsified. The declaration observes that the People's Saeima was formed by misleading the people and therefore did not express the sovereign will of the Latvian people. It also notes that the People's Saeima had no right to liquidate Latvia's sovereignty on its own authority, since the Constitution required that any major change in the form of the state and its political system must be submitted to a national referendum. Therefore, the Declaration argued that the annexation of Latvia to the Soviet Union was not valid under international law. It therefore reasserted the status of the Republic of Latvia as a de jure subject of international law, and noted that more than 50 countries still recognized Latvia as an independent state. The Supreme Council thus took the line that Latvia did not need to follow the secession process outlined in the Soviet Constitution, since the Declaration was reasserting an independence that still legally existed. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

20th November 1939 Bayrische-Motoren-Werke (BMW) 20th November 1939 Bayrische-Motoren-Werke (BMW) 1/0 Cover sent from FPN36704 (1. Batterie Reserve-Festungs-Flakscheinwerfer-Abteilung 310) to Bayrische Motoren Werke (BMW), München. Ref: 20.11.1939, MFP1P15 (Type 25 feldpost cancel - 27mm/13mm - 3 date lines. Not illustrated in MFP). ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us.

20th November 1939 20th November 1939 1/0 Greek censored cover to 'Firma Kugelfischer' a roller bearing manufacturer in Schweinfurt, Germany. Ref: 20.11.1939 - 10/58 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

7th November 1939 Panzer IV 7th November 1939 Panzer IV 07.11.1939 Panzer IV-C reverse.jpeg 07.11.1939 Panzer IV-C reverse.jpeg 1/1 Postcard depicting the German Panzer IV-C above the caption, 'Schwerer Kampfwagen greift an' (Heavy combat vehicle attacking). Wehrmacht - Bildserie 917/13. Ref: 07.11.1939 PANZER IV VARIATIONS Panzer IV-C. Ref: 07.11.1939 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

1st November 1939 1st November 1939 1/1 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Mi.Z738-Z739 (01.11.1939) Mi.Z738-Z739 (01.11.1939) 1/0 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

2nd October 1939 2nd October 1939 1/2 Bochmann: Schierke 2 - 1934 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

Mi.730-738 (27.10/9.11.1939) Mi.730-738 (27.10/9.11.1939) Mi.730 1/1 Mi.730 (Ref: 19.11.1939) Mi.730 - Anomaly - used as a bisect yet only valid until 30.06.1940 (Ref: 18.02.1942) Mi.731 (Ref: 06.01.1940) Mi.732 (Ref: 24.02.1940) Mi.733 (Ref: 13.01.1940) Mi.734 (Ref: 8/28 - No Date) Mi.737 (Ref: 23.02.1940 - 1/64) Various combinations. W144 (Mi.730 + Mi.735), W145 (Mi.730 + Mi.735 + Mi.730), W146 (Mi.735 + Mi.730), W147 (Mi.735 + Mi.730 + Mi.735) Block consisting of combinations of W140 (A11.4 + Mi.735), W144 (Mi.730 + Mi.735) and S257 (A11.4 + Mi.730). Ref: 26.11.1939 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

19th October 1939 19th October 1939 19.10.1939-psst-nuremberg-reverse.jpeg 19.10.1939-psst-nuremberg-reverse.jpeg 1/1 Cover with 'PSST' (Postsammelstelle - PSSt) cancellation, f-or the field post collecting station in Nürnberg. Ref: 19.10.1939 - 21/18, MFP55P65 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page

7th October 1939 7th October 1939 1/1 Early feldpost cover featuring a homespun 'Feldpost' hand stamp. Ref: 07.10.1939 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page