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24th November 1941 Barth Postcard sent via feldpost from Barth. The image depicts (in part) a map of the Darß nature reserve. Ref: 24.11.1941 Barth (Überroller-post - Allied occupation 03.05.1945) During World War II Barth was the site of a German prison of war camp , Stalag Luft I , for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town from Allied bombing. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
Mi.65-72 (28.07.1941/1942) B&M Definitives Mi.65-72 Bohemia and Moravia Parcel card for a package sent from a German soldier in Schlan/Slany in Bohemia and Moravia to Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. Featuring two B&M definitives (Mi.71). Ref: 13.05.1942 - 7/77 Notes on the soldiers infantry battalion: The battalion was set up on 10th September 1939 in Nuremberg, in Military District XIII. The Infantry Replacement Battalion 480 was subordinate to Division 173 and provided a replacement for the 260th Infantry Division. On 20th July 1941, the battalion was relocated to Schlan in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. From that day on, the battalion was also subordinate to Division 193. On 1st October 1942, the battalion was divided into an Infantry Replacement Battalion 480 and an Infantry Training Battalion 480. Both battalions were renamed Grenadier Replacement Battalion 480 and Grenadier Training Battalion 480 on 7th November 1942. On 10th April 1943, both battalions were merged to form the Grenadier Replacement and Training Battalion 480. On 13th December 1943, the training battalion was transferred to the 271st Infantry Division and thus disbanded. As a result, the battalion was again called the Grenadier Replacement Battalion 480. On 26th March 1945, the battalion was mobilised with 6 companies, again as the Grenadier Replacement and Training Battalion 480. Mi.65 - 52 Bohemia and Moravia definitives Mi.65a (28th July) Ref: 02.09.1941 - 8/50 Mi.66b (early 1942) Ref: 20.04.1942 - 7/14 Mi.68a (28th July). Ref: 02.10.1941 - 2/120 Mi.69 (1941 or '42?). Ref: 20.04.1942 - 7/14 Mi.70 (1941 or '42?). Ref:17.01.1942 - 1/83 , compare to 7/14 Mi.71 (1941 or '42?). Ref: 13.05.1942 - 7/77 Mi.72 (1941 or '42?). Ref: 17.01.1942 - 1/83 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
30th December 1941 Metzeral Postcard sent from Metzeral in the Alsace (with very poor Mi.3 'Elsaß' overprint). Note that to the reverse the publishers imprint 'Editeur Strasbourg' has been struck through. The card has been 'correctly' addressed to 'Strassburg'. Ref: 30.12.1941 Metzeral During the First World War, Metzeral was the subject of a battle which resulted in a decisive French victory. The town, for its part, was nothing more than a pile of ruins. These events were immortalised by the official army painter François Flameng, whose sketches and drawings appeared in the magazine L'Illustration . Most of the village was rebuilt following the armistice under the authority of mayor Jacques Immer. During the Second World War, a fortunate combination of circumstances spared the town from destruction. Indeed, while the German offensive was being prepared (in January 1945), for three weeks, such an abundance of snow began to fall that any military operation became impossible. Prevented by snow, the Wehrmacht had to leave the valley without firing a shot. Metzeral was liberated on 5th February 1945. Source: Wikipedia Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
2nd March 1941 Aachen Postcard (sent via feldpost) depicting a view of Aachen. Featuring a poor example of 'Deutschen Roten Kreuz' postal cancellation (JB:366/838). Ref: 02.03.1941 Aachen (Überroller-post - Allied occupation 21.10.1944) Aachen is the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 252,000 inhabitants. After World War I, Aachen was occupied by the Allies until 1930, along with the rest of German territory west of the Rhine. Aachen was one of the locations involved in the ill-fated Rhenish Republic. On 21st October 1923, an armed mob took over the city hall. Similar actions took place in Mönchen-Gladbach, Duisburg, and Krefeld. This republic lasted only about a year. Postcard (sent via feldpost) with multiple view of Aachen. Ref: 07.10.1940 - 30/69 Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II. According to Jörg Friedrich in The Fire (2008), two Allied air raids on 11th April and 24th May 1944 'radically destroyed' the city. The first killed 1,525, including 212 children, and bombed six hospitals. During the second, 442 aircraft hit two railway stations, killed 207, and left 15,000 homeless. The raids also destroyed Aachen-Eilendorf and Aachen-Burtscheid. The city and its fortified surroundings were besieged from 12th September to 21st October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division with the 3rd Armored Division assisting from the south. Around 13th October the US 2nd Armored Division, coming from the north, and got as close as Würselen, while the 30th Infantry Division completed the encirclement of Aachen on 16th October 1944. With reinforcements from the US 28th Infantry Division the battle continued involving direct assaults through the heavily defended city, which finally forced the German garrison to surrender on 21st October 1944. Aachen was the first German city to be captured by the Western Allies, and its residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators. What remained of the city was destroyed—in some areas completely—during the fighting, mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders. Damaged buildings included the medieval churches of St. Foillan, St. Paul and St. Nicholas, and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral was largely unscathed. Only 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders. Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff, was assassinated by an SS commando unit. Source: Wikipedia External link to the Wikipedia page on Franz Oppenhoff Contact Brief History to inform us of additonal information regarding this page
7th July 1941 Finland Continuation War Finland — early Continuation War military field-post letter written in Swedish by Fänrik (Second Lieutenant/Ensign) J. Pettersson on 5 July 1941 at “Fort 62”. Research now strongly indicates that Fort 62 was Linnake 62 at Kökar in the Åland archipelago, a Finnish coastal-artillery position apparently armed with three 152/35 MK guns and forming part of the Korppoo coastal-defence organisation. The letter was sent to Pettersson's family at Slottsgatan 9–11 C in Åbo (Turku), passed through Finnish military field post and wartime censorship, and reached Åbo on 8 July 1941. Further research is required to establish Pettersson's precise unit and decode the military details written on the reverse of the envelope.The pencilled manuscript “5.” at upper left appears to be a private correspondence number, probably indicating the fifth letter received in this sequence by the Petterson family. It does not appear to form part of the official Finnish field-post or censorship markings. Ref: 07.07.1941 - 35/29 Contact Brief History to inform us of additonal information regarding this page
Mi.1-15 (02.06.1941) Serbia definitive o/prints Mi.1 - 15 Serbia definitive overprints Mi.1-15 Serbian definitive overprints New issue of Yugoslavian definitives Mi.393-407 with coloured burelage (intricate network of fine lines to deter forgers) and contorted black letter 'SERBIEN' running from upper left to lower right. Mi.2 - 0.50 D see 31.01.1942 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
15th August 1941 kambrich Envelope sent from Kambrich (Chambrey, Moselle dept., north-eastern France) to Oberhausen-Sterkrade. Featuring a manuscript 'R' Label, Lothringen o/print stamps (Mi.1, Mi.4, Mi.5), a Luxembourg o/print stamp (Mi.4) and German stamps (Mi.781, Mi.785). With two large 'Kambrich' cancels and hand stamp date cancels. Reverse
7th August 1941 Hinterzarten Postcard depicting a view of Hinterzarten. Ref: 07.08.1941 Hinterzarten Hinterzarten is a resort village in the Black Forest, located in the southwest of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Although Hinterzarten is mostly famous for its ski jumping, it has many other tourist attractions. Vignette extolling the virtues of Hinterzarten - 'Air, Sun, Water'. Ref: 14.11.1947 - 16/38 The Birklehof in Hinterzarten, an elite boarding school, was converted into a state reformatory during the Nazi era. Despite this, the students were largely spared from the Gleichschaltung . [ The Nazi term Gleichschaltung or 'coordination' was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society 'from the economy and trade associations to the media, culture and education'. Although the Weimar Constitution remained nominally in effect until Germany's surrender following World War II, near total Nazification had been secured by the 1935 resolutions approved during the Nuremberg Rally, when the symbols of the Nazi Party and the state were fused and German Jews were deprived of their citizenship. The tenets of Gleichschaltung also applied to territories occupied by the Nazis. ] Source: Wikipedia & Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek Postcard depicting a view of Hinterzarten. Ref: 23.10.1941 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page