A very detailled letter

[Jean-Loup]

I suspect this was the first letter that a German POW was allowed to send home, in January 1946, after having been captured in April 1945...

Here is the translation for those who dont speak German, everything is preprinted, with the writer only crossing out certain words and adding a date and name at the end:

"A member of the beaten Wehrmacht is looking for his next of kin.

I am still alive and am in British (Russian) (American) hands.
I am healthy (in Hospital). My address is below. Please send the card back immediatly!"

[Gerdan]

These standardized postcards have been prepared and sent via the International Red Cross to find out the next of kin of the POW.
So this card should be sent back immediately to confirm the actual address of the family of the POW.
Several million of families had moved and had found new homes - and new addresses partly not known by the POW.

Gerdan