Some postcards...some sent...

[TP Alexander]

Picked up some postcards.
The first 2 are a recruiting poster for the Waffen SS & the other is for the annexation of Austria (I think). There is writing on the back of the Annexation postcard.
I know that anything Waffen SS is heavily faked. I don't know if anyone will be able to tell about that card without a hands on. If anyone can translate any or all of any of these cards, feel free to chime in.

We'll call these Group 1 for reference sake.
Thanx,
Tim

[TP Alexander]

Group 2

The top one is a formal parade past the Ehrenmal. The writing is on the back of that one, but obviously, hasn't been sent anywhere.

[TP Alexander]

Group 3

The bottom one is dated 14 Febb '44
Seems to be to Dear Emil.

[TP Alexander]

Group 4

Seems to be authentic, but no stamp onit nor does it appear to have ever had one, but appears to be postmarked. 26 Jan '40?

Someone is either writing in High German with that weird scriot or ???
Starts out "Meinen Leiben"??

[Gerdan]

Group 4

I will try to give you the German text:

"Meine Lieben!

Aus meinem alten Standort Jever sende ich Euch die herzlichsten Grüße.

Ich hoffe, dass es Euch allen gut geht, was ich auch von mir sagen kann.

Nochmals herzliche Grüße von Eurem Alfred.

Abs.: Uffz. Alfred Beck, Fliegerhorstkommandantur Jever i.(n) Oldbg. (Oldenburg), Archivstelle

Sent to: Familie Fritz Röther, Neckarsulm, Herzenbergstraße "


Gerdan

[Gerdan]

Group 3 bottom:

The German text:

"Ebingen, 14.2.44

Lieber Emil,

Nun schreiben ich Dir ein abschied Brief " - Dear Emil, now I will write you a farwell letter.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebingen


Gerdan

[randy@treadways]

Group 2
The writing is on the back of that one, but obviously, hasn't been sent anywhere.

Quite often soldiers would put a postcard, or several of them, inside an envelope and mail them that way. This helped reduce mailing damage to the picture side of the postcard, and gave them more space on the back side of the card to write their message.

Group 4- Feldpost is handwritten at the top. Solders were instructed to do this, and it got them free postage privileges, as long as they were in a recognized military district which had been accorded this privilege. No postage stamps were necessary, and this also meant that the unit mail clerks didn't have to carry along supplies of stamps, which would have needed resupply frequently.
In districts where this privilege (called "free franking")was *not* granted, but combat *did* overwhelm them, it sometimes created awkward situations where the unit ran out of postage stamps and the mail officer authorized a temporary solution- some really bizarre "stamps" and temporary markings were created. There were provisions allowing the local officer this authority in the German postal regulations. These are *highly* collectable, but also forged so we have to be careful. But local mail officers were *not* allowed to declare their unit a "free franking" district. That privilege had to be granted from above. In any case, yours is a typical feldpost marking, and did go through the mail system.
Many armies over the decades have had similar free franking privileges accorded to combat zone soldiers. There are lots of examples from Vietnam. The American soldier simply wrote the word "free" where the stamp would normally go.

Group 3- one thing of interest- printed on the back of one of them is the name of the PK photographer who took the picture. PK stood for Propaganda Kompanie. Photographers were inserted into normal units all over the place to go along with them into combat and take pictures... sometimes motion picture film as well as still pictures. They were not military reconnaissance photographers, but recorded life in the units. While they provide a nice historical record, their main purpose was just what the name of their 'home unit' said- propaganda. Their film was sent back from the front lines to mobile PK labs to be developed, and could be used in all kinds of magazines, newsreels, postcards like this one, and other purposes, to communicate to the public how "great" the war was going. Fortunately some PK pictures survive which also showed when the war *wasn't* going so great, and of course these seldom got into the public domain until after the war.
The other reason PK units were created is because of the terrible communication that happened in the first world war when both sides were stuck in trench warfare- the German population became very demoralized about the situation. This time around, the Germans wanted to control the message.

[Gerdan]

German text:

1)

"Lieber Schwager und Schwägerin.
Bis Ihr nach Dresden kommt sind wir auch daheim.
Bringe doch ungebr. Werte von Schweden mit sowie die neue Gelegenheitsausgabe
und hauptsächlich Luftpostmarke.
Werden Ende Mai fahren falls nichts unvorhergesehenes kommt.
Mit viele Grüßen an Alle
Fritz u. Hertha

Address: Herrn E. Höntsch u. Frau, Alingsäs (Schweden); Läavervegen 22"


Gerdan