Postcard from 1936...

[JGoshenschmidt]

The interesting part about this is it was sent to someone in my home state - in fact, where my wife grew up.




Translation is:
"Valued Friends
Package delivered in Hamburg. Visited Olympic Games. Party convention was fantastic. Germany marching/parading. Letter to follow.
Your Joseph R.A."

German text:
Werte Bekannten
Paket in Hamburg (?) abgeliefert. Olympiade besucht. Parteitag war groβartig. Das marchierende Deutschland
Brief folgt
Ihr Joseph R.A.

Interesting that "Joseph" would have attended the Nuremberg Reichsparteitag der Ehre (Reich Party Congress of Honour)

[Br. James]

Indeed this piece is interesting! One wonders how it was delivered by the US Post Office back in 1936, without any addressee name or street address! I suppose the town might have been so small that the postal service could take a guess at who this was addressed to...!

The 1936 Olympic Games took place in Berlin from August 1-16, and the Reichsparteitag was staged in Nuremberg from September 9-14 that year, so it would have been easily possible for someone to attend both events. As you indicate, it would have been "interesting" for someone from a small town in Maryland to attend both of these events that summer...but one also recalls that Fritz Kuhn, the leader of the German-American Bund, organized a travel party of 50 of his members and supporters to attend the '36 Olympics and then to visit other areas of Germany as tourists that summer. Perhaps "Joseph R.A." was a member of that travel party?

Br. James

[JGoshenschmidt]

Perhaps "Joseph R.A." was a member of that travel party?

You could very well be right. I have tracked down a "Schlag" in Middle River, but he's 83 years old. I'd try and contact him to find out more, but he probably doesn't wanna be bothered.

Here's another possibility to the sender of the postcard....

He was a Nazi sympathizer who stole secret intel from Martin's AFB or Aberdeen Proving Grounds - hence the reference to the mysterious "Package".

I like my explanation better, even though it's likely hogwash.

[Bill Murray]

Sometimes these mysteries can be fun.
The postcard is addressed to Florist Schlag.......

An hour or so of screwing around on Google and I came up with the following.

Ewald Schlag and family emigrated from Germany to the general area in 1927 and a few years later established a nursery in Long Beach Md. They lived on Susquehanna Ave.

That nursery/florist still exists as Long Beach Nursery as from the mid 1990's.

I have pinned the website of the current nursery if you wish to follow up on the Schlag family.

I tried to call the owner, Joe Williamson a couple of times but kept getting an answering machine. The number is 410-335-8560.

If you do follow up, please post the results here.

Bill

http://www.longbeachnursery.com/

[JGoshenschmidt]

Thanks Bill-
I did some digging last night and came up with some of the same info. I feel better about contacting someone younger - I'm going to try and follow up.

J

[Br. James]

This could turn out to be a very awkward situation if anyone actually gets through to someone by phone. What would you say: "Were you associated with the Nazi Party in the mid-1930s?" Sounds like an invitation to a quick hang-up of the receiver to me! It would be much gentler if someone took this card to the florist shop in Middle River, Maryland, walked in and asked to speak with the manager, and then had a private conversation with that person. No? IMO, anything that could even appear to associate anyone present or past with the insinuation of Nazism is an invitation to a lawsuit! Please be careful and gentle!

Br. James

[JGoshenschmidt]

Nevermind.

[JGoshenschmidt]

Please delete thread until I hear from the family. I will post any follow up once I dig in to this a bit more.

[feldpost 58]

Hi!

I would send a very diplomatically written letter myself, and if you get no response; they obviously do not want to drag up the past.
Interesting thread!

Best wishes,

John.