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Author Topic: German WWII Propaganda Postcards  (Read 23900 times)
Alan65
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« on: 17 June 2009, 19:20:09 »
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Gottfried Klein was a propaganda artist in Munich and did many images on postcards.

The first one apparently shows German FlaK 88mm guns and an Allied plane going down in flames (over a German city).  It was mailed as Feldpost (mail from a soldier) in November of 1943.
The second image is one of at least 17 different postcards Klein did showing flags of the German military; these cards were produced by the Central Office of the NSDAP.
The third image says 'Danzig is German' referring to the mostly ethnic-German port city within the Polish border.
The fourth Klein postcard image is captioned "There can be only one victory and we are it", a quote from a November 1939 Hitler speech.


* Klein AA Guns artwork.jpg (23.52 KB, 277x385 - viewed 1510 times.)

* Klein Panzerabwehr flag.jpg (35.71 KB, 273x382 - viewed 1325 times.)

* Klein Danzig is German.jpg (30.42 KB, 286x394 - viewed 1182 times.)

* Klein 1939 Iron Cross medal.jpg (24.84 KB, 263x378 - viewed 1263 times.)
« Last Edit: 17 June 2009, 21:32:02 by Alan65 » Logged
Alan65
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« Reply #1 on: 17 June 2009, 19:35:23 »
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One of a series of map postcards featuring Hitler.  The caption reads "We thank our leader" and shows a portion of annexed Czechoslovakia (the part with the defenses.)


* We Thank our leader Germany map.jpg (33.27 KB, 381x264 - viewed 1082 times.)
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Alan65
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« Reply #2 on: 17 June 2009, 19:47:49 »
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Another card in the series showing Hitler in the middle of a map of Germany, the caption 'One People, One Reich, One Leader' dated 13 March, 1938, celebrating the Austrian Anschluss, the union of Austria with Germany. Innsbruck, Linz, Vienna, Graz and Klagenfurt are now inside Germany.


* 1938 3 13 Hitler Map Germany.jpg (31.75 KB, 285x391 - viewed 1117 times.)
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Alan65
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« Reply #3 on: 17 June 2009, 20:54:24 »
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Postal stationery was one way the Nazi party disseminated its propaganda.

The first image shows a postcard celebrating Hitler's ascension to Reichs Chancellor in January, 1933, with a march through Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.  The stamp shows Hitler and Hindenburg in profile; it was important for Hitler to gain legitamacy through association with the famous, respected WWI hero and former German President.

The second image shows a Labor Day,1934, commemorative postal card; the workers and factory smokestacks are closely linked to the Nazi Party through the flags.

The third postal card celebrates NSDAP Party Day, 1937.  It is meant to be a feldpost card thus a bit more of a military theme to the image.  Note, the cost is 25 Reichs pfennigs.

Finally, a postcard featuring German workers taking advantage of the benefits of working in the Reich:  vacation and time off. Part of the caption is the famous "Kraft durch Freude" 'Work Makes you Free'.


* Berlin Brandenburg Gate Hitler becomes Chancellor.jpg (27.45 KB, 396x279 - viewed 1077 times.)

* 1934 nationaler feiertag postal card.jpg (27.34 KB, 400x279 - viewed 1079 times.)

* 1937 Nurnberg rally postal card.jpg (34.49 KB, 396x279 - viewed 1054 times.)

* 1938 Work Makes You Free postal card.jpg (22.77 KB, 399x279 - viewed 1026 times.)
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Alan65
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« Reply #4 on: 17 June 2009, 21:05:45 »
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More mid-1930s images from the 3rd Reich.

The first shows Hindenberg greeting Hitler 21 March 1933 in a painting by Carl Langhorst.

The second is a commemorative postcard for Reichsparteitag, 1934, in Nurnberg. The iconic image is by Siegmund von Suchodolski (1875-1935) who privided the early regime with artwork.

In the 3rd image, Hitler reviews the SA marching past his car.

The 4th postcard shows Berlin's Brandenburg Gate decked out in flags.  The image appears to be dated from the late 1930s; it was mailed within Sweden to Stockholm in August, 1940, however.  It's interesting to see this type of image mailed outside of Germany or its conquered countries.


* 1933 Hindenberg greets hitler.jpg (25.98 KB, 378x266 - viewed 1014 times.)

* 1934 Reichs Party Day.jpg (97.46 KB, 278x387 - viewed 1057 times.)

* Hitler reviews the SA.jpg (42.09 KB, 421x297 - viewed 1017 times.)

* Berlin Brandenburg Gate draped in flags.jpg (77.05 KB, 360x233 - viewed 2152 times.)
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Alan65
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« Reply #5 on: 17 June 2009, 21:28:06 »
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here are four more postcards of various propagandistic nature from the Nazi era.

The first image celebrates the 1938 Day of German Art.  The Nazis had an annual celebration of 'German' art--as opposed to non-German, ie. decadent art which didn't show Germans in a positive light or which showed other cultures (Jewish, American, etc.) in a postive light.  This postcard was mailed to Corvalis Oregon in the US from Munich in July 1938.  The message reads in part "Dear Doctor, thought you migh be intersted in this special postcard. We arrived here last night from Prague and are having a fine trip."  It closes with "Our united greetings to you both" which is an interesting closing and must mean something.

I think the second image is a Spanish postcard (there is some Spanish in the address line) and shows Hitler, Franco and Mussolini.

The third postcard promotes the Winter Relief Drive to give benefits to German workers(?) The postmark is dated 20 April, 1941, Hitler's 52nd birthday.

The final postcard comes from 1942 and takes note of the SS police on the Eastern front.


* 1938 Day of German Art.jpg (71.29 KB, 264x374 - viewed 1052 times.)

* Hitler Franco Mussolini postal card.jpg (18.65 KB, 373x254 - viewed 1123 times.)

* 1941 Winter Relief postal card.jpg (29.78 KB, 398x278 - viewed 1116 times.)

* 1942 German Police on Eastern Front postcard.jpg (33.54 KB, 270x380 - viewed 1433 times.)
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« Reply #6 on: 7 July 2009, 18:39:05 »
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Here are some more German propaganda postcards.



The caption translates as: "You are not the measure (of things), the front is."  The back of the postcard has a commemorative postmark from the Nazi Party Day, 1943, for the General Government, the Polish rump state ruled by the Nazis.
 

A Willrich postcard from 1940 showing a Fallschirmjaeger, Feldwebel Urpte who was involved in attack across the Albert Canal into Belgium in 1940, from the Blue Comet unit, part of the IV. Batallion of the Airborne Assault Regiment.  The artist Wolf Willrich did many portrait-style propaganda postcard images.  His signature is the large 'W' in the lower right with the date of the card.


Obergefreiter Grintforth (the name isn't clear to me) in another Willrich portrait, 1941.


Nazi Party Day in Occupied Poland, August 15th to 17th 1934 by the artist W. Hoeck


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« Reply #7 on: 7 July 2009, 18:56:56 »
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I call this one "Hitler Builds a Highway".  One of many issued in this format with cached illustration on left, postal stationery postage on the right and a (generally) blank back for a message.  Most were cancelled-to-order, although one does find actual postal use, too.
edited by Koen:
23/9/33 Groundbreaking
23/9/36 1000kms of completed Autobahn


Willrich did a series on the Panzers as well.  this postcard shows a tanker with headset and a limited view of the interior of a German tank.


This propaganda postcard shows a caricatures of several nations 'going over the edge in the ship of State'.  The lion is obviously the UK; the fat guy in the middle holding a flag (Czech?) is an American; there is a caricature of a Jew, a Frenchman and probably a Belgian(?) on the back.  I think this refers to the 1939 Czech crisis and is meant to keep the Allies from going to war over a little thing like the German occupation of part of Czechoslovakia.


Captioned "Infanteriespitze", this painting by Dr. O. Bloss shows German infantry in combat outside a village.
The war was ugly for the village, but not yet for the German soldier.


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« Reply #8 on: 7 July 2009, 19:02:56 »
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Another combat image, titled "Der 10. mai 1940" by Paul Mathias Padua.  During the war, this painting was in Munich's Haus der Deutschen Kunst (House of German Art). This painting evokes the image of Washington crossing the Delaware on an earlier river assault from the American revolution.  Notice the second rower from the rigth looking back at the viewer; the leader (with the ribbon in his shirt) beckoning Germany to follow him.


This is quite frankly one of the creepiest images of Hitler, looks like a Christmas card, captioned Deutsche Weihnacht, Christmas Eve.  It is a Hoffman photo; Hoffman was Hitler's official photographer and did a 'good' job of portraying the German leader for the people at the time.
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« Reply #9 on: 8 July 2009, 17:19:20 »
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note:
this post is a combination of several posts from different members
we had to modify the original post due to 'swastika' problems with photobucket




A Willrich postcard from 1940 showing a Fallschirmjaeger, Feldwebel Urpte who was involved in attack across the Albert Canal into Belgium in 1940, from the Blue Comet unit, part of the IV. Batallion of the Airborne Assault Regiment.  The artist Wolf Willrich did many portrait-style propaganda postcard images.  His signature is the large 'W' in the lower right with the date of the card.

About the sign on the topmost postcard with the Fallschirmjäger:

Here's the cover of a book titled "Der Blaue Komet - Geschichte des IV. Bataillons des Luftlande-Sturmregiments 1940-1945" (The Blue Comet - History of the IV. Batallion of the Airborne Assault Regiment 1940-1945)
<Quoted Image Removed>



About the sign on the topmost postcard with the Fallschirmjäger:

Here's the cover of a book titled "Der Blaue Komet - Geschichte des IV. Bataillons des Luftlande-Sturmregiments 1940-1945" (The Blue Comet - History of the IV. Batallion of the Airborne Assault Regiment 1940-1945)
<Quoted Image Removed>



Is that a blue comet or a white one? Is there a difference and if so which unit would the white comet in the blue shield represent?

Good Hunting.

MR



Good point, MR.  Would there be a white shield with blue comet for another unit? 


The date of the postcard, 1940, would match with the date of the Blue Comet unit; unfortunately, there's not much else to go by on the man's uniform.  (there may be some emblem within the camo on the helmet.)



According to Wikipedia, the fourth Btn was only created some months after the action around Eben Emael and the Albert Canal bridges, so the guy on the picture must have been in some other unit than the IV. Btn in May 1940 (Sturmabteilung Koch?).

On this webpage (in German), the symbol is shown again and called "Der blaue Komet". So probably it could be blue on white as well as white on blue.

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« Reply #10 on: 8 July 2009, 17:19:43 »
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The artist Wolf Willrich did many portrait-style propaganda postcard images.  His signature is the large 'W' in the lower right with the date of the card.
<Quoted Image Removed>
Feldwebel Urpte, was involved in attack across the Albert Canal into Belgium in 1940.  I assume the symbol in the upper-right represents a German unit; can someone identify it, please?





Leutnant Egon Delica
air liaison officer in Strumgruppe Granit during the attack on Eben-Emael.
Shown with his Ritterkreuz, recived on May 16th 1940 from the Führer.
The insignia on the top-left is from 7th Flieger Division (parent organisation of Sturmabteilung Koch)
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