OFFICIAL POSTCARDS
(1939)
This page was last updated
07-Apr-2024 03:39
P278/01 - /05
OFFICIAL POSTCARD
HITLER'S 50th BIRTHDAY
VALIDITY: 13th Apr 1939 until 31st Dec 1940
BACKGROUND: Issued 13th April 1939, one week before Hitler's 50th birthday on the 20th. This series of 5 postcards all have the same reverse which features a 6 Rpf + 19 Rpf Indicia stamp in Sepia. The 19 Rpf surcharge was a donation to Hitler's Cultural Fund. The front of each postcard shows a different image of Hitler, from photographs taken by Heinrich Hoffmann. These postcards depict Hitler as a man of the common people, an image he liked to portray, and they show him invariably greeting children and supporters all designed to show him as a benign, fatherly figure.
P278 / 01: Hitler without headgear
P278 / 02: Hitler in uniform
P278 / 03: Hitler meeting members of the BDM
P278 / 04: Hitler greeting small children
P278 / 05: Hitler greeting young girl
A closer look at the reverse of these postcards shows an interesting variation. Below the word 'POSTKARTE' is a diagonal design that appears on all cards. There are however, two variations of this design. One variant has the word 'ANTWORT' or 'ANSWER' written inside the diagonal lines and the other version does not. This would appear to indicate that the postcards were originally intended to be replycards and not postcards, one card with the word Antworte and an attached card without.
ABOVE LEFT: With ANTWORTE
ABOVE RIGHT: Without ANTWORTE
This leads to several questions: 1) if they were originally intended to be replycards why was this changed? 2) Do all five cards exist with and without the word 'ANTWORTE'? 3) If they were intended to be replycards were both of the cards the same or were there two different images on each reply card? So far in my collection I have P278/01 to /03 and /05 with 'ANTWORTE' and P278/04 without it. (REQUIRES ADDITIONAL RESEARCH).
SPECIAL CANCEL: There was of course a special handstamp used to commemorate such an important event in the Nazi calendar. Variations were used in 8 different towns and cities as follows: BERLIN, BRANAU, EGER, MEMEL, MÜNCHEN, NÜRNBERG, SAARBRÜCKEN and WIEN
P278/01
VARIANTS TO COLLECT
The following are suggested variants that might make good additions to a collection:1. Cancelled on first day of issue 13th Apr 1939
2. Cancelled with "Geburtstags" SST handstamp
3. As a domestic long-distance card without any special features
4. As a foreign used card with 10 Rpf to CSR
5. As a foreign used card with 10 Rpf to Hungary
6. As a foreign used card with 15 Rpf
7. As a Registered Delivery card
8. As a local delivery Express Delivery card
9. Cancelled as a Hamburg Straβenbahnpost
10. Used as a Rohrpost (pneumatic) card in BERLIN
11. Domestic Airmail usage
12. European Airmail usage
13. Airmail usage to the USA
14. As a Zeppelin post card
15. Postally unused
16. Domestic Bahnpost usage
17. Invalid Usage - either after expiration date or with incorrect postage applied
18. With Special slogan cancels
POSTALLY UNUSED
CANCELLED on FIRST DAY of ISSUE
Cancelled on the official issue date 13th Apr 1939
CANCELLED WITH "Geburtstags" HANDSTAMP
2. The following domestically used card was posted in Vienna and addressed to TEMPLEHOF, BERLIN on 20th Apr 1939. This example has the special handstamp used in Vienna to commemorate Hitler's birthday.
DOMESTIC LONG DISTANCE WITHOUT SPECIAL MARKINGS
FOREIGN USE WITH 10 Rpf to CSR
FOREIGN USE WITH 10 Rpf to HUNGARY
FOREIGN USE WITH 15 Rpf
REGISTERED DELIVERY CARD
EXPRESS DELIVERY CARD
HAMBURG STRAβENBAHNPOST
Cancelled as a Hamburg Straβenbahnpost
POSTED AS ROHRPOST IN BERLIN
DOMESTIC AIRMAIL
EUROPEAN AIRMAIL
AIRMAIL TO USA
ZEPPELIN POST
GERMAN BAHNPOST
INVALID USAGE
SPECIAL SLOGAN CANCELS
MAIN REFERENCE SOURCES
1. MICHEL GANZSACHEN DEUTSCHLAND 2018. ISBN: 978-3-95402-225-02. BOREK GANZSACHEN-SPEZIAL-KATALOG DEUTSCHLAND ab 1933. ISBN: 3-87091-060-7
3. MICHEL BILDPOSTKARTEN- UND MOTIVGANSACHEN KATALOG DEUTSCHLAND 1997. ISBN: 3-87858-631-0
4. GANZSACHEN-HANDBUCH DES "DITTEN REICHES" 1933-1945 by FRECH. ISBN: UNKNOWN
