SECOND WORLD WAR POSTCARDS

This page was last updated
11-Dec-2024 07:00

KRIEGS-WINTER-HILFSWERK
POLIZEI in POLEN
POLICE IN POLAND
1939 / 40

This series consisted of six postcards dedicated to the promotion of the Waffen SS troops in Poland on the occupied eastern front. The cards were commissioned by the War Winter Relief Charity to raise funds for injured soldiers and the families of those killed in action. The cards were sold in an envelope titled "Polizei | in | Polen". Additional text on the envelope reads "6 Bild | Postkarten | Nach Originalaufnahmen" - '6 picture postcards based on original images'. Behind the text is a relief map of Poland.



The original photographs on these cards were the work of Friedrich Franz Bauer. They are unnumbered so are shown here in no particular order.

No. 1 - Photo: Polizei-Bildstelle

"MG. Posten der Ordnungspolizei uber den Dachern von Warschau beim Einzug der deutschen truppen"

'Machine gun post of the Police over the roofs of Warsaw when the German troops enter the city'

No. 2 - Photo: Friedrich Franz Bauer

"Ein Kommando der Sicherheitspolizei vor dem Einsatz"

'A commando of the security police before an operation'

No. 3 - Photo: Friedrich Franz Bauer

"SD Einsatzkommando während einer Marschpause"

'SD task force during a break in the march'

No. 4 - Photo: Georg Ebert

"Eine Streife der Ordnungspolizei ist auf vergrabene waffen und verborgenes kriegsgerät gestofzen"

'A patrol of the Order Police stumbled upon buried weapons and hidden wartime equipment'

No. 5 - Photo: Friedrich Franz Bauer

"Deutsche Polizei hiβt die Reichsdienstflagge auf der Burg in Krakau"

"German police hoist the Reich service flag at the castle in Krakow"

No. 6 - Photo: Polizei-Bildstelle

"Berittene Polizei Streife säubert ein von polnischen Mordbrennern Besetztes gehöft"

'Mounted police patrol cleans up a farmstead occupied by Polish assassins'

FAKES and FORGERIES

The following section has been taken in part from Roth and Moonwheel. To paraphrase there is one type of fake and one type of forgery, where a fake is defined as a card that does not try to mimic an existing card, but tries to fit in with the crowd. Whereas a forgery is a modern reproduction of an existing card designed to fool the unsuspecting collector

FAKE

A fake version of card 2 above exist that measures 141 x 90 mm, somewhat smaller than the usual 141 x 100 mm of the originals. This fake has additional text on the image side of the card, along the lower edge below the photograph, which reads "Ein Kommando der SS-Sicherheitspolizei | vor dem Einsatz im Osten". On the opposite side of the card the image is attributed to "Photo - Hoffmann". The front of the card is coated but the card does not fluores under UV-light. It is likely that fakes exist of the other cards in this series.

FORGERIES

Forgeries exist for Card 1, Card 4 and Card 6. They measure 141 x 90 mm, somewhat smaller than the original cards. Text on the image side now appears within the image, rather than on the frame as in the fake above. Again the cards are coated and do not fluores under UV-light.

REFERENCES

1. Postcards of the Waffen SS Series Cards by Matthew Roth and J. Moonwheel ISBN: 0-976516-50-0