COVERS / ENVELOPES
(1940)

This page was last updated
11-Mar-2023 06:38

INTRODUCTION:
This section is devoted to general covers, package labels, envelopes and miscellaneous postal items used during the Third Reich period.

WIEN FRÜHJÄHRSMESSE
VIENNA SPRING FAIR
(Mar 1940)

The cover below features the four commemorative stamps Michel 739 to 742, issued on 3rd Mar 1940 to mark the Vienna Spring fair. This example has all four stamps as well as the special handstamp used during the fair.

KRIEGS WHW
(3rd Mar 1940)

The following covers all feature versions of the Winterhilfswerk special cancellations used during 1940.

1. The first example below has a 1933 8Rpf Hindenburg Medallion Michel 517 stamp and the special WHW cancel that was used in the first few months of 1940. This cover was sent from BERLIN to FRIEDENAU on 3rd Mar 1940.




2. Another example of the same slogan cancel only this time on a 1933 12Rpf Hindenburg Medallion Michel 519 stamp.




3. This next example uses one of the slogan cancels available towards the end of 1940. The cover was sent by the Dresdener Bank in Berlin to a local address of the Auto Union (an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer, headquartered in Chemnitz). The cover has a 1933 8Rpf Hindenburg Medallion Michel 517 stamp

ADOLF HITLER's 51st BIRTHDAY
(20th Apr 1940)

The following covers all have stamps and postmarks related to Adolf Hitler's 51st birthday. The commemorative stamp is a Michel 744 and there are a large number of special handstamps

GROβER DEUTSCHLAND PRIES DER DREIJÄHRIGEN
BLUE RIBBON OF GERMANY
(30th Jun 1940)

The Greater German Prize for three-year-old's in 1940 saw the use of a special cancellation used on 23rd, 26th, 27th, 28th and 30th Jun 1940. The design of the cancellation is the same for all 5 days, only the date changes. The covers below feature the handstamp that was used. The covers below also show the commemorative stamp issued for the event, Michel 746.

DAS BRAUNE BAND VON DEUTSCHLAND
BROWN RIBBON RACE
(Jul 1940)

The Brown Ribbon race meeting in 1940 saw the use of two special handstamps as well as a slogan cancel. The covers below feature the two special handstamps as well as the commemorative stamp issued for the event, Michel 747.

50th ANNIVERSARY OF HELGOLAND
RETURNING TO GERMANY
(Aug 1940)

The following cover bears the special handstamp used to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the island of Helgoland becoming part of Germany. In addition to the special cancel there was also a commemorative stamp, Michel 750, seen on the right of the cover. The other two stamps were released a week earlier on 25th Jul to commemorate the reintegration of Eupen, Malmedy and Moresnet and are a Michel 748 and Michel 749

FOREIGN MAIL

AIRMAIL COVERS

DRESDEN to WASHINGTON D.C. USA

OFFICIAL MAIL

MISCELLANEOUS CANCELS

1. This first cover features a corner sheet pair of Michel 745 stamps that were issued to celebrate May Day (Labour Day) 1940. The cancellation is a roller cancel used in MUNICH on 6th May 1940, just under a week after the actual Labour Day.




2. The following cover has a mixture of commemorative stamps and was sent from WITZENHAUSEN to HARZ on 8th Apr 1940. The stamps are, from left to right, a 1939 issue 3Rpf Michel 730 from the Winterhilfswerk set. Then there is an overprinted 1939 Danzig issue Michel 716 stamp and two 3Rpf Vienna issue stamps Michel 739 commemorating the 1940 Vienna Spring Fair.

The special cancel is one of only three from WITZENHAUSEN, and is inscribed "Luftkurort | im Werratal | Kurhessen | Heilfasten und Diätkuren" - 'climatic health resort | in the Werra Valley | Kurhessen | Therapeutic fasting and diet cures' and proudly boasts of the regions health spas and resorts. This cancel was used annually from 1939-1942 and 1945-1951.




3. The following cover is a Registered letter sent by a wool manufacturer from Merchweiler in the Saar region to nearby Cologne on 11th Dec 1940. Two 1933 issue Hindenburg Medallion stamps, a 12Rpf Michel 519 and a 30Rpf Michel 523, were used to cover the registered letter fee.




4.

ADVERTISING MAIL

FRIEDRICH AMTENBRINK
(19th Aug 1940)

This cover has a meter cancellation from Cologne with the message "Besucht | die schone Darmstadt | Köln | und den herrlichen | Rhein" - 'Visit the beautiful Darmstadt Cologne and the magnificent Rhine'. In addition to the meter cancel there is a special cancellation inscribed "WEGBERG (KR. ERKELENZ) | Schöner | Sommeraufenthalt - Wasser - Wald" - 'WEGBERG (KR.ERKELENZ) | more beautiful | Summer stay - water - forest'. This was the only special cancel issued in WEGBERG and it was used every year from 1937 until 1941.

As well as the meter cancel and the special cancel, there is also a slogan cancel commemorating the work of the German Red Cross Society inscribed "Die | Front Kämpft- | die Heimat | opfert | Kriegshilfswerk | für das Deutsche Rote Kreuz" - 'The | Front Fighting | the homeland | sacrifices | War relief organization | for the German Red Cross', used from 5th Jul until 23rd Oct 1940.