A

Abbreviations

Notes on the use of abbreviations within the Brief History collection

Auslandsbriefprüfstelle (ABP)

During World War II all foreign mail had to be submitted by the Reichspost to one of seven censorship offices (with another another seven opened in the occupied countries). The index can be found here.

Actors

Index of actors who performed in films during the 3rd Reich period

Actresses

Index of actresses who performed in films during the 3rd period

Addresses

Index of postal addresses deemed acceptable pre-1945, and subsequently re-named post-1945

Adler

Eagle icon imprint (+ date) to lower right panel on postcards

Aircraft

Index of both Military & Commercial aircraft

Airports

Berlin Tempelhof 11.07.1939

ALLIED OCCUPATION POSTAGE STAMPS

The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II, from the Berlin Declaration on 5th June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23rd May 1949. The index viewed in the following pages uses Michel cataloging to list postage stamps from Berlin & Brandenburg, the American-British Bizone, French Zone, Joint American-British-Soviet Zone, and the Soviet Zone.

Amateur Radio

The use of amateur radio in Germany (with reports from 'The Short-Wave Magazine').

Anschluss Directory

Related philatelic interest and ephemera of the Austria Anschluss (the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13th March 1938).

Argentina

Diplomatic relationship with Germany

Argentinian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Artists

Directory of Artists, Cartoonist and Graphic Designers

Associations & Organisations Directory

Being non-Philatelic and non-NSDAP associations or organisations

Austria

Austrian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

'Ausweis für Rückgeführte'

I.D. Card for Repatriated Persons - Saar Offensive

Azad Hind

'Free India' - the unreleased postage stamps of 1943 from the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind), which designed and printed in Germany.

B

Banking and Finance

Correspondence to/from German banks

Barracks (kaserne) Directory

Postcards, letters and postal cancellations

BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCE

Books, journals and magazines etc., used for Brief History research

BOCHMANN

Special/commemorative cancellations by place name as listed in the Julius Bochmann catalogues of 1952. ALSO including special cancellations from the Occupied countries

BOHEMIA & MORAVIA

In the early hours of the morning of 15th March 1939, the German Army marched in and occupied the Czech lands of Bohemia & Moravia, the important industrial and mining region around the town of Ostrova had been occupied during the preceding night.

A directory of Bohemia & Moravia (inc. stamps and postal history etc.) can be found here.

Booksellers

Booksellers (Buchhandlung) Directory

Brazil

Brazilian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Bridges

Road and rail bridges of significance in Germany

BUILDINGS

Significant buildings within the 3rd Reich (ancient and modern)

Business Directory

An A-Z of companies of historical interest

C

'CARTOLINA POSTALE PER LE FORZE ARMATE'

Postcard index (also including 'Biglietto Postale' - letter-sheets) for correspondence from Italian military personnel.

Ceylon

Ceylon postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Churches & Cathedrals

Places of worship and religious affairs (LINK REQUIRED)

Cinema and Film

Films, film production and associated industries

CITIES, TOWNS & VILLAGES

Index of postcards depicting the cities, towns and villages of Germany with notes on their expansion, demise and reasons to be remembered.

Civil Censorship Detachment (CCD)

Post-war Germany civil censorship of the Munich censorship office

Collectors Cards (Sammlerausweis)

A postal document (ID for the purchase of postage stamps), which entitles stamp collectors to continuously obtain a certain number of special postage stamps from a post office within a specified collection period.

Communist Party of Germany (KPD)

With further information on Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

Concentration Camps

Directory of references within the Brief History collection

Colonial

German colonial propaganda 1933 onward

Court Seals

Official court (Amtsgericht) documents secured using a 'doily' seal and/or having an official court emblem printed or hand-stamped upon the envelope.

Cruise & passenger ships

Directory of German cruise and passenger ships used into and during the 3rd Reich period.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Index listing various aspects of Czech history, including feldpost, philately and The Third Republic.

D

Danzig

Danzig postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Dead Letter Office (DLO)

Correspondence with reference to the undelivered letters and the DLO

Death Notices

Notices and post stationery

'Der Adler'

Biweekly Nazi propaganda magazine published by the Scherl Verlag with the support of the Luftwaffe High Command.

Deutsche Dienstpost

The postal service of German-occupied areas during WWII

'Deutsche Dienstelle/ Gefallenen/ Wehrmacht'

Post-war organisation 'German Office for the notification of the next of kin of the fallen of the former German Wehrmacht'

Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG)

German Agricultural Society (Pre Reichsnährstand)

Deutscher Landhandelsbund e.V.

German Agricultural Trade Association

Devisenkontrolle

Foreign Exchange Control labels

'Die bunten Hefte für unsere Soldaten'

Books which could be sent through the feldpost system

DJH Directory

German Youth Hostel Association

E

Ecuador

Ecuadorian postage stamps with the Brief History collection

Education and research establishments

Schools and Universities etc.

Embassies and Consulates

Stationery/correspondence from German Foreign Embassies & Consulates

Stationery/correspondence from Foreign Embassies & Consulates (non-German)

Entertainment

Cabaret, Theatre, Variety, Circus & Fair

Ergänzungsstelle der Waffen-SS

Supplementary Offices

Esperanto

To be added

Estonia Directory

Items of interest within the Brief History collection

Exhibition & Events Directory

Exhibitions and events (non-philatelic), 1933-1947

(for philatelic events click here)

F

FDGB

Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund

Free German Trade Union Federation (1946-1990)

FELDPOST

Feldpost directory including, sack labels, cancellations, briefstempel variations, R-Labels, hand-stamps etc.

Film and Cinema

Films, film production and associated industries

Finland

Finish postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Fire and rescue service

Civil Fire Brigades and associated industries

(To be added)

Food & Drink

Directory of references to food and drink within the Brief History collection

France

French 'POSTE AUX ARMEES' military post

Francotyp

Postage Meter Stamp variations manufactured by Francotyp

G

Gemeinschaftslager

Correspondence from Civil Work Camps (often foreign workers)

General Government

Special/commemorative cancellations by place name

GERMAN POSTAGE STAMPS 1933-1945

Including booklet panes, booklet sheets, occupation issues (official & private), local issues from 1945, unofficial & private issues from 1945 etc.

'Get to know Germany'

Hindenburg Head postcard series

Hitler Head postcard series

Gottbegnadeten List

A list of 'God-Gifted' German artists compiled in August 1944 by the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda under Joseph Goebbels who were considered important to the National Socialist regime and were therefore placed under special protection by it

Also see: Unabkömmlichstellung (UK) und Zurückstellung

Indispensable status (UK) and deferment

Greece

Greek postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Gurs, Camp de (see Germania Vol.13/3 pp.138-39)

To be added

H

HITLER, ADOLF

Aspects of his life and leadership

Hitler Youth 1926-1945

also including Deutsches Jungvolk

HMS Seal

Captured British submarine

Hotels & Accommodation

Postal stationery

I

India

Indian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Invalidenversicherung

Einlage zur Quittungskarte

Istria

For information follow this link to 'Camp 27'

Italy

Italian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

J

Jamaica

Jamaican postage stamps within the Brief History collection

K

Kaserne & Lager (barracks) Directory

Military accommodation as depicted on postcards or with correspondence

Date stamp cancellations with location

K.d.F. Directory

Referencing items of interest related to the NS Gemeinschaft Kraft durch Freude ('Strength Through Joy' movement), part of the German Labour Front (DAF).

KLV Lager Directory

The evacuation of children in Germany during the World War II was designed to save children in Nazi Germany from the risks associated with the aerial bombing of cities, by moving them to areas thought to be less at risk. The German term used for this was Kinderlandverschickung (KLV), a short form of Verschickung der Kinder auf das Land ('relocation of children to the countryside').

Kriegshilfsdienst (K.D.H.)

War Relief Service

Kriegsmarine

Vessel directory

(also see U-Boats)

L

Labels & Vignettes

Mostly decorative commercial and commemorative adhesive labels

Landsberg Prison

Best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, after the failed Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, and where he dictated his memoirs Mein Kampf to Rudolf Hess.

LATVIA

Displaced persons

Latvian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Law

German Laws

As found within the Brief History collection

(with additional transcriptions from official text)

Lebenszeichen

Air-raid survivors card (green and red border). ALSO verification of address cards (green border)

Leipziger Messe

Leipzig Trade fair history

Lieds & Songs

Postcards featuring traditional lyrics and popular songs

Lottery

Prague 1944

LUFTWAFFE

Aircraft directory

Luftgaue air-district command (inc. occupied countries)

Postal cancellations on feldpost labels (Luftgaupostämt)

Luxembourg

General strike 1942

Post-war Luxembourg

M

Maćica Serbska

Cultural association of the Serbołużic people

Monuments & Memorials

Artwork and sculpture in public areas

Mountain troops

(Gebirgstruppen) Mountain troops of the Waffen-SS

N

Neudeck

Country residence of Paul von Hindenburg

Newspapers

Postal ephemera and publications (including wrappers)

'Normandie'

SS 'Normandie', French ocean liner

NSDAP

Administrative Buildings and Offices

Directory of organisations within the NSDAP (mostly prefixed 'NS.=')

Nürburgring

Motor racing track

Nuremberg Rallies

1923 -1939

O

Oberammergau 1934

Passion Play

Obliterations

Official- post-war covers and documents

Oflags

POW camps II - XXI and 6 - 92

Olympics Directory

Summer 1936 Berlin & Kiel

Olympics Directory

Winter 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Organisations & Associations Directory

Non-Philatelic, Non-NSDAP

Osthilfe (Eastern Aid)

Agricultural policy (1926-1937)

P

'Paquebot' mail

Definition

Parole der Woche

Propaganda labels

Patriotic Covers

Anti-Axis cover artwork

Perfins

'POL' Police perfins of the Hindenburg Memorial issues

Philatelic Exhibitions

Directory of events 1933 - 1947

Photographers

Directory of photographers

Photo-Porst-Postkartenkalender

Series of postcards

Pneumatic Mail (Rohrpost)

Rohrpost Berlin

Rohrpost Prague

Poland

Polish postage stamps within the Brief History collection (inc. Polish Government in Exile)

Polizei-Präsident

Envelope covers

Pope Pius XI

Catholic criticism of the Nazi regime

Postage Due

Stamps (not German nor Occupation)

POSTAL STATIONERY - OFFICIAL

German Postal Stationery

POSTAL STATIONERY - PRIVATE

German Postal Stationery (with imprint stamp)

POSTAL STATIONERY

Including Bohemia & Moravia, General Government, Occupied countries, Allied Postal Stationery (post WWII), and the Postal Stationery of other countries as found within the Brief History collection.

POW

Prisoner of war correspondence sent from Allied camps in Britain, America, Canada, East Africa, North Africa and India.

Presidential Election

13th March 1932 (Hindenburg victory)

PROPAGANDA

Postcards, correspondence, vignettes and labels featuring anti-British, anti-German, anti-Jewish and anti-Soviet propaganda.

'Pst'

'The enemy is listening' campaign (German)

Punch

The cartoons of Punch magazine

Puzzles and Quizzes

Games within books and correspondence

P.W.I.B.

Prisoner of War Information Bureau, Washington

R

Radio Directory

All things radio and Rundfunk within the Brief History collection

'REICHS' NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

also see other 'Reichs' in the index

Reichsbahn, Reichsdruckerei, Reichsluftschutzbund, Reichsministerium für Wissenschaft, Erziehung un Volksbildung, Reichsnährstand

Reichsluftschutzbund

Special postal cancellations

Postal cancellations

Needs tidying up see 29.05.1938

REICHSPOSTDIREKTION (RPD)

Postal Instruction Labels. ALSO including foreign postal and post-war labels.

Hand-stamp instructions & declarations. ALSO including foreign postal and post-war hand-stamps.

Reichswinterhilfe Lotterie 1934/35

also see Winterhilfswerk d. Deutschen Volkes 1933/34

Index of postcards

Rohrpost - see Pneumatic mail

Romance & Relationships

Correspondence and images within the Brief History collection

Romania

Romanian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Rote Kreuz (Red Cross)

Directory of all things Red Cross

Royalty

Royal families and nobility

S

SAAR

A referendum on territorial status was held in the Territory of the Saar Basin on 13th January 1935. Over 90% of voters opted for reunification with Germany, with 9% voting for the status quo as a League of Nations mandate territory and less than 0.5% opting for unification with France.

Schutzpolizei

German uniformed Police Force

Shipping Lines

Directory of shipping lines postal stationery and references

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Sign of the Times directory (SOTT) - numerous pages with (mostly) non-philatelic content pertaining to events of the day. Sourced from contemporary printed material, i.e. newspapers, pamphlets, decrees, and governmental dispatches etc. Pertinent information is listed in the index, sub-indexes and search field. Pertinent advertising is also included.

Slovakia

Postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Sonderpostamt

Special Post Office

South West Africa (S.W.A.)

Index of place names

Postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Souvenir Sheets

The various manifestations of commemorative sheet and postage stamp combinations.

Soviet Union (USSR)

Russian postage stamps within the Brief History collection

Spain

Spanish postage stamps within the Brief History collection. (Also see: Spanish Civil war for issues between 1936-1939)

SPANISH CIVIL WAR (SCW)

Directory of items within the Brief History collection (17th July 1936 - 1st April 1939).

Sports Directory

Competitive sporting events and commemorative ceremonies

STALAGS

Directory of Prisoner of War camps operated by the German authorities for enlisted soldiers (also see Oflags - camps for Officers)

Stamp dealers & associations

Directory of 'Briefmarken' dealers and associations

(for philatelic events click here)

Sterilisation

The case of Otto Scheuerbrand

SUDETENLAND

Local Official issues and 'Commemoration Overprints'

Postal history (not overprinted)

Switzerland

Swiss postage stamps within the Brief History collection

T

Tax

Income tax return instructions (1943)

Theresientstadt

TOWNS, CITIES & VILLAGES

Index of postcards depicting the cities, towns and villages of Germany with notes on their expansion, demise and reasons to be remembered.

Tripartate Pact

(aka Berlin Pact) - Germany, Italy & Japan, 1940

Turnfest

German gymnastic festival

Typefaces

Guide to fonts used on printed matter

U

U-Boats

Vessel directory

Überroller-post

Information regarding German/Allied 'overtaken' mail (1944-45)

Unabkömmlichstellung (UK) und Zurückstellung

Indispensable status and deferment

The indispensable status is the exemption from performing military service or the postponement of its postponement. Both only occur in the case of conscription

Also see: Gottbegnadeten List (God-Gifted)

United States of America

American postage stamps within the Brief History collection

V

V-1 POW Mail

Article from 'The Aero Field' magazine, 1947

Vichy France 

Postage stamps within the Brief History collection

VIKTORIA!

Propaganda campaign in Germany

Propaganda campaign in Bohemia & Moravia

Vignettes & Labels

VILLAGES, CITIES & TOWNS

Index of postcards depicting the cities, towns and villages of Germany with notes on their expansion, demise and reasons to be remembered.

Volksbund Deutsche kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.

The German War Graves Commission

Volksstrum

W

Wehrbezirkskommando

 Military recruiting sub-district HQ

Wehrkreiskommando

Military Districts

WEHRMACHT

Directory of the Wehrmacht including, Heer, Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, weapon, ranks etc.

Wehrmachtmanöver

Postcards produced for the manoeuvres of 1937

Wehrpassnotiz F

Draft board 'Form 14' (conscription)

WHO'S WHO

Those people depicted photographically or in quotations

Winterhilfswerk d. Deutschen Volkes 1933/34

also see Reichswinterhilfe Lotterie 1934/35

Index of postcards

Z

ZEPPELINS

LZ127 Graf Zeppelin

LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II

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