Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
The Russian Liberation Army (Russian: Russkaya osvoboditel'naya armiya, abbreviated as POA, ROA, also known as the Vlasov army (Vlasovskaya armiya)) was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Russians, that fought under German command during World War II.
The army was led by Andrey Vlasov, a Red Army general who had defected, and members of the army are often referred to as Vlasovtsy.
In 1944, it became known as the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (abbreviated as BC KOHP, VS KONR).
Vlasov agreed to collaborate with Nazi Germany after having been captured on the Eastern Front.
The soldiers under his command were mostly former Soviet prisoners of war but also included White Russian émigrés, some of whom were veterans of the anti-communist White Army from the Russian Civil War.
On 14 November 1944, it was officially renamed the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, with the KONR being formed as a political body to which the army pledged loyalty.
On 28 January 1945, it was officially declared that the Russian divisions no longer form part of the German Army, but would directly be under the command of KONR.
Russian volunteers who enlisted into the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) wore the patch of the Russian Liberation Army.
These volunteers (called Hiwi, an acronym for Hilfswilliger, roughly meaning "volunteers") were not under any Russian command or control; they were exclusively under German command carrying out various non-combat duties.
A number of them were employed at the Battle of Stalingrad, where it was estimated that as much as one quarter of the 6th Army's strength was Soviet citizens.
Soon, several German commanders began to use them in small armed units for various tasks, including combat against Soviet partisans, driving vehicles, carrying wounded, and delivering supplies.
Adolf Hitler allowed the idea of the Russian Liberation Army to circulate in propaganda literature, as long as no formations of the sort were actually permitted.
As a result, some Red Army soldiers surrendered or defected in hopes of joining an army that did not exist.
Many Soviet prisoners of war volunteered to serve under German command just to get out of Nazi POW camps, which were notorious for starving Soviet prisoners to death.
Training classes for recruits, 1944
Meanwhile, the newly-captured Soviet general Vlasov, along with his German and Russian allies, was desperately lobbying the German high command, hoping that the green light would be given for the formation of a real armed force that would be exclusively under Russian control.
They were able to win over Alfred Rosenberg to some extent.
Although Hitler's staff repeatedly refused to even consider the idea, Vlasov and his allies reasoned that Hitler would eventually come to realize the futility of a war against the USSR without winning over the Russian people, and respond to Vlasov's demands.
Irrespective of the political wrangling over Vlasov and the status of the ROA, by mid-1943 several hundred thousand ex-Soviet volunteers were serving in the German forces, either as Hiwis or in Eastern volunteer units (referred to as Osteinheiten ("Eastern units") or landeseigene Verbände).
These latter were generally deployed in a security role at the rear of the armies and army groups in the East, where they constituted a major part of the German effort to counter the activity of Soviet partisan forces, dating as far back as early 1942.
The Germans were, however, always concerned about their reliability.
Following the German defeats in the summer of 1943 the units began to disintegrate.
On 12 September for example, 2nd Army had to withdraw Sturm-Btl. AOK 2 in order to deal with what was described as "several mutinies and desertions of Eastern units".
A 14 September communication from the army states that in the recent period, Hiwi absenteeism had risen considerably.
Following a series of attempted or successful mutinies, and a surge in desertions, the Germans decided in September 1942 that the reliability of the units had fallen to a level where they were more a liability than an asset.
In an October 1943 report, the 8th Army concluded grimly: "All local volunteers are unreliable during enemy contact.
Principal reason of unreliability is the employment of these volunteers in the East."
Two days previously, the German army had given permission to the KTB to take harsh measures in the event of further cases of rebellion or unreliability, investing regimental commanders with far-reaching powers to hold summary courts and execute the verdicts.
Since it was felt that the reliability of Russian volunteers would improve if they were removed from contact with the local population, it was decided to send them to the Western Front, and the majority of them were re-deployed in late 1943 or early 1944.
Many of these battalions were integrated into the divisions in the West.
A number of the Russian soldiers were on guard in Normandy on D-Day but, without the equipment or motivation to fight the Allies, most promptly surrendered.
However, there were instances of bitter fighting to the very end, triggered by counter-productive propaganda from the Allies that promised quick repatriation of soldiers to the Soviet Union after they gave up.
A total of 71 "Eastern" battalions served on the Eastern Front, while 42 battalions served in Belgium, Finland, France, and Italy.
An aerial contingent of Russian volunteers was formed as Ostfliegerstaffel (russische) in December 1943, only to be disbanded in July 1944 before seeing combat.
The Russian airmen were regrouped into the Night Harassment Squadron 8, whose first and only mission took place on 13 April 1945, when they attacked a Soviet bridgehead at Erlenhof, on the Oder River.
cancelled " ST. O. K. Sloboda = Garrison Commander Sloboda " !!!
Serie unused with 2P color variant
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THE LATVIAN LEGION
The Latvian Legion (Latvian: Latviešu legions) was a formation of the German Waffen-SS during World War II.
Created in 1943, it consisted primarily of ethnic Latvian personnel.
The legion consisted of two divisions of the Waffen-SS: the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian), and the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian).
The 15th Division was administratively subordinated to the VI SS Corps, but operationally it was in reserve or at the disposal of the XXXXIII Army Corps, 16th Army, Army Group North.
The 19th Division held out in the Courland Pocket until May 1945, the close of World War II, when it was among the last of Nazi Germany's forces to surrender.
The Latvian Legion was created in January 1943 on the orders of Adolf Hitler following a request by Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS.
The initial core of the force was populated by Latvian Police Battalions, which were formed several years earlier for security duties.
Also, some who had previously served in the notorious Arajs Kommando commando unit, responsible for atrocities committed against Jews, Roma, and civilians along Latvia's border with the Soviet Union were transferred to the Latvian Legion.
One month after the unit was founded, German occupation authorities in Latvia started conscripting military age men.
Draftees were given a choice between serving in the Waffen-SS Legions, serving as (German Wehrmacht) auxiliaries, or being sent to a slave labour camp in Germany.
Those who tried to avoid one of those options were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
As a result, only 15-20% of the men serving in the legion were actual volunteers.
Unlike in Lithuania, potential legionary recruits in Latvia did not organize an official boycott of conscription; some Latvians deserted however rather than serving the Nazi war effort.
With Nazi Germany losing the war, conscription was extended to larger and larger numbers of Latvians.
The first conscription, in 1943, applied to all Latvian men born from 1919 to 1924.
The subsequent conscriptions extended to Latvians born between 1906 and 1928.
The division commanders and most of the staff were German SS officers.
The individual combat regiments were typically commanded by Latvian officers.
After the Red Army broke through German lines at Nevel along the 1st Baltic Front in November 1943, advancing on Latvia, and after initially resisting the German order to do so, the Latvian Self-Administration took over mobilization from the Germans on November 13.
By June 26 there were 7,671 ethnic Russians from Latvia's Latgale, representing ten percent of men from the region, serving in various units of the Latvian Legion.
On July 1, 1944 the Latvian Legion had 87,550 men. Another 23,000 Latvians were serving as Wehrmacht "auxiliaries".
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VIGNETTES
Even during the Second World War, vignettes were produced in the Reich and occupied areas, some of which were used on field mail items.
Vignettes and vignette blocks are privately produced and distributed prints - often with a "value" - but without postal franking.
The original intention when using vignettes in postal traffic was to use them as sealing labels. When using vignettes on the address pages of private mail in addition to the necessary franking, on field mail next to or instead of the admission stamps or free fee, the vignettes were stamped by the day stamp of the post office, which means that the stamped vignettes are in no way postal Received meaning.
Courtesy cancellations with field post daily stamps, stamps of the DRP (Deutsche Reichspost) as well as official and letter stamps of Wehrmacht units in the field mail traffic "Front — Heimat" are common, although the term "needs-based use" can certainly not be used.
Proceeds from the sale of donation vignettes benefited the issuing, charitable organizations, in many cases the sale also went to the German Red Cross (DRK).
A. Propaganda vignettes (V vignettes)
Due to the "Victoria Propaganda" of the Reich Propaganda Ministry, which started in 1941, various troops and troop units issued V-vignettes, independently of one another.
Propaganda vignet 2
Propaganda vignet 4
Propaganda vignet 6
B. Donate vignettes
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FELDPOST (Fieldpost) Transport
When (Fieldpost) letters were sorted, smaller quantities, which went to the same receiving post office (also applies to payment cards etc.), were put in collective envelopes of different sizes.
For larger quantities, bundles were made and a "pre-binding note" specifying the sending and receiving post office was pre-bound.
The finished letter bundles were packed in a letter bag (sack) and filled with a note - again with the sender and recipient post office - the "bag flag".
Bag flags were used in the mail and parcel service.
The sealing labels were used when sealing damaged shipments.
Collection envelopes
Pre-binding Notes
Bag Flags
Sealing Labels
Do not have a picture yet......
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Germany under Allied occupation
From the beginning of the occupation until June 4, 1945, the occupied territories were subordinate to the military government of the respective armed forces, i.e. the Anglo-American (SHAEF), French and Soviet Russians. On June 5, 1945, the Allied Control Council was established, and the rest of the German Reich was divided into four zones of occupation. Greater Berlin was excluded and placed under its own four-power administration. The territorial changes resulting from the final zoning were largely completed by early August. In 1948 political events led to the first economic and finally political division of Germany in 1949 with the establishment of the Federal Republic on May 23, 1949 and the GDR on October 7, 1949.
Postal History:
With the occupation of the respective locations by the Allied forces, all postal services had been completely prevented. The resumption took place very differently locally or regionally. See the individual areas for more details. From October 24, 1945, traffic between the four zones was again permitted. International traffic was resumed from April 1, 1946, except with Finland, Yugoslavia, Japan and Spain. Only prisoner of war mail had been allowed abroad since 1945.
For the American and British zones, a common postal administration was set up with uniform stamps, while the French introduced their own stamps for their zone. In the Soviet zone, the individual head offices issued their own stamps. From February 1946, common stamps were introduced for the American, British and Soviet zones. The French did not join, but from 1947 they introduced their own expenditure for each of the three countries in their zone and for the Saar. With the currency reform on June 21, 1948, the postal division in West and East Germany finally followed.
Literature: W. Strobel: "The beginning of postal traffic in Germany after the occupation 1945-1950" (6th edition 2002)
Emergency measures after the resumption of postal traffic
In the period after May 5, 1945, the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin was initially not available for printing postage stamps. Due to the lack of stamps, large amounts of cash had to be used when postal traffic was reopened in order to enable postal traffic between the individual zones. Even after the introduction of the new brands, there was often an acute lack of brands in all zones, so that the post offices kept returning to emergency measures in franking. This resulted in:
A. Cash frankings with handwritten notes: letters 15 to 60; with note in typewriter and day stamp: letter 180, -
B. Cash frankings with fee stamps in different versions: letter 2, - to 180, -
C. Cash frankings with day stamps with franking: letter 4, - to 25, -
D. Cash frankings by stamp machines: letter 15, - to 400, -
E. Partial frankings (postage partly through stamps or fee slips, partly offset in cash): Surcharge 15, - to 40, - at the letter price of the stamps, but at least 25, -.
F. Normal full franking with postage stamp, nevertheless with additional stamp "fee paid"; letter surcharge 4, - at the letter price of the brands.
G. Franking with charge slips: For details see local editions.
The price ratings apply to clean receipts with clear fee stamps (in red, black or violet) and legible posting stamps in the cheapest variety.
German local editions from 1945
All stamps of the German Reich with overprint were withdrawn at the beginning of August 1945, if not already done, and were no longer allowed to be used for franking in the Reichspostdirektion Chemnitz with the expiry of B.B. 1945. Stamp dates are still possible a few days later.
In the federal state of Saxony, from October 29 to December 10, 1945, all German local editions could be used for franking, unless they had previously been declared invalid, since 11 December 1945 only the local editions of the Soviet occupation zone. In the province of Saxony, all local editions of the Soviet occupation zone that were still valid could be used for franking since January 10, 1946, probably from the end of December 1945 in the province of Brandenburg, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and in Thuringia. This was based on the decision of the Central Administration for Post and Telecommunications in the Soviet Zone of Occupation of Germany from December 6, 1945 and perhaps another decision from December 23, 1945. Brands of the western zones of occupation were not allowed to be used.
All local editions should expire on March 31, 1946. This order was revoked on 1.4.1946. In the Soviet zone of occupation, the special stamps, the sale of which for short-term welfare purposes (i.e. the additional stamps) were discontinued on April 5, 1946, unless previously done. At the end of October 31, 1946, all local editions lost their validity.
Deviations are indicated in the individual local editions.
The term "free stamps of the Hitler head edition" that is used repeatedly in the header texts refers to the editions
the German Reichspost 1941/44, MiNr. 781-802 and 826 to 827.
In addition to the actual local expenses, fee notes are also listed as a form of local emergency measures.
Imprints (handwritten or stamped, such as "fee paid") attached directly or on stickers to postal items belong to the area of cash frankings and are included in the MICHEL letters catalog Germany, in the manual "Cash frankings as emergency measures in Germany 1945 "of the ARGE German Emergency Measures (1976) and in the handbook" Bar frankings in the four occupation zones of Germany and in Berlin 1945-1949 "by HJ Richter (2000).
Bar frankings (3) and "Saxon blackening" (4) do not belong to local editions, such items are only mentioned here, cataloging and evaluations are omitted!
Unofficial expenses and / or private products can be found after this chapter!
Literature: Dr. Hans-Karl Penning, Philatelic criteria for the recognition of German local editions 1945/46, in: Philately No. 356 from February 2007, pp. 23-25, No. 357 from March 2007, pp. 37-40, No. 358 from April 2007, pp. 25-29 and No. 359 of May 2007, pp. 51-53
According to the guidelines of the BPP, some issues or individual MiNr. marked with the following information:
(1) = will not be checked because it cannot be checked for technical reasons
(2) = is not currently being checked (issue unclear)
(3) = will only be checked as cash franking
(4) = so-called "Saxon darkness" - blurring C
Missing information means that the expenditure is checked without restriction!
These are the following cities / districts in local editions:
ALTDÖBERN
ALTENTREPTOW
ALT-GOLM (former lead post office BAD SAAROW)
APOLDA
ARNSBERG (Westphalia)
BAD NAUHEIM
BAD SAAROW (Mark)
BAD SCHMIEDEBERG (Dübener Heide)
BERLSTEDT (Weimar district)
BÖHL (Rhineland / Pfalz)
BRACKWEDE (Westphalia)
BRAUNSBEDRA uber Merseburg
BÜNDE (Westphalia)
COTTBUS
DEMMIN (Western Pomerania)
DÖBELN (Saxony)
DUSSELDORF-GERRESHEIM 3
ECKARTSBERGA
ELLINGEN (Bavaria)
ERKNER
ESCHWEILER
FINSTERWALDE (Lower Lusatia)
FLENSBURG
FREDERSDORF (near Berlin)
FREUDENSTADT (Südwürttenberg-Hohenzollern)
GLAUCHAU (Saxony)
GÖRLITZ
GRABOW (Mecklenburg)
GROSSRÄSCHEN
HAMBURG (RPD district)
HAMM (Westphalia)
HUSUM
KIEL (post office 1)
KIEL (RPD district)
COLOGNE (Rhine) Post Office 10
LÖBAU (Saxony)
LÖHNE (Westphalia)
LÜBBENAU (im Spreewald)
LÜCHOW
LÜTJENBURG (Ostholstein)
MEISSEN
MINDELHEIM (around Kirchheim)
NETZSCHKAU-REICHENBACH (Saxony)
NIESKY (Upper Lusatia)
PERLEBERG (Brandenburg)
PLAUEN (Vogtland)
Röhrmoos
ROTHENBURG UBER KÖNNERN (Saale)
SPREMBERG (Lower Lusatia)
STORKOW (Mark)
STRAUSBERG (near Berlin)
TITISEE (Schwartzwald)
UNNA (Westphalia)
WITTENBERG-LUTHERSTADT
WUPPERTAL-EBERFELD 6
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APOLDA
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BAD NAUHEIM
BAD SAAROW
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COTTBUS
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DÖBELN
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FINSTERWALDE
Michel Nr I
Michel Nr 1-12
Block 1 (SMALL CITY LOGO)
Block 2 (BIG CITY LOGO)
Backside Block 1 (SPARGUMMI !)
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FREDERSDORF
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GLAUCHAU
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GÖRLITZ
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GROSSRÄSCHEN
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LÖBAU
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LÖHNE
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LUBBENAU
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MEISSEN
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NETZSCHKAU-REICHENBACH
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NIESKY
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PERLEBERG
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PLAUEN
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SPREMBERG
UPDATED.......
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I am in awe of the multitude of Hitler head overprints you have shown
that are out there that I knew nothing about!
Thank you for posting them - now I will have new additions to look for to add to my collection!
Thanks, Henry!
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Thank you so much for this information. I have one of these sets, the “GROSSRÄSCHEN”, and they were a bit of a mystery to me.
Impressive collection!
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Thanks for the info and impressive showing of these obscure issues
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Well guys, thanks for the compliments but there is more.........
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STORKOW
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STRAUSBERG
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UNNA
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WITTENBERG
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Unofficial expenditure / private products (no local expenditure)
The "editions" cataloged below do not come from a post office source. From an objective point of view, they came to cataloging wrongly in 1947 and were treated as local editions and also partially checked.
Non-official expenses / private products may not be referred to as "local expenses" under applicable German commercial law.
Some of these products come with real postmarks and letters, mostly due to carelessness, indifference or the willingness of individual postal workers.
For literature on the respective "editions", see newsletters and circular letters from the Arge Deutsche Barfrankaturen and emergency invalidations from 1945 and Arge Loknot e.V. (both now German emergency measures from 1945 e.V.).
None of the expenditure listed under this heading is checked (BPP) (1)
In accordance with the BPP guidelines, some editions or individual Michel nr are marked with the following information:
(1) = Will not be checked because it cannot be checked for technical reasons.
(2) = is not currently being checked (issue unclear)
(3) = Will only be checked as cash franking
(4) = So-called "Saxon blackening" blurring C
Missing information means that the expenditure will be checked without restriction.
These are the following cities / districts in local editions:
ASCHAFFENBURG
BARSINGHAUSEN (Deister)
FRANKENAU (Hessen)
RAVENSBURG
ROSSWEIN
RÜNDEROTH
SAULGAU
WASUNGEN
WESTERSTEDE
and more.......
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BARSINGHAUSEN
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FRANKENAU
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RAVENSBURG
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ROSSWEIN
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RÜNDEROTH
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SAULGAU
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WASUNGEN
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WESTERSTEDE
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WITTENBERG - LUTHERSTADT
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WURZEN
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Sorry for the one or two double posts.
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MUHLBERG
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NAUMBURG
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Well some of the postings above are NOT in the MICHEL Catalog anymore.
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Fascinating collection. Just out of curiosity, if a person were interested in adding some of these to his collection, what would an average value be? All I have is a Scott's and I doubt if they would be in anything short of a specialized catalog. Don't value everything, but I'm just interested in an estimate.
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@Harvey,
You can not give an average price indication.
The values of these series vary far too much.
The cheapest series or individual copy may cost 1 to 5 US dollar.
and the most expensive ones are up to 1200 dollars.
So to give an average of 600 dollar is nonsense.
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VLASSOV ARMY
The Russian Liberation Army (Russian: Russkaya osvoboditel'naya armiya, abbreviated as POA, ROA, also known as the Vlasov army (Vlasovskaya armiya)) was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Russians, that fought under German command during World War II.
The army was led by Andrey Vlasov, a Red Army general who had defected, and members of the army are often referred to as Vlasovtsy.
In 1944, it became known as the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (abbreviated as BC KOHP, VS KONR).
Vlasov agreed to collaborate with Nazi Germany after having been captured on the Eastern Front.
The soldiers under his command were mostly former Soviet prisoners of war but also included White Russian émigrés, some of whom were veterans of the anti-communist White Army from the Russian Civil War.
On 14 November 1944, it was officially renamed the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, with the KONR being formed as a political body to which the army pledged loyalty.
On 28 January 1945, it was officially declared that the Russian divisions no longer form part of the German Army, but would directly be under the command of KONR.
Russian volunteers who enlisted into the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) wore the patch of the Russian Liberation Army.
These volunteers (called Hiwi, an acronym for Hilfswilliger, roughly meaning "volunteers") were not under any Russian command or control; they were exclusively under German command carrying out various non-combat duties.
A number of them were employed at the Battle of Stalingrad, where it was estimated that as much as one quarter of the 6th Army's strength was Soviet citizens.
Soon, several German commanders began to use them in small armed units for various tasks, including combat against Soviet partisans, driving vehicles, carrying wounded, and delivering supplies.
Adolf Hitler allowed the idea of the Russian Liberation Army to circulate in propaganda literature, as long as no formations of the sort were actually permitted.
As a result, some Red Army soldiers surrendered or defected in hopes of joining an army that did not exist.
Many Soviet prisoners of war volunteered to serve under German command just to get out of Nazi POW camps, which were notorious for starving Soviet prisoners to death.
Training classes for recruits, 1944
Meanwhile, the newly-captured Soviet general Vlasov, along with his German and Russian allies, was desperately lobbying the German high command, hoping that the green light would be given for the formation of a real armed force that would be exclusively under Russian control.
They were able to win over Alfred Rosenberg to some extent.
Although Hitler's staff repeatedly refused to even consider the idea, Vlasov and his allies reasoned that Hitler would eventually come to realize the futility of a war against the USSR without winning over the Russian people, and respond to Vlasov's demands.
Irrespective of the political wrangling over Vlasov and the status of the ROA, by mid-1943 several hundred thousand ex-Soviet volunteers were serving in the German forces, either as Hiwis or in Eastern volunteer units (referred to as Osteinheiten ("Eastern units") or landeseigene Verbände).
These latter were generally deployed in a security role at the rear of the armies and army groups in the East, where they constituted a major part of the German effort to counter the activity of Soviet partisan forces, dating as far back as early 1942.
The Germans were, however, always concerned about their reliability.
Following the German defeats in the summer of 1943 the units began to disintegrate.
On 12 September for example, 2nd Army had to withdraw Sturm-Btl. AOK 2 in order to deal with what was described as "several mutinies and desertions of Eastern units".
A 14 September communication from the army states that in the recent period, Hiwi absenteeism had risen considerably.
Following a series of attempted or successful mutinies, and a surge in desertions, the Germans decided in September 1942 that the reliability of the units had fallen to a level where they were more a liability than an asset.
In an October 1943 report, the 8th Army concluded grimly: "All local volunteers are unreliable during enemy contact.
Principal reason of unreliability is the employment of these volunteers in the East."
Two days previously, the German army had given permission to the KTB to take harsh measures in the event of further cases of rebellion or unreliability, investing regimental commanders with far-reaching powers to hold summary courts and execute the verdicts.
Since it was felt that the reliability of Russian volunteers would improve if they were removed from contact with the local population, it was decided to send them to the Western Front, and the majority of them were re-deployed in late 1943 or early 1944.
Many of these battalions were integrated into the divisions in the West.
A number of the Russian soldiers were on guard in Normandy on D-Day but, without the equipment or motivation to fight the Allies, most promptly surrendered.
However, there were instances of bitter fighting to the very end, triggered by counter-productive propaganda from the Allies that promised quick repatriation of soldiers to the Soviet Union after they gave up.
A total of 71 "Eastern" battalions served on the Eastern Front, while 42 battalions served in Belgium, Finland, France, and Italy.
An aerial contingent of Russian volunteers was formed as Ostfliegerstaffel (russische) in December 1943, only to be disbanded in July 1944 before seeing combat.
The Russian airmen were regrouped into the Night Harassment Squadron 8, whose first and only mission took place on 13 April 1945, when they attacked a Soviet bridgehead at Erlenhof, on the Oder River.
cancelled " ST. O. K. Sloboda = Garrison Commander Sloboda " !!!
Serie unused with 2P color variant
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re: interesting facts and explanations PART 2
THE LATVIAN LEGION
The Latvian Legion (Latvian: Latviešu legions) was a formation of the German Waffen-SS during World War II.
Created in 1943, it consisted primarily of ethnic Latvian personnel.
The legion consisted of two divisions of the Waffen-SS: the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian), and the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian).
The 15th Division was administratively subordinated to the VI SS Corps, but operationally it was in reserve or at the disposal of the XXXXIII Army Corps, 16th Army, Army Group North.
The 19th Division held out in the Courland Pocket until May 1945, the close of World War II, when it was among the last of Nazi Germany's forces to surrender.
The Latvian Legion was created in January 1943 on the orders of Adolf Hitler following a request by Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS.
The initial core of the force was populated by Latvian Police Battalions, which were formed several years earlier for security duties.
Also, some who had previously served in the notorious Arajs Kommando commando unit, responsible for atrocities committed against Jews, Roma, and civilians along Latvia's border with the Soviet Union were transferred to the Latvian Legion.
One month after the unit was founded, German occupation authorities in Latvia started conscripting military age men.
Draftees were given a choice between serving in the Waffen-SS Legions, serving as (German Wehrmacht) auxiliaries, or being sent to a slave labour camp in Germany.
Those who tried to avoid one of those options were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
As a result, only 15-20% of the men serving in the legion were actual volunteers.
Unlike in Lithuania, potential legionary recruits in Latvia did not organize an official boycott of conscription; some Latvians deserted however rather than serving the Nazi war effort.
With Nazi Germany losing the war, conscription was extended to larger and larger numbers of Latvians.
The first conscription, in 1943, applied to all Latvian men born from 1919 to 1924.
The subsequent conscriptions extended to Latvians born between 1906 and 1928.
The division commanders and most of the staff were German SS officers.
The individual combat regiments were typically commanded by Latvian officers.
After the Red Army broke through German lines at Nevel along the 1st Baltic Front in November 1943, advancing on Latvia, and after initially resisting the German order to do so, the Latvian Self-Administration took over mobilization from the Germans on November 13.
By June 26 there were 7,671 ethnic Russians from Latvia's Latgale, representing ten percent of men from the region, serving in various units of the Latvian Legion.
On July 1, 1944 the Latvian Legion had 87,550 men. Another 23,000 Latvians were serving as Wehrmacht "auxiliaries".
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VIGNETTES
Even during the Second World War, vignettes were produced in the Reich and occupied areas, some of which were used on field mail items.
Vignettes and vignette blocks are privately produced and distributed prints - often with a "value" - but without postal franking.
The original intention when using vignettes in postal traffic was to use them as sealing labels. When using vignettes on the address pages of private mail in addition to the necessary franking, on field mail next to or instead of the admission stamps or free fee, the vignettes were stamped by the day stamp of the post office, which means that the stamped vignettes are in no way postal Received meaning.
Courtesy cancellations with field post daily stamps, stamps of the DRP (Deutsche Reichspost) as well as official and letter stamps of Wehrmacht units in the field mail traffic "Front — Heimat" are common, although the term "needs-based use" can certainly not be used.
Proceeds from the sale of donation vignettes benefited the issuing, charitable organizations, in many cases the sale also went to the German Red Cross (DRK).
A. Propaganda vignettes (V vignettes)
Due to the "Victoria Propaganda" of the Reich Propaganda Ministry, which started in 1941, various troops and troop units issued V-vignettes, independently of one another.
Propaganda vignet 2
Propaganda vignet 4
Propaganda vignet 6
B. Donate vignettes
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FELDPOST (Fieldpost) Transport
When (Fieldpost) letters were sorted, smaller quantities, which went to the same receiving post office (also applies to payment cards etc.), were put in collective envelopes of different sizes.
For larger quantities, bundles were made and a "pre-binding note" specifying the sending and receiving post office was pre-bound.
The finished letter bundles were packed in a letter bag (sack) and filled with a note - again with the sender and recipient post office - the "bag flag".
Bag flags were used in the mail and parcel service.
The sealing labels were used when sealing damaged shipments.
Collection envelopes
Pre-binding Notes
Bag Flags
Sealing Labels
Do not have a picture yet......
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Germany under Allied occupation
From the beginning of the occupation until June 4, 1945, the occupied territories were subordinate to the military government of the respective armed forces, i.e. the Anglo-American (SHAEF), French and Soviet Russians. On June 5, 1945, the Allied Control Council was established, and the rest of the German Reich was divided into four zones of occupation. Greater Berlin was excluded and placed under its own four-power administration. The territorial changes resulting from the final zoning were largely completed by early August. In 1948 political events led to the first economic and finally political division of Germany in 1949 with the establishment of the Federal Republic on May 23, 1949 and the GDR on October 7, 1949.
Postal History:
With the occupation of the respective locations by the Allied forces, all postal services had been completely prevented. The resumption took place very differently locally or regionally. See the individual areas for more details. From October 24, 1945, traffic between the four zones was again permitted. International traffic was resumed from April 1, 1946, except with Finland, Yugoslavia, Japan and Spain. Only prisoner of war mail had been allowed abroad since 1945.
For the American and British zones, a common postal administration was set up with uniform stamps, while the French introduced their own stamps for their zone. In the Soviet zone, the individual head offices issued their own stamps. From February 1946, common stamps were introduced for the American, British and Soviet zones. The French did not join, but from 1947 they introduced their own expenditure for each of the three countries in their zone and for the Saar. With the currency reform on June 21, 1948, the postal division in West and East Germany finally followed.
Literature: W. Strobel: "The beginning of postal traffic in Germany after the occupation 1945-1950" (6th edition 2002)
Emergency measures after the resumption of postal traffic
In the period after May 5, 1945, the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin was initially not available for printing postage stamps. Due to the lack of stamps, large amounts of cash had to be used when postal traffic was reopened in order to enable postal traffic between the individual zones. Even after the introduction of the new brands, there was often an acute lack of brands in all zones, so that the post offices kept returning to emergency measures in franking. This resulted in:
A. Cash frankings with handwritten notes: letters 15 to 60; with note in typewriter and day stamp: letter 180, -
B. Cash frankings with fee stamps in different versions: letter 2, - to 180, -
C. Cash frankings with day stamps with franking: letter 4, - to 25, -
D. Cash frankings by stamp machines: letter 15, - to 400, -
E. Partial frankings (postage partly through stamps or fee slips, partly offset in cash): Surcharge 15, - to 40, - at the letter price of the stamps, but at least 25, -.
F. Normal full franking with postage stamp, nevertheless with additional stamp "fee paid"; letter surcharge 4, - at the letter price of the brands.
G. Franking with charge slips: For details see local editions.
The price ratings apply to clean receipts with clear fee stamps (in red, black or violet) and legible posting stamps in the cheapest variety.
German local editions from 1945
All stamps of the German Reich with overprint were withdrawn at the beginning of August 1945, if not already done, and were no longer allowed to be used for franking in the Reichspostdirektion Chemnitz with the expiry of B.B. 1945. Stamp dates are still possible a few days later.
In the federal state of Saxony, from October 29 to December 10, 1945, all German local editions could be used for franking, unless they had previously been declared invalid, since 11 December 1945 only the local editions of the Soviet occupation zone. In the province of Saxony, all local editions of the Soviet occupation zone that were still valid could be used for franking since January 10, 1946, probably from the end of December 1945 in the province of Brandenburg, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and in Thuringia. This was based on the decision of the Central Administration for Post and Telecommunications in the Soviet Zone of Occupation of Germany from December 6, 1945 and perhaps another decision from December 23, 1945. Brands of the western zones of occupation were not allowed to be used.
All local editions should expire on March 31, 1946. This order was revoked on 1.4.1946. In the Soviet zone of occupation, the special stamps, the sale of which for short-term welfare purposes (i.e. the additional stamps) were discontinued on April 5, 1946, unless previously done. At the end of October 31, 1946, all local editions lost their validity.
Deviations are indicated in the individual local editions.
The term "free stamps of the Hitler head edition" that is used repeatedly in the header texts refers to the editions
the German Reichspost 1941/44, MiNr. 781-802 and 826 to 827.
In addition to the actual local expenses, fee notes are also listed as a form of local emergency measures.
Imprints (handwritten or stamped, such as "fee paid") attached directly or on stickers to postal items belong to the area of cash frankings and are included in the MICHEL letters catalog Germany, in the manual "Cash frankings as emergency measures in Germany 1945 "of the ARGE German Emergency Measures (1976) and in the handbook" Bar frankings in the four occupation zones of Germany and in Berlin 1945-1949 "by HJ Richter (2000).
Bar frankings (3) and "Saxon blackening" (4) do not belong to local editions, such items are only mentioned here, cataloging and evaluations are omitted!
Unofficial expenses and / or private products can be found after this chapter!
Literature: Dr. Hans-Karl Penning, Philatelic criteria for the recognition of German local editions 1945/46, in: Philately No. 356 from February 2007, pp. 23-25, No. 357 from March 2007, pp. 37-40, No. 358 from April 2007, pp. 25-29 and No. 359 of May 2007, pp. 51-53
According to the guidelines of the BPP, some issues or individual MiNr. marked with the following information:
(1) = will not be checked because it cannot be checked for technical reasons
(2) = is not currently being checked (issue unclear)
(3) = will only be checked as cash franking
(4) = so-called "Saxon darkness" - blurring C
Missing information means that the expenditure is checked without restriction!
These are the following cities / districts in local editions:
ALTDÖBERN
ALTENTREPTOW
ALT-GOLM (former lead post office BAD SAAROW)
APOLDA
ARNSBERG (Westphalia)
BAD NAUHEIM
BAD SAAROW (Mark)
BAD SCHMIEDEBERG (Dübener Heide)
BERLSTEDT (Weimar district)
BÖHL (Rhineland / Pfalz)
BRACKWEDE (Westphalia)
BRAUNSBEDRA uber Merseburg
BÜNDE (Westphalia)
COTTBUS
DEMMIN (Western Pomerania)
DÖBELN (Saxony)
DUSSELDORF-GERRESHEIM 3
ECKARTSBERGA
ELLINGEN (Bavaria)
ERKNER
ESCHWEILER
FINSTERWALDE (Lower Lusatia)
FLENSBURG
FREDERSDORF (near Berlin)
FREUDENSTADT (Südwürttenberg-Hohenzollern)
GLAUCHAU (Saxony)
GÖRLITZ
GRABOW (Mecklenburg)
GROSSRÄSCHEN
HAMBURG (RPD district)
HAMM (Westphalia)
HUSUM
KIEL (post office 1)
KIEL (RPD district)
COLOGNE (Rhine) Post Office 10
LÖBAU (Saxony)
LÖHNE (Westphalia)
LÜBBENAU (im Spreewald)
LÜCHOW
LÜTJENBURG (Ostholstein)
MEISSEN
MINDELHEIM (around Kirchheim)
NETZSCHKAU-REICHENBACH (Saxony)
NIESKY (Upper Lusatia)
PERLEBERG (Brandenburg)
PLAUEN (Vogtland)
Röhrmoos
ROTHENBURG UBER KÖNNERN (Saale)
SPREMBERG (Lower Lusatia)
STORKOW (Mark)
STRAUSBERG (near Berlin)
TITISEE (Schwartzwald)
UNNA (Westphalia)
WITTENBERG-LUTHERSTADT
WUPPERTAL-EBERFELD 6
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APOLDA
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BAD NAUHEIM
BAD SAAROW
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COTTBUS
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DÖBELN
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FINSTERWALDE
Michel Nr I
Michel Nr 1-12
Block 1 (SMALL CITY LOGO)
Block 2 (BIG CITY LOGO)
Backside Block 1 (SPARGUMMI !)
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FREDERSDORF
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GLAUCHAU
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GÖRLITZ
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GROSSRÄSCHEN
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LÖBAU
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LÖHNE
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LUBBENAU
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MEISSEN
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NETZSCHKAU-REICHENBACH
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NIESKY
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PERLEBERG
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PLAUEN
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SPREMBERG
UPDATED.......
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re: interesting facts and explanations PART 2
I am in awe of the multitude of Hitler head overprints you have shown
that are out there that I knew nothing about!
Thank you for posting them - now I will have new additions to look for to add to my collection!
Thanks, Henry!
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Thank you so much for this information. I have one of these sets, the “GROSSRÄSCHEN”, and they were a bit of a mystery to me.
Impressive collection!
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Thanks for the info and impressive showing of these obscure issues
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Well guys, thanks for the compliments but there is more.........
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STORKOW
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STRAUSBERG
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UNNA
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WITTENBERG
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Unofficial expenditure / private products (no local expenditure)
The "editions" cataloged below do not come from a post office source. From an objective point of view, they came to cataloging wrongly in 1947 and were treated as local editions and also partially checked.
Non-official expenses / private products may not be referred to as "local expenses" under applicable German commercial law.
Some of these products come with real postmarks and letters, mostly due to carelessness, indifference or the willingness of individual postal workers.
For literature on the respective "editions", see newsletters and circular letters from the Arge Deutsche Barfrankaturen and emergency invalidations from 1945 and Arge Loknot e.V. (both now German emergency measures from 1945 e.V.).
None of the expenditure listed under this heading is checked (BPP) (1)
In accordance with the BPP guidelines, some editions or individual Michel nr are marked with the following information:
(1) = Will not be checked because it cannot be checked for technical reasons.
(2) = is not currently being checked (issue unclear)
(3) = Will only be checked as cash franking
(4) = So-called "Saxon blackening" blurring C
Missing information means that the expenditure will be checked without restriction.
These are the following cities / districts in local editions:
ASCHAFFENBURG
BARSINGHAUSEN (Deister)
FRANKENAU (Hessen)
RAVENSBURG
ROSSWEIN
RÜNDEROTH
SAULGAU
WASUNGEN
WESTERSTEDE
and more.......
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BARSINGHAUSEN
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FRANKENAU
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RAVENSBURG
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ROSSWEIN
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RÜNDEROTH
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SAULGAU
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WASUNGEN
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WESTERSTEDE
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WITTENBERG - LUTHERSTADT
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WURZEN
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Sorry for the one or two double posts.
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MUHLBERG
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NAUMBURG
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Well some of the postings above are NOT in the MICHEL Catalog anymore.
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02:13:59pm
re: interesting facts and explanations PART 2
Fascinating collection. Just out of curiosity, if a person were interested in adding some of these to his collection, what would an average value be? All I have is a Scott's and I doubt if they would be in anything short of a specialized catalog. Don't value everything, but I'm just interested in an estimate.
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re: interesting facts and explanations PART 2
@Harvey,
You can not give an average price indication.
The values of these series vary far too much.
The cheapest series or individual copy may cost 1 to 5 US dollar.
and the most expensive ones are up to 1200 dollars.
So to give an average of 600 dollar is nonsense.
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