NAZI GERMANY
KRIEGS WHW
GERMAN RED CROSS FUND RAISER
(Oct 1940)
In Oct 1940 the German Red Cross issued a series of 6 postcards designed to raise funds for the organisation. The cards were sold for 1 RM in a set within an illustrated envelope inscribed:
'KREIGS-HILFSWERK FUR DAS DEUTSCHES ROTE KREUZ | KRIEGSJAHR 1940 | HERAUSEGEBEN VON DER NSDAP., KREISLEITUNG MUNSTER-WARENDORF PREIS 1.-RM.' - 'WAR-WELFAREK FOR THE GERMAN RED CROSS | WAR 1940 | PUBLISHED BY THE NSDAP., MUNSTER-WARENDORF CIRCUIT PRICE 1.-RM'.
The images feature linocuts designed by Georg Sluyterman von Langeweyde.
No.1
HITLER PORTRAIT
Ths postcard features a portrait of Adolf Hitler and bears the passage from one of his speeches "Wir lebenwill / der Kämpft also / und wer nicht streiten will in dieser Welt des ewigen Ringens / verdient das Leben nicht" - "We want to live / so he fights / and whoever does not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle / does not deserve to live'
No.1
No.2
WOUNDED SOLDIER
This card depicts an injured soldier carrying a sabre. The inscription reads "Ein Pfui dem Mann, der sich nicht wehren Kann not lehct, das Bebot: schlah' dot schlah' dot" translated as 'Ugh to the man who can't defend himself, the commandment: [REQUIRES MORE RESEARCH]' from a quote by Hermann Lons.
No.2
No.3
MEDIEVAL SOLDIER
The inscription reads "Helf Dir selber, dann, helft Dir auch unser Herre Gott" which translates to English as 'Help yourself, then our Lord God will help you too!'
No.3
FROM MY COLLECTION
No.4
SOLDIER THROWING GRENADE
This postcard features a German soldier about to throw a stick grenade and has the inscription "Und setzet ihr nicht das Leben ein, nie wird euch das Leben gewonnen sein." - 'And if you do not commit your life, your life will never be won' - from a quote by Friedrich Schiller.
No.4
No.5
STONE MEMORIAL
This postcard has the inscription "Besitz stirbt / sippen sterben, du selbst stirbst wie sie. eins weiβ ich, das ewig lebt: des Toten Tatenruhm." - 'Possessions die / you yourself die like them. I know one thing that lives forever: the fame of the dead' from a collection of Norse Gods and hero songs.
No.5
No.6
GRAVES UNDER A TREE
The inscription reads "Der tod fur's Vaterland ist ewiger Verehrung werth." - 'Death for the Fatherland is worthy of eternal respect' - from a quote by Ewald Christian von Kleist.
No.6