F04_P11: Conquest of the Baltic Countries
1941 December 18, Front side - Post card cancelled at Mustjala, Estonia.
White post card with printed text and outline in Estonian using green ink. Cursive handwriting in Estonian using black ink. At the top right corner, two brown 15-kopeck is present. To the left, one blue 30-kopeck stamp. At the bottom right, a black ink cancellation is present dated December 18, 1941.
Name/Title
F04_P11: Conquest of the Baltic CountriesEntry/Object ID
2008.4.75Scope and Content
1941 December 18, post card cancelled at Mustjala, Estonia.Context
In the summer of 1941, when German armed forces swept across and subjugated the Baltic states, which the U.S.S.R. had annexed in 1940, the Nazis at first promoted implicitly anti-Russian cultural and national symbols of sovereignty as a measure to counter Soviet influence. Above: A Latvian provisional 30-kopeck stamp canceled September 24, 1941, at Madona; the letter was forwarded at Riga. Prewar stamps of independent Latvia remained valid as postage, and LATVIJA 1941.1.VII overprints on U.S.S.R. stamps were intended to imply that Latvia had been liberated from ASoviet domination on July 1. Below: A Christmas post card canceled December 18, 1941, to Mustjala, Estonia. Estonian charity stamps, with half of the cost dedicated to rebuilding the war-torn country, picture historic places of national importance. The domestic letter rate in Latvia was 30 kopecks. Estonian postal rates were unstable: In August 1941, the domestic post card rate had been 20 kopecks. That amount doubled from September 29 through November 30. In December, the 6-pfennig German domestic and occupation rate went into effect, but residents were given until the end of March 1942 to use up stamps of independent Estonia. This example is probably overpaid because the stamps would soon afterward have become worthless as postage.Collection
Nazi Scourge II: Five Frame ExhibitCategory
Post Card
Philatelic Material