F07_P05: War in the North and West: Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France fall to the Nazi onslaught
1940 Jan 2, Front side - Post card from French soldier to parents in Paris.
Green post card with printed text in French using black ink. Cursive handwriting in black ink is present at the center. At the top right is a cancellation dated January 2, 1940. At the top center is the word "Carte postale" in French or "Post card" in English.
Name/Title
F07_P05: War in the North and West: Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France fall to the Nazi onslaughtEntry/Object ID
2007.7.5Scope and Content
1940 Jan 2, post card from French soldier to parents in Paris.Context
Germany invaded Denmark and Norway on April 9, 1940. Copenhagen was captured on the first day, but Norway battled fiercely for a month before the government fled into exile on April 29 and 30. After securing Norway, Germany attacked to the west on May 10, quickly defeating the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. After Belgium surrendered, British and French troops evacuated Dunkirk by sea on May 30 and 31. Paris fell to the Germans on June 14, and France capitulated on June 22. German troops occupied the northern portion of France, and installed a puppet regime at Vichy in southern France with Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain as head of state. A French soldier's January 2 field post card to his parents in Paris, and a November 15, 1940, United States postal card from the same soldier's sister in Pittsburgh, addressed to him as a German prisoner-of-war after the defeat of France, censored by Britain at Bermuda and by German camp censors on arrival. As a Jew, Adolf Brandstein suffered especially harsh treatment in captivity. The Stalag IB POW camp was a salt mine at Hohenstein, Germany. A pair of 1-cent U.S. stamps were removed by the Stalag IB censor.Collection
Nazi Scourge I: Primary ExhibitionCategory
Post Card
Philatelic Material