F09_P09: Undercover Address Rua Alexandre Herculano, 41, Lisbon
1943 December 2, Front side - Envelope from Warsaw to Rua Alexandre Herculano, undercover address.
Tan envelope (appears yellow with scan) with cursive handwriting in blue ink. At the center is a cancellation dated December 2, 1943. At the top right corner is a 50-pfennig blue stamp depicting Adolf Hitler facing to the right. To the left is a stamp depicting the Reichsadler. A large blue ink marking from the center left edge to the bottom right is present. The foundation is promptly working to update this scan.
Name/Title
F09_P09: Undercover Address Rua Alexandre Herculano, 41, LisbonEntry/Object ID
2007.9.9Scope and Content
1943 December 2, envelope from Warsaw to Rua Alexandre Herculano, undercover address.Context
Rua Alexandre Herculano, 41, Lisbon, Portugal, was the undercover address for the Polish Red Cross headquarters in London. This December 2, 1943, envelope from Warsaw to the Rua Alexandre Herculano, 41, undercover address was scrutinized by the German censors at Munich, who searched for secret writing in invisible ink before passing it. A Lisbon transit marking is dated December 14. When the envelope reached London, four different files - records of the Red Cross, the Postal Section, the Department for Families of Army Personnel, and the Section for Social Welfare of the Air Force Inspectorate - were searched for the recipient's location before it was finally delivered to Polish Naval Headquarters, a successful clandestine communication that slipped past the Nazis in spite of their attention to detail.Collection
Nazi Scourge I: Primary ExhibitionCategory
Cover
Philatelic Material