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= Nazi Philatelic History through Sara Spira's Postcard Correspondence = Sara Spira was a Jewish women living in German-occupied Poland during World War II (WWII). During the war, Sara Spira was in communication with her daughter Mary Stern, who escaped to the United States prior to the onset of WWII. Through her correspondence, there are numerous elements of World War II history that can be assessed from her postcards.

Before the National Socialists' Rise to Power
The German Feldpost (field post mail) system developed during World War I (WWI) as a new branch of the German Reichspost (German postal system). This invention introduced a new type of postcard system for soldiers in the field, allowing soldiers to send mail back home for free. A consequence of this new system was the creation of special postcards that showed images of the warfront, one of the first examples of German propaganda. These images depicted "positive" messages for the German people back on the home front. This use of propaganda continue throughout WWI.

Following WWI in 1918 to the end of the Weimar Republic, propaganda continued to be depicted in the newly-founded Reichspostministerium (aka RPM). Although images of the war were not as prolific in postal materials, depictions of German life became an predominant image in postal media. In the wake of WWI, new German culture, post-war hyperinflation, and the angry feelings of the German people became prevalent themes in the Weimar Republic. These sentiments were often reflected in philatelic materials distributed in the Weimar Republic.

During the Third Reich
After the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the National Socialists' Party, the Nazi regime utilized the theme of propaganda in their own mailings. Hitler and the National Socialists leveraged the preexisting grievances and resentment towards the Weimar Republic in the early years of the Third Reich. In the early years of Third Reich, postal propaganda—stamps, postcards, hand-stamps, and cancellation marks—in the Third Reich often reflected Germanic war heroes from WWI, key political players in National Socialists' rise to power, and symbols of the Nazi party. After the onset of World War II (WWII), postal propaganda continued to be reflective of Nazi ideology but also included commemorative issues of Nazi party rallies, important events in the Third Reich (such as the 1936 Olympics), and key leaders in the National Socialist, particularly Adolf Hitler. Up until the fall of the Third Reich, the RPM continued to produce postal propaganda depicting these images, many of which can be seen in the primary documents of Sara Spira's correspondence.

Censorship
Censorship in the Third Reich was very strict. The level of censorship was held to an even stricter standard within the ghettos. All documents were to be written in German and most media was subjected to inspection by hand.

Sara Spira's Postcards
In this section, the original documents written by Sara Spira addressed to her daughter Mary Stern, have been cropped to highlight the key features of each postcard. The full scans are provided at the end of this article for full reference.

Sara Spira's Journey
Beginning in 1940, Sara Spira had spent less than one year in the Kraków ghetto. She departed Kraków for Baligród sometime in 1941, although the exact date is unclear. Only one document was obtained during her stay in Kraków (Document 1). She temporarily moved to Baligród in 1941 and spent less than one year there before being deported to the Gorlice ghetto. She sent one postcard during her stay in Baligród (Document 2). Until the end of 1941, the remainder of Sara Spira's correspondence originated from within the Gorlice ghetto (Document 3-13).

Printed Stamps
In Document 1, the stamp used depicted Polish President Ignacy Moscicki (1867-1946). Moscicki became the President of Poland in 1926, but only a technical position. The value of the stamp was 15 Gr. (groszy) in Polish currency.

In Document 2, the stamp had been physically removed by a member of Mary Stern's family or fell of during transport.

In Document 3, the stamp used depicted the Copernicus Memorial. This memorial sits in front of Cracow University. Copernicus was the most famous student of the university. The value of the stamp was 12 Gr.

In Document 4-13, the same stamp was used. The only exception is in Document 5, the stamp was physically removed. The stamp depicted the Po-Wizytkowski Church. The church was built in Lublin in 1412, and was commissioned by the Polish King Władyslaw Jagiełło to commemorate the victory over the Prussians at Gruenwald in 1410.

Handstamps
Handstamps were used in the Reichpost system to denote letters that had been screened by Nazi officials. There were two main components to each kind of handstamp: (1) The iconic bald eagle grasping a swastika, placed in the center of the stamp, (2) Two lines of text, printed on the top and bottom of the stamp. The two lines of text for each stamp varied, depending on who was screening the mail. In most cases, the first line of text included either Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Army High Command) or Zensurstelle (Censor Office). The second line of text was usually Geprüft (Examined).

In most cases--Document 6, 8, 9, 10, 11-13--you see typical lines of text that you would expect for Nazi censorship.

Special cases--Document 1, 3, 7--have a little more of a twist to them. In Document 1, the second line of text reads Brieflstempel (Postage Stamp). There was nothing in written sources that describe what this phrase means, but one could imagine that it might mean that the postage was paid. Document 3 and 7 appear to have unusual text in the stamp, but the text is too illegible to decipher.

Additional markings can include the censor station denoted by a little letter within the stamp. You may also see a variance in how detailed the stamp is. This could be a consequence of rushed production or wear and tear.

Cancellation Marks
* Cancellation marks on Document 1 and 6 were unreadable.

Cancellation marks are used to denote spent or used stamps for postage. Usually the markings within these markings indicate the origin of the postal media. The city of origin is usually printed on the top of outer ring. The date is printed across the center. The district is printed on the bottom of the outer ring.

Document 1 was mostly obscured, although a fragment of Pocztówka (Postcard) can be made out For Document 3-13, the origin of the postcards was from Gorlice, still within the Kraków District.

Censor Markings
In addition to handstamps, Nazi censor marks also included elongated markings. These markings could be applied by machine or by hand and were typically affixed to the bottom of postcards or to reaffix the seal on envelopes. The exact number of lines could vary depending on the machine. The logo used in this censor marks had similar labels as the handstamps.

Printed Labels
Pre-printed postcards with affixed stamps and overprints were common in the Third Reich's postal system, especially in German-occupied territories. In Document 1, there is an example of an overprint, depicting the National Socialist's emblem of a Bald Eagle, iconic swastika, banner with "General Government", and face value of the postcard--in this case, 12 Gr. on 12 Gr. Multiple variants of this overprint exist as consequence of rapid production of postal material during the Third Reich. Additionally, pre-printed postcards often included slogans and labels on them. In Document 1, the slogan Telefon Usprawnia Życie, Zbliża I Przyśpiesza! translates to "A telephone improves your life, it connects and accelerates!" There is also a printed label that says Kartka Pocztowa which translates to "Postcard" in English.

Special Marks and Labels
In addition to the Nazi censorship marks and typical Reichspost labels, some postal media would receive additional markings because it had to travel through foreign customs. In the case of Document 6, media that traveled via air mail sometimes received a stamp saying Mit Luftpost Par Avion (German: By Airmail, French: By Plane).