Summary

World War I-era postcard depicting a German soldier with his 'sweetheart' and also depicting two German soldiers fighting. These kinds of postcards were intended to lift the spirits of the fighting men and the German homefront. A verse of a German folk song is printed on the front of the card: 'Die Voglein im Walde / Die sangen ja so wundershcon, / In der Heimat, in der Heimat, / Da gibt's ein Wiedersehn', which roughly translates as 'The bird(s) in the forest, they sang so beautifully. / Welcome to our native land.'

The postcard is stamped 'K. B. 1 Res Div', probably the Kavallerie-Brigade (ie. Cavalry Brigade) 1 Reserve Division. It includes a Feldpost post mark date stamped '3.3.16', and is also dated in handwriting as 'I/III.16'. Feldpost is the German military mail system, which has existed in various forms since the mid 18th century. During World War I around 11 billion letters or postcards were sent from the front free of charge through the German military mail system. Millions more letters were sent to the front by families and friends at home. From 29 April 1916 onwards postal service stations were set up at every army command station in order to monitor the content of the mail and to create reports on the content. The transmission of classified military or rebellious and discouraging information was prohibited. Many postcards carried romantic images of women either as patriotic figures, or as romantic figures and were highly collectible.

Physical Description

Postcard featuring an image of a German soldier and his "sweetheart" embracing at the top of the card, and below, an image of two German soldiers with rifles pointed in combat. A verse is written in the centre in white text. On the back of the postcard, a message is handwritten in German, printed in blue ink. A post mark in purple ink and a round post mark in black ink are superimposed. The postcard includes a Feldpost post mark that is date stamped '3.3.16', but is also dated in handwriting as 'I/III.16'.

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Public Life & Institutions

  • Acquisition Information

    Purchase

  • Place & Date Inscribed

    3 Mar 1916

  • Inscriptions

    Verse of folk song on front of postcard in white text: 'Die Voglein im Walde, die sangen so wunderschon! Die Voglein im Walde / Die sangen ja so wundershcon, / In der Heimat, in der Heimat, / Da gibt's ein Wiedersehn.' Postmark on the back (in purple ink): 'Feldpost adresse - das Absenders: / Bayer. Res. Int. Rgt. 1, 9. Komp. / Feld post [illegible] Res. Div.' Round postmark in black ink: 'Feld-postexped K.B.1. RES.DIV / 3.3.16' The postcard is also dated in handwriting as 'I/III.16'. Additional handwriting in German.

  • Classification

    Military history, Service, Correspondence

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    History

  • Type of item

    Document

  • Object Measurements

    90 mm (Width), 135 mm (Height)
    Size of postcard

  • References

    Australian War Memorial website: [Link 1] accessed March 2014 Information on World War I German postal service from German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) web site [Link 2] accessed 9/2012.

  • Keywords

    World War I, 1914-1918, Correspondence, Postcards