Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Veisiejai 1942



A rather rare cover from neither Feldpost nor Dienspost Ostland but from a local post office in Veisejai, spelled Veisiejai in the modern Lithuania, sent to Kaunas in 1942. Local offices during the WW2 German occupation often used old cancellations from the time of the First Republic and often not cencored. They were used mainly within Lithuania, sometime to other occupied lands inside Ostland.
Acquired in 2004 in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Panevėžys 1943


A Nazi Germany Feldpost (military field post) posted during WW2 from the Dienspost Ostland in Ponewesch, now Panevėžys to Kauen, also the German name for present Kaunas. During WW1 the Germans tended to call lithuanian cities with the polish names but under the Nazi administration, they named them with more german sounding versions such as Ponewesch instead of Poniewiez/Poniewiesz or Kauen instead of Kowno. This cover was sent by the Gendarmerie Gebiet Ponewesch (Panevėžys district Gendarmerie) as you can see from the military seal. The Felspost stations were often located in the building as the Diespost offices, sometime sharing same counter and office.
Acquired in 2005 in Erfurt, Germany.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Panevėžys 1916





Both posted in 1916 during WW1 from Poniewiez, now Panevėžys, lithuania. The same person have sent both card to the same destination from the Feldpost Expedition of the 78th reserve division which was station around Panevėžys and Šiauliai.
Acquired in 2007 on Ebay Germany.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Klaipėda 1920



A registered cover sent in 1920 under the French Administration from Memel, now Klaipėda, Lithuania to Bunde, Germany. The violet stamp written "M.P.k." is the military censorship in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). According to the arrival cancellation on the back, it has been delivered in 3 days. The sender is a certain Otto Kehrmann living in Rosenstr / Rosen-Straße 2 Memel, this street does not exist anymore in present Klaipėda.
Acquired in 2009 in Tokyo, Japan.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Šiauliai precancellation 1941-45




Those Hitler stamps with Šiauliai/Schaulen precancellation were used mainly as proof of payment for prepaid postal services sometime between 1941 and 1945. In this case, it is a copy of a receipt of an insured registered shipment from Šiauliai. There are few other places that have used those local precanceled stamps, the most famous one within Ostland were the ones of Peetri, Estonia. How they used those precancellations, are not entirely clear but each location has not used them for the exact same purposes.
Acquired both on Ebay, 2005 and 2007.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Nemakščiai 1942


A German Reich Hindenburg stamp on a piece with a very rare provisional postmark of Nemakschtschen, now Nemakščiai, Lithuania. Postzweigstelle was the branch post offices of Dienspost Ostland. The dates of use were handwritten. It is not known until when it was exactly used.



The same stamp also on a piece with a defitive Nemakschtschen cancellation.
Acquired in 2004 on Delcampe.

Jurbarkas 1916



A postcard of Jurburg, now Jurbarkas, sent from the Feldpost station 213 in 1916. Jurbarkas is one of the very few examples of Lithuanian place name with a foreign origin. The German Teutonic knights built a fortress called "Georgenburg" along the Memel/Nemunas river at the present site of Jurbarkas. It was named after St.George who was himself also a knight, therefore the German often named "Georgenburg" the fortresses built on the border frontier against the Lithuanian. There are several "Georgenburg" in the present Kaliningrad region also. "George" was translated as "Jurgis" (probably coming from the russian "Jurij"), therefore after it was called Jurburg.
Acquired in 2007 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Šiauliai 1986




3 registered covers posted from Šiauliai/Шяуляй to Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1986. All 3 covers use commemorative envelope (the 1st one with 5Kopeks value stamp inprinted, sold through out the Soviet Union, the 2 others, without inprinted value, was sold only locally within Lithuania SSR) of 750th anniversary of the city of Šiauliai, as well as the commemorative stamps and the First day cancellation. After WW2, Lithuania was incorporated to the USSR as the "Soviet Socialist Republic of Lithuania".
Acquired in 2004 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Raseiniai 1916



A postcard of Rossienie, now Raseiniai in Lithuania posted from the K.D.Feldpostexp (Kaiserlich Deutsche Feldpostexpedition)of the 76th reserve division, probably stationed in Kielmy (Now Kelmė,Lithuania) along with the Feldpost station 170. The feldpost (field post)station of a division is called "Feldpostexpedition". There is an inscription "Rossienie(Kurland)" on the picture side of the card but it is an error as it says on the back "Tageblatt für Litauen" (newspaper for Lithuania) published by Pawlowski in Tilsit (now Советск/Sovietsk in Kaliningrad district). It is also true that the border of Kurland (now Kurzeme in Latvia) was rather unclear at that time and that some of the present Lithuanian towns such as Joniškis for exapmle, has been once part of the Duchy of Kurland.
Acquired in 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Šiauliai 1942




All 3 covers posted from the Deutsche Dienspost Ostland in Schaulen, now Šiauliai, on 1942. The first 2 covers are registered (Einschreiben) mails. The last item is not a registered mail but it is particularly interesting from the fact that it has been posted from the Gebietskommissar in Schaulen (District police department of Šiauliai). The stamps overprinted "Ostland" was used in the German occupied Baltic region (present Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and a part of Belarus).
First cover acquired in 2009 in Tokyo, the others at Ebay Germany in 2005 and 2007.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Šiauliai 1917



A postcard of Schaulen, now Šiauliai, Lithuania during the World War I German occupation. Posted from the Feldpost (Field post station) of the 78th Reserve Division (83rd Batallion)which is believed to be active between 1915 and 1917 around Šiauliai and Panevėžys, along with the Feldpost station 175.
Acquired in 2007 in Dresden, Germany.





This postcard has been posted by the Kriegslazarett, which is a military hospital of the battlefield. The purple stamp shows that it was the Kriegslazarett Abteilung (department)124, which was stationed in Šiauliai (Schaulen). The sender adressed it to the Feldpost station 175.
Acquired in 2010 on Ebay Germany.

Mažeikiai 1928


A business cover sent from Mažeikiai, Lithuania to Leipzig, Germany on 1928.
Acquired in 2010 in Prague, Czech Republic

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Vilnius 1909



A postcard of the ruin of the Vilnius castle on the top of Gediminas hill. It was posted in 1909 from Wilno/Вильна to Líšeň u Brna, Moravia which was at the time part of Austrian empire. As you can see, the sender writes in Esperanto. Moravia is written "Moravio" which is the esperanto name. Arrival cancellation of Líšeň is bilingual, both written in Czech and German which is Lösch. Líšeň u Brna was a village at that time but today, it is part of Brno municipality.
Acquired in 2007 in Prague, Czech Republic

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Kaunas 1928



A postcard of Kaunas main station posted in 1928 from Kaunas to Liebenau bei Reichenberg, Czechoslovakia, today Hodkovice nad Mohelkou in Liberec (Reichenberg) county.
Acquired in 2006 in Liberec, Czech Republic

Kaunas 1916



This is a registered mail from the Etappen-Inspektion of the 10th Army in Kowno (now Kaunas) to Colmar in the German occupied French Alsace posted in 1916. "M.P.k." mark is the military censorship in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). It took only 3 days from Kaunas in the eastern from to Colmar in the western front.
Acquired in 2005 in Dresden, Germany.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Klaipėda 1939


A cover posted from Memel, now Klaipėda, to Stuttgart, Germany on 1939. It has a commemorative cancellation of the 50th birthday of A.Hitler. It is rather a rare example of this commemorative cancellation actually postally circulated. According to the postal rates at that time, it is correctly franked with 12 Pfennig.
Acquired in 2010 in Tokyo, Japan.