Accession Number: 2022.02.14.36 Stamp: Paul von Hindenburg, the second German President. Medallion set dates December 1933 and February 1936. Postmark: From the post office of Upper Thomasdorf, Sudetenland Historical background: The social policies of eugenics in Nazi Germany were composed of various ideas about genetics. The racial ideology of Nazism placed the biological improvement of the German people…

Accession Number: 2022.02.2.1.35 Stamp: Special stamp series commemorating the 1936 Berlin Olympics, designed by Max Eschle Postmark: August 16, 1936. A special 11th Olympiad 1936 Berlin postmark, featuring the Olympic bell and two swastikas. Historical background: Nazi Germany promoted the Olympics with colorful posters, postcards, and magazine spreads. Athletic imagery drew a link between Nazi…

Accession Number: 2022.02.14.50 Historical background: The National Socialist People’s Welfare (NSV) was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was originally established in 1931.  On 3 May 1933, shortly after the Nazi Party took power in Weimar Germany, Adolf Hitler turned it into a party organization that was to be active throughout the…

Accession Number: 2022.02.10.9.11 Historical background: The Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) was the youth organization of the Nazi Party in Germany.   From 1936 until 1945, it was the sole official boys’ youth organization in Germany.  It was composed of male youths aged 14 to 18.  By December 1936, membership had reached over five million and a law declared…

Accession Number: 2022.02.2.1.9 Stamp: Special stamp series commemorating the 1936 Berlin Olympics, designed by Max Eschle Postmark: August 16, 1936. A special 11th Olympiad 1936 Berlin postmark, featuring the Olympic bell and two swastikas. Historical background: When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, Hitler made plans for the construction of a great sports complex…

Accession Number: 2022.02.2.1.24 Historical background:  The opening ceremony was held on August 1, 1936.  A flyover by the German airship Hindenburg flying the Olympic flag behind it was featured early in the opening ceremonies. After the arrival of Hitler and his entourage, the parade of nations proceeded, each nation with its own unique costume.  Some nations’…

Accession Number: 2022.02.2.1.19 Stamp: Paul von Hindenburg, the second German President. Medallion set dates December 1933 and February 1936. Postmark: August 12, 1936. Cancelled with a special 11th Olympiad 1936 Berlin postmark, featuring two swastikas, overlapping a German “Reich” stamp. Historical background: The Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) was the centerpiece of Reich Sports Field.  Taking the symmetrical…

Accession Number: 2022.02.8.31 Historical background: Wilhelm was ruler of Margrave of Baden-Baden (an early southwest German territory within the Holy Roman Empire) and chief commander of the Imperial army. This postcard was used during Winterhilfswerk 1939-40. The Winterhilfswerk was founded by the Nazi Party on September 13, 1933. It was the official Nazi Party Winter Relief…

Accession Number: 2022.02.2.2.2 Historical background: The German Fighting Games were a national multi-sport event established in 1922 by the German Reich Committee for Physical Exercise under Carl Diem. The events (taking place every 4 years) lasted from 1922 to 1934.  They were seen as a way to promote “German art, German song and German Volksgemeinschaft”. During…

Accession Number: 2022.02.4.47 Stamp: Paul Von Hindenburg medallion Postmark: Promotional postmark for the “Eternal Jew” traveling exhibition in Munich Artist: Hans Friedmann Historical background: The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch, was a failed coup d’état by the Nazi Party  in Munich,Bavaria, on 8–9 November 1923, during the Weimar Republic. Approximately two thousand Nazis marched…