WWII German Feldpost Cover Letter Postcard 1944 Stendal to Eschau Alsace Censor

Item Specifics

Condition

Cover (Postal History)

Stamp Format

Single

Item Description

Grade: Ungraded
Address Verification: Sender: Soldat Rudolf Petermann, Res. Lazarett Abt. I Boden, z.Zt. im Tausch (?) Kaserne Stendal / Lg1. Stendal: A city in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It had significant military installations, including barracks (Kasernen) and military hospitals (Lazarette) during WWII. "Res. Lazarett Abt. I Boden" likely refers to Reserve Military Hospital Department I, possibly with a specific name or location "Boden" or indicating ground forces. "Tausch Kaserne" could be a specific barracks name in Stendal. Recipient: Familie Renatus Petermann, Eschau (Elsass), Karl-Roos-Str. 250. Eschau (Elsass): Eschau is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est (formerly Alsace) in northeastern France. During WWII, Alsace (Elsass in German) was annexed by Germany. Karl-Roos-Str. 250: Karl Roos was an Alsatian autonomist executed by the French in 1940. After the German annexation of Alsace, many streets were renamed, often after figures sympathetic to German interests or Alsatian autonomy from France. Translation: Front of Envelope: Handwritten (top center): Feldpost (Military Mail) Recipient Address: Familie (Family) Renatus Petermann Karl-Roos-Str. 250 (Karl Roos Street 250) Eschau i/Elsass (in Alsace) Postmark (Top Right): STENDAL 2 -3.4.44-13 (Date: April 3, 1944, 1:00 PM) Censor Stamp (Purple, Left): Circular stamp with Nazi eagle and swastika. Text around eagle: Geprüft (Inspected/Censored) Rectangular box: 11 / B (Censor office/examiner number) Handwritten below stamp: Briefzensurstelle (Letter Censor Office) Back of Envelope: Sender Address (Abs: = Absender = Sender): Soldat Rudolf Petermann (Soldier Rudolf Petermann) Res. Lazarett Abt. I Boden (Reserve Military Hospital Department I Boden) z.Zt. im Tausch Kaserne Stendal / Lg1 (currently in Tausch Barracks Stendal / Lg1 [Lg could be Lehrgang/training course or Lager/camp]) Letter Content (2 pages): Page 1: Stendal, den 1.4.44. (Stendal, April 1, 1944) Liebe Eltern, (Dear Parents,) (Yesterday I received your dispatch/letter which I will answer later. Many thanks for now.) (Now to a private matter, and that is, I have made a resolution for later life. Namely, life insurance, and I think this is the right thing to do. Now I have insured myself for 3000 Marks and will pay until I am 65. At the age of 65, I will receive the sum, and if I die before then, my wife will receive the payout. And now I have also taken out accidental death insurance, only 4.50 Marks more to pay on the three thousand Marks. So I will receive, if I die by medical train or...) Page 2: (...am run over by a car, etc., then there is a 6000 Mark payout. There is then a life insurance for the child which runs for about 18 years; if I were too young then, I could have money for his apprenticeship, but this doesn't interest me now, I can do that later. So the price is 56 Marks quarterly, and in the first year, 80 Marks are added, so approximately 40 Marks quarterly in the first year, and then for about 6 years 80 Marks, then always less quarterly. So if you agree with this, you must sign where the two crosses are, then send it back by registered mail. The agent was here and then he told me he would do it provisionally. The insurance runs in my name, and as long as I am a soldier, the money will be deducted from your salary, and I will take care of that. Then it's off for transport/departure again. Many greetings to all. Your Rudolf) Postcard (Found inside the envelope): Front: Color photograph of pussy willow branches in a vase. Back (Handwritten Message - likely by Rudolf Petermann, continuation of thoughts from the letter): Translation of Postcard Message: "For this, the boys of the year consider me only too skillful with my hands, and it's also because of nature. This sister, to whom I showed a picture, I wrote a few lines of a letter to her and she is totally offended by it. That's how it goes with everyone here who takes too many liberties and becomes too cheeky, without regard for losses. Do you perhaps think that I am ruining my life because of something like that? I tell you, it is harder if you don't have a sister who has had such experiences, but nevertheless, now I'm/it's gone, I stand by the right price. You (parents) took care of that. Oh yes, to come back to that: As soon as you can, you can send it (likely the insurance documents) occasionally or as soon as possible, okay? I don't believe it, I will probably be K.V. (kriegsverwendungsfähig - fit for combat duty) again, but no fear of death." Brief Summary: This item is a German WWII Feldpost (military mail) cover containing a two-page letter and a picture postcard. The correspondence is from Soldat Rudolf Petermann, stationed at a military hospital/barracks in Stendal, Germany, to his family in Eschau, Alsace (then annexed by Germany). The letter is dated April 1, 1944; the envelope is postmarked Stendal, April 3, 1944, and bears a German military censor stamp. In the letter, Rudolf discusses taking out life and accidental death insurance policies, asking his parents to sign and return documents. The enclosed postcard, featuring pussy willows, contains further personal reflections from Rudolf. He mentions a disagreement with a sister, reaffirms his decisions (possibly related to the insurance), urges his parents to send back the documents, and states his expectation of being declared "K.V." (fit for combat duty) again, expressing no fear of death.

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