POW Christmas Cards from WW II and After
Introduction
MPHS offers a major collection of military-themed holiday cards at https://www.militaryphs.org/holiday_cards/index.html.
Lost among its many items of military-inspired greeting cards mainly from WWI are a few cards
from WWII POW camps. The purpose of this page is to focus attention on the WWII POW Christmas cards.
A few hand-drawn/painted cards have been reported, and these will be listed at some point. For now, the listing is confined to printed cards.
This project grew out of Paul Albright's article in the January 2021 MPHS Bulletin on what appears here as USA4401. To that I have added some cards found on eBay, and Harold Krische has contributed images of cards that he has owned.
The information shown in the table below is intentionally very bare bones. This is conceived to be first a catalog, though additional information that might eventually turn it into a handbook is welcome.
The Item "ID" (first column) can be thought of as a catalog number. If there are more details and any illustrations of the card, there will be a link shown just below the ID. The link will take you to a "detail" web page with illustration(s) and any additional notes regarding the item.
The fields shown below include ID (described above), country of issue, year (if known), issuing organization (such as YMCA), and indication of the source, such as a collector or "eBay" (for an unattributed item seen online at that website).
Whether this project grows will depend largely on contributions from the people who visit it. I plan to scan eBay listings fairly regularly, but these are not likely to be very productive, in the 2 months since this project was conceived, only one new item has turned up there.
Reporting New Items
When you report a new item, please provide the Country Year and Produced By information shown in the table on this page along with scans of the image side and address side where available, along with whatever notes you want. I will supply Item ID and Notes numbers and in due course Bob Swanson will do his magic to put all this onto the pages.
Scans should be 300 dpi .jpg files.
Notes can be whatever you feel is important. My fantasies extend as far as:
This is the card that my dear old Dad sent from Stalag Luft 3 for the
Christmas of 1944. He was shot down September 18th 1944, when 206 Lancaster bombers
of the Royal Air Force attacked the centre of Bremerhaven and destroyed it
within 20 minutes. The artist who drew the card was Flight Lt. Archibald Waverly,
DFC, DSO, CBE, Dad's pilot, who went on to be a studio art director for the
Royal Shakespeare Company after the war. It was printed in the camp print shop
using card stock taken from Red Cross parcels received during the year.
Or it could be as mundane as noting the type and thickness of the card stock.
Please send information to dannmphsmayo1jkjt98w8285yty5@yahooncnden796958tugu.com3cnsitu79889
All Card Groups
WWII
| CAN4101 Image and Notes | Canada | 1941 | The World's Committee, YMCA | Krische |
| CAN4102 Image and Notes | Canada | 1941 | The World's Committee, YMCA | Krische |
| CAN4201 Image and Notes | Canada | 1942 | The War Prisoners Aid of the YMCA | Krische |
| CAN4202 Image and Notes | Canada | 1942 | The War Prisoners Aid of the YMCA | Krische |
| CAN4203 Image and Notes | Canada | 1942 | The War Prisoners Aid of the YMCA | Krische |
| CAN4301 Image and Notes | Canada | 1943 | The War Prisoners Aid of the YMCA | Krische |
| CAN4401 Image and Notes | Canada | 1944 | The War Prisoners Aid of the YMCA | Krische |
| CANxx01 Image and Notes | Canada | 19?? | The World's Committee, YMCA | Krische |
| GER3901 Image and Notes | Germany | 1940 | Oflag VIIA | eBay |
| GER4001 Image and Notes | Germany | 1940 | Oflag VIIC/H | eBay |
| GER4002 Image and Notes | Germany | 1940 | Front Stalag 122, France; Silburn | Finnegan |
| GER4003 Image and Notes | Germany | 1940 | Oflag VIIA | eBay |
| GER4004 Image and Notes | Germany | 1940 | Oflag VIIC/Z, Goodfliffe | Finnegan |
| GER4101 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Oflag VIB | eBay |
| GER4102 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Stalag VIIIB; OS Tageszeitung, Oppeln | Krische |
| GER4103 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Stalag XB / Ilag | eBay |
| GER4104 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | (Stalag XB) / Marlag | Krische |
| GER4105 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Stalag XB / Marlag | Lievin |
| GER4106 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Stalag XXA, 'The Camp' Thomas Burke | Lievin |
| GER4107 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Internment Camp Saint-Denis; Fisher | Nelson |
| GER4108 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Internment Camp Saint-Denis; Silburn | Falla |
| GER4109 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Oflag VIID, Goofliffe | Goodliffe |
| GER4110 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Stalag Luft 1 | Finnegan |
| GER4111 Image and Notes | Germany | 1941 | Internment Camp Saint-Denis; Silburn | Delcampe |
| GER4112 Image and Notes | Germany 1941 | Oflag IVC | Delcampe | B,F |
| GER4201 Image and Notes | Germany | 1942 | Stalag VIIIB; OS Tageszeitung, Oppeln | eBay |
| GER4202 Image and Notes | Germany | 1942 | Marlag u. Milag Nord; Goble | eBay |
| GER4203 Image and Notes | Germany | 1942 | Stalag XXII; H Gordon | Lievin |
| GER4204 Image and Notes | Germany | 1942 | Marlag u. Milag Nord | Finnegan |
| GER4205 Image and Notes | Germany | 1942 | Oflag IXA/H | Finnegan |
| GER4301 Image and Notes | Germany | 1943 | Oflag VIIB; M. Goodliffe | eBay |
| GER4302 Image and Notes | Germany | 1943 | Oflag IVC | Krische |
| GER4303 Image and Notes | Germany | 1943 | Front Stalag 122, France; Silburn | Finnegan |
| GER4304 Image and Notes | Germany | 1943 | Ilag VII | Finnegan |
| GER4305 Image and Notes | Germany | 1943 | Oflag IXA/H; A. Scarborough | Finnegan |
| GER4401 Image and Notes | Germany | 1944 | Ilag VII | Finnegan |
| GER4402 Image and Notes | Germany | 1944 | Oflag VIIB | Finnegan |
| GB4301 Image and Notes | Great Britain | 1943 | eBay | |
| GB4302 Image and Notes | Great Britain | 1943 | Burrows | |
| JPN4301 Image and Notes | Japan | 1943 | Finnegan | |
| USAxx01 Image and Notes | US | 19?? | War Prisoners Aid Y.M.C.A. | Krische |
| USA4401 Image and Notes | US | 1944 | Kriegsgefangenenhilfe CVJM (YMCA) | Albright |
| USA4402 Image and Notes | US | 1944 | War Prisoners Aid Y.M.C.A. | eBay |
Post-War
| FRA4701 Image and Notes | France | 1947 | eBay | |
| GB4701 Image and Notes | GBMELF | 1947 | ||
| MELF4701 Image and Notes | GBMELF | 1947 | YMCA (MELF -- Middle East Land Forces) | eBay |
| RUS4701 Image and Notes | Russia | 1947 | Printed, hand colored, or both? | eBay |
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