Interesting this Dutch cover. There are a few things that are striking to me. First of course the censor tape, which indicates the letter was mailed during the German occupation of the Netherlands, 1940-1945. Furthermore the flag cancel "Winterhulp". Winterhulp was a nazi political-cultural charity that intended to help the needy during winter. The real intent was ofcourse to "re-educate" these needy people to good national-socialists in the process. Winterhulp was founded in October 1940, so this narrows it down just a little bit. But what I find really strange is that for postage the sender used an old definitive stamp (Sc.#180 from 1928) that had long been replaced by other designs. The fact that the stamp is one with Queen Wilhelmina, who had fled the country to London in the days the Netherlands were overrun by the blitzkrieg, is ironical, especially as the letter was sent to Germany. This makes me think the letter was sent in the first year of occupation, because when the war continued it would have been very brave/foolish to use such a stamp on a letter with your full return address on it as well. In October 1940 new definitive stamps were issued, the socalled "Guilloche" overprints of the flying dove/gull stamps, effectively banning the use of stamps with the queen. So, combining all the information I think this letter could be from late 1940 / early 1941. It is a pity the cancel is unclear.
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Posted 12/05/2012 9:29 pm
