Sunday, 25 June 2023

Postcard from Warsaw

Now, sometimes you just get lost in a story.


It seemed easy enough, or so I thought.  

The German on the picture postcard would be easy to translate.

But not so.  

The translation, if I have got it correct reads “Germans innocent in World War”.  The message on the back is undecipherable but I guess will not shed much light on the words on the front.

The post card was sent in the June of 1916 from Warsaw which had been occupied by the German army since the August of the previous year.

And would remain in German hands until November 1918.


I suppose we a dealing with a piece of propaganda but whether this was the message that was intended by the person who sent it is now lost.  

It may be that they were attracted by the lilies which according to one source “portray love, ardor, and affection for your loved ones”.*  An idea reinforced by the words above the portrait of the you women which reads, “Flower language: Lilies”.

Until I can work out the message on the back I am left with  the post marks, one of which appears to be a military one, referring to "Landstr Juf Batl. Burg IV 85", and the other carries the location “Warschau” with the date June 28th, 1916.

There is one last clue and that is the name of the picture postcard company who are listed on the back as R&K, and that this one was 2654/1.  But I fear trying to find information on a German/Polish company a century and bit after the event will lead nowhere.

Location; Warsaw

Pictures; message from Warsaw 1916, from the collection of David Harrop

*Lilies, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium#Symbolism

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