Gallery

 

Thanks to Fred Bchrcsidt [or this 1929 black & white posicatd &picIuIg tiw circa I SX7 AItstadi,sch Rathau.c The photograph was taken from the south side of the Raciunia (‘anal, just west of the (‘irat Mill. Why did Marshal Konstaiilin Rokossovsky spare the structure, which was less than a mile away from his artillery post on lhsholsherg? The story has it thaI the Soviets deci(led to make use oF 11w anciefll structure for their headqtiailers in I )anzig. which was on the brink ol t’apitula lion ( )nly Si Nicholas’ (‘hutch received the s:tine consideration, ciip1xcedly the result or the :n oiler of a case of vodka by one of the church hierarchy. The legend still lives!

Fred’s card shows some interesting details: such as the slogan cancel: BENUTZT DIE idrawing of motor truck I KRAFTPOSTI DANZIG-MARTEN BURG (WESTPR.),’ * vlsumfrel * [Use the motorlzed’post from Danzig to Marienburg (West Prussia) VISA-FREE] The cancel is listed as Form lb in the Arge hook of 1977. Validity time of the cancel was from 2X.5. to 23.7.29. into which this 7.7.29 card neatly Ills. ‘[he slogan is on the left, the 21.5 mm diameter dales tamp is in the center, and the six-line wavy-line cancel is Ofl the right, over the slamp. The post ofhcc designation (5) is a hold numeral. hioader than others in this series.

A 1925 View of the Post Office Theft

lrulc Solit just happened to he pelusing Scott’s Monthly Journal. Volume 6. #2. of March, 1925. when he noticed a short report of a stamp theft. Here’s how it read: ‘DANZIG: Three months ago we chronicled the 1 and 2 gulden stamps of the new pictorial Issue, printed In green & black and red-violet & black, re-spectively. We were, therefore, surprised at the recent arrival of copies of these stamps In orange & black and rose & black. 1 here was a very good reason for the change of colors. It Is stated that a regist ered package, sent from the the printers in Berlin to the postal officials at Danzig, was stolen en route. It contained 1 and 2 gulden stamps worth 120000 gulden. To render the stolen stamps valueless, a printing was ordered In the new colors. The stamps In the old colors were withdrawn froni sale except at the central post office In Danzig, where they were dispensed in restricted quantities.”

 

Danzig Report Vol. 1 - Nr. 103 - April - May - June - 1999, Page 17.