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Clark University
CENTERS AND INSTITUTES
Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Barry Hoffman Nazi Postcard Collection

Day of the German Police (1941)

November 9, 2023

Accession Number: 2022.02.4.72

Stamp: Mi:DE-LU33, Sn:LU NB1, Yt:DE-LU 33, Sg:LU 429

Postmark: Black circle with “Tag der Deutschen Polizei” or “Day of the German Police” written at the bottom.

Historical background: Celebrations called “The Day of the German Police” started in 1934 and honored the connection between the police and the German people. Overtime, these celebrations turned into week-long events where German policemen stood on street corners collecting money for the winter relief program.

[Front]Soldier with an injured man

[Back]Back of postcard

Front

A watercolor painting of two German police officers. One is injured with a bandaged arm and head. The injured officer is holding his helmet. Behind the men are buildings with beacons of light shining into the sky.

Back

The postcard is unused with a stamp and a postmark. Printed on the postcard in the upper left corner is “Tag der Deutschen Polizei 1941 Technische Nothilfe und Feuerwehren im Luftschutz” or “Day of the German Police 1941 Technical Emergency Aid and Fire Brigades in Air Protection”. There is also the Nazi symbol of an eagle holding a swastika in its talons to the left of the text and to the right are two lightning bolts, the symbol for the SS.

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