''Feldpost'' is the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

military mail Military mail, as opposed to civilian mail, refers to the postal services provided by armed forces that allow serving members to send and receive mail. Military mail systems are often subsidized to ensure that military mail does not cost the send ...

service. Its history dates back to the 18th century in the Kingdom of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria ...

and has existed ever since in different forms and shapes.

History

World War II

During 1937-39, the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

had a military mailing service that provided free postal services within Germany. On September 3, 1939, the first changes to the service occurred. Postcards and letters up to 250 g including newspapers could be mailed free of charge by the German para-military and military organizations. Later in 1939, packages weighing up to 1000 g were included at the nominal rate of 20 Reichspfennig fee. All German military branches had its own organic postal administration in charge of receiving and delivering mail. For ''Feldpost'' offices closest to the combat zone a mobile facility usually processed mail for all military branches. In 1940 further changes were introduced followed through the rapid conquest of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Eventually a series of postal agreements were set up between Germany and the occupied countries providing an extended usage of Feldpost service. Countries such as the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

had close to 50,000 pro-Nazi volunteers that during the course of the war used the Feldpost service. Eventually these postal agreements were settled between Germany and other countries, including neutral countries such as

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, which had volunteers within the German forces. Feldpost letter 1944

To preserve the secrecy of troop movements, each battalion was assigned a five digit code number called Feldpost number (FPN). By the end of 1939, letter prefixes "L" and "M" were attached in front of each FPN to units belonging to the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

and

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

. A breakdown by military units was added by attaching letter prefixes "A" through "E" at the end of each FPN. The letter A generally signified headquarters company, the others stood for line companies. The sequence of an FPN does not necessarily mean that the location of the units were at the same area. The postal cover/postcard itself was usually stamped with a military ''Feldpost Cancellation'' and ''Official Military Unit Seal''. Feldpost numbers were sometimes reassigned to other units, particularly when a unit ceased to exist. Normally Feldpost mail could not be dispatched nor received by civil post offices. If a soldier wanted to send mail through a civil post office, full postage was collected.

External links

Axis and Foreign Volunteer Legion Military Awards & Postal History
- Website about Feldpost during World War II.
War Letters Archive for German war letters
- Homepage of a project that collects German war letters from World War II for research. Articles about the work of the organisation, of censorship, and a complete list of references can be found. Some examples in facsimile are translated. The private project is supported by the Museum of Communication Berlin

History

World War II

External links

See also