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Adolf Hitler
‘FUTSCHES REICH’
(Ruined Empire)12pf red Propaganda
forgery Mini Sheet of 4:
Fresh mint unhinged and
imperf. The then
current Hitler German
12pf letter rate stamp
design lampooned with
smiling Hitler ‘Death
Mask’. Originals were
part of the World War 2
USA Office Of Strategic
Services (OSS)
“Operation Cornflake”
propaganda campaign to
undermine the German
public.
Details of this wide
ranging stamp propaganda
campaign were not found
until shortly after
the death of wartime
USA President Franklin
D. Roosevelt - whose
stamp collection was
sold at auction and
official letters
outlining this issue
were discovered among
it.
The original "Skull"
stamps were key part of
a high level clandestine
plan to undermine the
morale of the average
German citizen. The
Allies felt that if many
German people started
receiving Anti-Nazi
propaganda in their
morning mail delivered
punctually at breakfast
time by the mailman,
they would feel that
their "German Empire"
was falling apart from
within.
They were the brainchild
of General "Wild Bill"
Donovan, head of the OSS
- the U.S. espionage
agency during World War
II (that later became
the CIA) who ordered the
original stamps printed
by OSS operations in
Switzerland.
The OSS decided that the
best way to smuggle the
mail into the regular
German postal system was
to bomb mail trains. In
addition to the bombs
possibly destroying the
trains, they dropped
sacks of mail containing
Anti-Nazi propaganda.
During the confusion of
cleaning up the wreck,
the false mail sacks
were mixed with the
damaged German mail.
The OSS re-created all
aspects of the German
Postal system from real
business return
addresses to many
thousands of names and
addresses pulled from
the telephone
directories. They even
replicated the mail
bags, postal markings
and every other detail
of the postal system.
Every letter was franked
with the fake "Skull"
stamps. On opening the
letter, they would find
it filled with anti-Nazi
propaganda often
including the 12pf red "Futsches
Reich" stamp.
"War is Hell" as we all
know, and Donovan wrote
to Roosevelt: "Every
fortnight approximately
500 to 1200 copies of
the Frankfurter Zeitung
are likewise sent into
Germany where they are
mailed to individuals
whose addresses appear
in the death notices of
soldiers who are
reported to have died
for the fatherland."
The original forgeries
are fully catalogued in
Michel, and of course
are rare and expensive
and seldom are offered
on the market. A huge
amount of detailed info
on this
amazing propaganda
campaign, and the Hitler
forgeries and
reprints can be found
here:
I bought these mint
reprint/forgery
Miniature Sheets of 4
stamps over 25 years ago
in my first year of
stamp dealing, from an
old dealer of Jewish
background, and have
not seen them since
until cleaning up this
month! I have no idea
of their origin, but
they are obviously well
over 25 years old.
Surely be a useful
sideline addition for
Judiaca or Germany or
USA
or forgery collectors?
One x fresh imperforate
MUH Miniature sheet
exactly as shown in
photo $A30 (very
approx $US 22) or
per 5 - $A90
Air
post anywhere in the world $A3.
(100% at your own risk)
Registered
Post for one of 5 anywhere in the
world $A10. (Australia $A4)
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glen@glenstephens.com
I am a Member Of
Full Time Stamp Dealer in Australia for over 25 years.
Life Member - American Stamp Dealers' Association.
(New York)
Also Member of;
Philatelic Traders' Society. (London) ANDA.
(Melbourne) American Philatelic Society, etc
Time and
Temp in Sunny
Sydney!
GLEN $TEPHEN$
Full Time Stamp
Dealer in Australia for over 25 years.
Life Member - American Stamp
Dealers' Association. (New York)
Also Member - Philatelic Traders' Society. (London) ANDA.
(Melbourne) American Philatelic Society, etc
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