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Captured Military Equipment, German Cigarettes, and Fritz & Yvonne

German Cigarettes are Captured Military Equipment

In a previous post, I talked about an empty German cigarettes tin that we found.  During our final clean out, deep within the back bar and high upon a shelf, we found another tin and along with it, a box full of German cigarettes, some postcards exchanged between two lovebirds named Fritz & Yvonne, and a certificate of captured military equipment dated June of 1944.  Okay, so I guess cigarettes are considered military equipment.

A lot to unpack in this find, but let's start with the tin and cigarettes.  I learned from researching for my previous post that these were common issue for German soldiers. 


German Cigarettes

German Cigarettes

The certificate seems to be standard documentation for 'captured military equipment'. 

'Certificate of Captured Military Equipment


The postcards were in the box along with this certificate.  Leads me to make the assumption that the owner of these cigarettes was likely Fritz and his sweetheart was Yvonne?   Unfortunately, the handwriting on the back of the postcards has faded somewhat and in German so I have no idea what it says.  The year on one of the postcards is 1944.  


WWII German Postcards

German Postcards from WWII


It's a little weird to have something so intimate from a German soldier from WWII.

So many questions?

What do these postcards say? Am I the only one that thinks the laying in bed pose is a bit weird? Where did my grandparents obtain these items? Why were they so hidden in the bar?  What am I going to do with all these cigarettes? (spoiler alert: I will NOT be smoking them).


Comments

  1. Wow! What a mystery find! My first thought...if you found someone who could read and understand the German handwriting perhaps you could learn more? Surely there's folks out there who could interpret it for you.

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