1944 september, “No postal connection”, Auerbach – Reval/Tallinn

This stationery card was mailed from the Kronprinz Hotel in Auerbach, Germany to Tallinn on 4 September 1944. The sender is a group associated with the stamp dealer and philatelist Evald Eichenthal, who had fled abroad to escape the onrushing red power, and the recipient is the well-known photographer, photo magazine publisher and philatelist Harry Malm. However, the postcard did not reach Tallinn, as the private mail service to foreign countries provided by the Germans was limited or cut off due to the Red Army’s direct invasion of Estonia, and the card was returned to the sender. This is indicated by the purple stamp stamped on the card somewhere along the way “ZURÜCK/z. Zeit keine Postverbindung” (“Back/No postal connection”). At least the card has reached Königsberg, where it bears a censorship stamp in red ‘Geprüft/Controlled’.

Times were hectic, and there was no time for stamp talk, but more pressing matters were discussed. Anyone who speaks German and can read the text on the card can tell you exactly what was written. There seems to be a complaint that it is not known whether the postcards have arrived, and that Magda and Els are thought to have stayed in Tallinn. The addressee of the postcard, Harry Malm, also fled abroad himself, so even if the postcard had reached Estonia, he would probably not have received it.

The Red Army reached Tallinn on 22 September 1944.