Saturday, 18 October 2025

1916. K.u.K Croatian POW letter from Omsk Russia to Zagreb

 



13.08.1916 postal card to Zagreb from an Croatian prisoner of war(POW). Sent from an POW camp in Omsk area in Siberia, Russia. On the front of this special card issued for POW are Russian and Austrian censor cancels, at the back is POW camp cancel. Russian Empire captured around 2 million Austro-Hungarian soldiers. Of those Half a million were Austrians another half a million were Hungarians while Slavic nations including Croats made up the other million of POWs. How many POW were Croats I don't know but surely tens of thousands or more. Russia had more then 400 POW camps, there were 128 camps in the Moscow Region, 30 around Irkutsk and 28 around Omsk with others scattered around the huge empire. Croatian POW letters are not rare but also not too common.

Sunday, 12 October 2025

1.1944 rare letter from the German-Croatian Police - Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer Bjelovar


 

22.01.1944. Letter with contents sent from Fp.58154 Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer Bjelovar via Fp.58639 B - Kommandeur der Gendarmerie Agram (Dienststelle cancel) to Wien in the Reich (Vienna, Austria). SS censorship cancel AS in green colour. Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer Bjelovar was a local "district gendarmerie station" in the town of Bjelovar. I have seen only one letter before mailed from an Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer, I published it here a year ago. That letter was mailed locally from Gendarmerie Bezirksfuhrer Zlatar to Biškupec,Varaždin and it had no content. This letter to Wien has text inside. It is written in German and writter confirms his feldpost address in the letter as Fp.58154

THIS IS EXTREMELY RARE LETTER !

Friday, 3 October 2025

1.1944 Super rare letter to 4.ŽESTRA bojna in Zaprešić



 24.01.1944 super rare, most likely philatelicaly inspired Croatian feldpost letter. Mailed by a member of 7.sat. 2.bojna 5.gorska pukovnija sationed in Novoselec Križ, Moslavina  (7.company 2.battalion 5.mountain regiment) to a fellow soldier serving with 1.sat 4.željeznička(ŽESTRA) bojna (1.company of 4.railway protection battalion) located in Zaprešić. Letter was franked with 2kuna stamps of which one was halved, totaling 3 kuna, stamps were cancelled at the Križ postal office. War tax was not paid and letter was marked with a big letter T, as postage due was to be paid . Postage due was paid with the Croatian Porto stamps totaling 5kn, 2+2 kn on the back  and 1kn on the front of cover. These Porto stamps were cancelled by the Zaprešić arrival postal cancel. On the front of the cover is official cancel of 1.company of 4.ŽESTRA battalion and a short text signed by its commanding officer, an Captain that confirms that letter was postaly used. On the back of the cover the same Captain has signed censorship of the letter.