POW postcard from the USSR to Berlin – January 23, 1949

Sender: Arthur Richard Arlt, b. 1894

Camp: USSR, Camp 7270/16

Recipient: Mrs. Margarete Arlt

Address: Berlin-Lichterfelde-Ost, Mariannenstraße 27

Date: January 23, 1949

Type: Postcard for prisoners of war

Historical prisoner-of-war postcard from the Soviet Union dating from 1949, written by the German prisoner of war Arthur Richard Arlt to his wife Margarete in Berlin-Lichterfelde-Ost. The card bears the preprinted Russian notice of the “Alliance of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the USSR” as well as the French designation “Carte postale du prisonnier de guerre”. The camp address is written by hand as “USSR, Camp 7270/16”.

Of particular interest is the completely preserved personal text on the reverse side. Among other things, Arthur Arlt writes about waiting to return home, his state of health, the lack of mail from his family, and comrades who have already returned home. As a result, the card possesses a particularly immediate historical character and documents the situation of German prisoners of war in Soviet captivity several years after the end of the Second World War. The card also bears a Soviet censorship/inspection stamp, as was typical for prisoner-of-war mail.

My dearly beloved Margarete!

Do not ask, we must learn to endure everything. A strong faith, an infinite love, and trust in God help one to overcome everything. Wait for me, I will return, even if it has become a bitter fact that not all prisoners of war had returned home by the end of last year. Now it is supposed to happen in the course of this year...

The condition is good for its age. The card is completely inscribed, the writing is easily legible, and the preprinted details as well as control stamps are clearly preserved – see pictures.

An impressive original document of historical significance for collectors of prisoner-of-war mail, the Soviet Union, German postwar history, returnee and camp mail, as well as personal documents from the Second World War and its immediate aftermath.