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                  <text>British and Commonwealth WWII Photos</text>
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                <text>H.M.S. Seagull</text>
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                <text>A photo of the minesweeper H.M.S. Seagull taken as an official admiralty photograph. No specific ship name, location, or date given.&#13;
&#13;
HMS Seagull was a Halcyon-class minesweeper, and the first all-welded Royal Navy ship, built entirely without rivets. The design was ahead of its time, using longitudinal framing and flush butt joints in the hull plating. This gave a substantial improvement in costs and build time, the comparison being the half-sister ship built using rivetted construction on another slipway in the same dockyard. She was designed by Rowland Baker, the influential naval architect who worked on many naval vessels used in World War 2 and into the cold war. She was completed on 30 March 1938.&#13;
&#13;
She was adopted by the civil community of Christchurch, Hampshire after a successful Warship Week National Savings campaign in February 1942&#13;
&#13;
During the Second World War she helped escort 21 Arctic convoys, and participated in Operation Neptune. She was also involved in the accidental sinking of the Polish submarine ORP Jastrząb, along with HNoMS St Albans, during the passage of Arctic Convoy PQ 15. Five crewmen were killed. A court of Enquiry found that Jastrząb was 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) out of position, in an area where U-boats were expected to operate, and no blame could be attached to either commander. Other sources maintain the convoy changed course and entered Jastrząb's patrol sector. Also that the Allied ships ignored identification marks, while on the surface and that Seagull's commander was later found guilty by the Admiralty. These accounts are not reconcilable.&#13;
&#13;
In late 1945 she was converted in Rotterdam to a Survey Ship. Until 1950 she operated in home waters, after which she was paid off into the reserve. She became the naval drill ship at Leith in 1955 before being scrapped by Demmelweek and Redding in Plymouth in 1956.</text>
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                <text>British Official Photograph No. A. 6091&#13;
Admiralty Photograph. Crown Copyright Reserved.&#13;
H.M.S. Seagull - a minesweeper.</text>
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                <text>1939 - 1945</text>
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                <text>Photo purchased from The War Store in Johannesburg, South Africa. Additional information pulled from Wikipedia.</text>
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                <text>A British Kent Class Cruiser</text>
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                <text>A photo of a British Kent Class Cruiser taken as an official admiralty photograph. No specific ship name, location, or date given.&#13;
&#13;
Originally planned as a programme of 17 Royal Navy vessels, the numbers were cut back significantly following the formation of the first Labour Government after the election of December 1923. Of the eight ships planned to begin construction in 1924, only five were approved, with a further two ordered later by the Royal Australian Navy.&#13;
&#13;
These initial seven ships – Berwick, Cornwall, Cumberland, Kent, and Suffolk, built for the Royal Navy, and Australia and Canberra for the Royal Australian Navy – formed the Kent class. All were ordered in 1924 and commissioned in 1928. It was quickly found necessary to heighten the funnels by some 15 feet (4.6 m) to clear the flue gasses from the aft superstructure. The Australian ships, Australia and Canberra had them raised a further 3 feet (0.91 m). Between 1930 and 1933 the aircraft and catapult were added, as was a high-angle HACS director for the 4-inch guns. Kent received an additional pair of 4-inch guns in 1934, and she, Berwick and Cornwall each received a pair of QF 0.5-inch Vickers machine guns added abreast the fore funnel.&#13;
&#13;
By the mid-1930s, the British Kents were due for modernization. However, there was little surplus weight for the designers to work with while remaining within the Treaty requirements; they were between 150 and 250 tons under the treaty limits and it was estimated that a further 200-odd tons could be gained through various savings. A 6-foot-deep (1.8 m) armoured belt, 4.5-inch (110 mm) thick, was added amidships, extending down from the armoured deck to 1 foot below the waterline. Cumberland and Suffolk had the aft superstructure razed and replaced by a large hangar for two aircraft and a fixed athwartships catapult. A crane was fitted on either side of the after funnel, and the rear gunnery, navigation and control positions were relocated to the hangar roof. The single 2-pounder guns were removed, and quadruple mountings, Mark VII, were added on either side of the bridge. The 4-inch guns were relocated, and the rearmost pair were replaced by twin mountings Mark XIX for the QF 4-inch Mark XVI. To keep weight within acceptable margins, the hull was cut down by one deck aft of "Y" turret. Berwick and Cornwall were similarly converted, but with more weight in hand the hull was not cut down; all four 4-inch mounts were twins and the 2-pounder guns were octuple mounts. By 1939, the torpedo tubes had been removed in all four ships.&#13;
&#13;
Kent had less weight available for improvements and therefore was not given such an extensive modernisation. While she received the 4-inch armour belt and the double 4-inch gun mounts like her sisters, she retained the rotating catapult and after superstructure, with an additional fire-control position mounted on a distinctive lattice structure aft. Her anti-aircraft armaments were improved as for her sisters, but the multiple 2-pounders and their directors were carried aft, by the lattice structure. The naval historian H. Trevor Lenton estimates that despite the best attempts, none of these ships stayed within the treaty limits; Kent's full load displacement was 14,197 tons, indicating a standard displacement of around 10,600 tons. Lenton expresses doubts whether the Admiralty ever informed the Government of these excesses, as with war imminent, "there were more pressing demands on their time". Another historian, Leo Marriott, gives an alternative displacement of 10,300 tons and notes that it was "unofficially accepted" by the UK, USA, Italy, France and Japan that refits could allow ships to exceed the London treaty limits by up to 300 tons.</text>
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                <text>British Official Photograph No. A.6178&#13;
Admiralty Photograph. Crown Copyright Reserved.&#13;
Micellaneous.&#13;
A cruiser of the Kent class.</text>
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            <name>Date</name>
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                <text>1939-1945</text>
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                <text>Photo purchased from The War Store in Johannesburg, South Africa. Additional information pulled from Wikipedia.</text>
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                  <text>German WWII Documents</text>
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                <text>Statutes of the Association of Former Prisoners of War in the USA from German POW Walter Schmitt Grouping</text>
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                <text>English Translation:&#13;
&#13;
Statutes of the Association of Former Prisoners of War in the USA&#13;
&#13;
STATUTES&#13;
of the Association of Former Prisoners of War in the USA,&#13;
Registered Office: Cologne&#13;
&#13;
§ 1. Name and Registered Office&#13;
&#13;
The association bears the name “Association of Former Prisoners of War in the USA.” The registered office of the association is in Cologne.&#13;
&#13;
§ 2. Purpose of the Association&#13;
&#13;
The purpose of the association is to represent all interests of the former prisoners of war in the USA, in particular to assert the legal claims of the former German prisoners of war in the USA for payment of their outstanding wages for work performed in the USA.&#13;
&#13;
§ 3. Membership&#13;
&#13;
Membership may be held by individuals and legal entities who either are themselves former prisoners of war in the USA or who, for other reasons, wish to promote the purpose of the association.&#13;
&#13;
Membership is acquired by submitting a written declaration of membership.&#13;
&#13;
Membership is lost through:&#13;
&#13;
Death;&#13;
Resignation by the member, which must be declared in writing to the Executive Board;&#13;
Expulsion.&#13;
§ 4. Members’ Rights&#13;
&#13;
Membership entitles the member to participate in the General Membership Meeting and to exercise the rights accruing to members.&#13;
&#13;
§ 5. Expulsion of a Member&#13;
&#13;
A member may be expelled by resolution of the Executive Board if the member damages the reputation or interests of the association, fails to fulfill their obligation to pay membership dues, or for another important reason.&#13;
&#13;
§ 6. Membership Dues&#13;
&#13;
The association obtains the funds necessary to cover the expenses incurred in pursuing the purposes specified in § 2 through contributions toward expenses from its members.&#13;
&#13;
These contributions shall be determined by the Executive Board on a case-by-case basis, within the scope of the necessary expenditures.&#13;
&#13;
§ 7. Organs of the Association&#13;
&#13;
The organs of the association are:&#13;
&#13;
the Executive Board; and&#13;
the General Membership Meeting.&#13;
§ 8. Executive Board&#13;
&#13;
The Executive Board consists of:&#13;
&#13;
the Chairman;&#13;
the Deputy Chairman;&#13;
two assessors;&#13;
the Treasurer.&#13;
&#13;
The members of the Executive Board must be members of the association.&#13;
&#13;
Resolutions of the Executive Board are adopted by a majority of votes; in the event of a tie, the Chairman’s vote shall decide.&#13;
&#13;
The Chairman, or in the event of his absence the Deputy Chairman, represents the association both in and out of court.&#13;
&#13;
The Executive Board conducts the ongoing business of the association. It is responsible for the administration and use of the association’s funds.&#13;
&#13;
The Executive Board is authorized, for the management of the general business affairs, to appoint a full-time managing director.&#13;
&#13;
The remuneration of the members of the Executive Board shall be determined by the Executive Board as a whole.&#13;
&#13;
Expenses incurred shall be reimbursed. The keeping of the books and the receipt and disbursement of funds are the responsibility of the Treasurer.&#13;
&#13;
Payment orders require the signature of the Treasurer as well as that of another member of the Executive Board.&#13;
&#13;
§ 9. General Membership Meeting&#13;
&#13;
The ordinary General Membership Meeting shall be convened annually during the first quarter of the year by the Executive Board.&#13;
&#13;
Members shall be invited in writing, or in another appropriate manner, at least three weeks before the date of the meeting, with notification of the agenda.&#13;
&#13;
The annual General Membership Meeting has the following responsibilities:&#13;
&#13;
the election of the Executive Board;&#13;
receiving the Executive Board’s report and granting it discharge;&#13;
approving the budget and determining the membership dues;&#13;
adopting resolutions concerning amendments to the statutes and all other matters submitted to it by the Executive Board, as well as matters assigned to it under these statutes.&#13;
&#13;
The Executive Board may convene an extraordinary General Membership Meeting.&#13;
&#13;
It is required to do so if one-tenth of the members requests this in writing, stating the purpose and reasons.&#13;
&#13;
In this case, the members must be invited, with notification of the agenda, at least one week before the date of the extraordinary General Membership Meeting.&#13;
&#13;
§ 10.&#13;
&#13;
The General Membership Meeting shall be chaired by the Chairman of the association, or, in his absence, by the Deputy Chairman, and, if both are prevented from attending, by a representative appointed by one of the Chairmen.&#13;
&#13;
Each member has one vote at the meeting. Representation by another member is not permitted.&#13;
&#13;
The General Membership Meeting shall deliberate only on the matters announced in the agenda. The General Membership Meeting may add further items to the agenda.&#13;
&#13;
All resolutions of the General Membership Meeting shall be adopted by a simple majority of votes, insofar as permitted by law and these statutes.&#13;
&#13;
In the event of a tie in the election of the Executive Board, the decision shall be made by drawing lots.&#13;
&#13;
Minutes shall be taken of the resolutions of the Executive Board and the General Membership Meeting. The minutes must be signed by the Chairman and the Secretary.&#13;
&#13;
§ 11. Amendment of the Statutes&#13;
&#13;
A resolution containing an amendment to the statutes requires a majority of three-quarters of the members present.&#13;
&#13;
§ 12. Dissolution&#13;
&#13;
The association shall cease to exist upon completion of the tasks specified in § 2.&#13;
&#13;
In the event of dissolution of the association, the association’s assets shall be transferred in equal parts to the German Red Cross and the German War Graves Commission.&#13;
&#13;
For the purpose of winding up the association’s affairs, the Executive Board shall appoint two liquidators.&#13;
&#13;
§ 13.&#13;
&#13;
The association’s financial year is the calendar year.&#13;
&#13;
§ 14.&#13;
&#13;
These statutes were adopted at the founding meeting on 28 October 1950 and entered into force on 30 October 1950.</text>
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                <text>This appears to by a set of organizational rules or bylaws for a former POW advocacy organization. Walter Schmitt possibly joined this organization post war in an attempt to advocate for wages due from his work in the United States during the war. </text>
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                <text>October 30, 1950</text>
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        <name>Walter Schmitt</name>
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                <text>Song Sheet for German POW Walter Schmitt</text>
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                <text>This was likely given to Walter Schmitt while he served time as a POW in the United States. It was included in his grouping, but has no obvious date. Interesting to note that the 3rd verse of the Star Spangled Banner is omitted while the 2nd and 4th are included.</text>
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        <name>Walter Schmitt</name>
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                  <text>German WWII Letters</text>
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                <text>Letter from the Red Cross regarding forwarding of surplus baggage, books, works of art, etc., for German POW Walter Schmitt</text>
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                <text>This is a letter responding to an inquiry Walter Schmitt made regarding his personal items that were shipped back to Germany by the Red Cross.</text>
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                <text>International Committee of the Red Cross&#13;
&#13;
Relief Division&#13;
&#13;
Geneva, 4 June 1947&#13;
&#13;
To:&#13;
Mr. Walter Schmitt&#13;
Ispelsstrasse 1&#13;
Krefeld&#13;
(22a)&#13;
British Zone, Germany&#13;
&#13;
Subject: Forwarding of surplus baggage, books, works of art, etc., belonging to former German and Austrian prisoners of war in the USA and Canada&#13;
&#13;
In reply to your inquiry, we wish to inform you that all baggage, books, works of art, etc., belonging to former German and Austrian prisoners of war in the USA and Canada, which were transported by our delegations in America, have now arrived in Europe and have been forwarded to the Bavarian Red Cross, Wagmüllerstrasse 16, Munich.&#13;
&#13;
Delivery to the persons entitled to receive these items in Germany, Danzig, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Sudetenland will be carried out by the Bavarian Red Cross, and in Austria by the Austrian Red Cross, with the assistance of local Red Cross offices.&#13;
&#13;
Accordingly, any inquiries, complaints, or changes/corrections to addresses should henceforth be directed to the organizations named above, and no longer to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva or to its delegations in Germany or Austria.&#13;
&#13;
Yours faithfully,&#13;
&#13;
For the International Committee of the Red Cross:&#13;
&#13;
D. Dumont&#13;
Department for Relief Operations</text>
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                <text>82nd West African Division Patch</text>
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                <text>This division was mostly comprised of soldiers from British colonies in Nigeria and Gold Coast (modern day Ghana). An often overlooked unit in discussions of British military campaigns against the Italians in East Africa and the Japanese in Burma.</text>
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                <text>The inspiration for the division's formation came from General George Giffard. He had extensive experience of leading East African troops, and early in the Second World War became the commander of Britain's West Africa Command. He was eager for troops from Britain's African colonies to play their part in the war. When he was subsequently appointed to command the Eastern Army in India, facing the Imperial Japanese Army on the frontier between India and Burma, he requested that the two divisions being organised in West Africa be used in the Burma campaign.&#13;
&#13;
The division was formed from the 1st (West African) Infantry Brigade and 2nd (West African) Infantry Brigade, both of which had taken part in the East African Campaign in 1940 and 1941, and the new 4th (Nigerian) Infantry Brigade. The Division's headquarters was created on 1 August 1943. It followed the 81st (West African) Division in the numbering sequence of British war-raised infantry divisions. The HQ took control of its sub-units on 1 November 1943. The division's formation sign was crossed spears on a porter's headband, in black (sometimes white) on a yellow shield. On 20 May 1944, the division sailed for Ceylon, where the division was assembled on 20 July. In August the organisation was slightly changed, with supporting arms which had previously been distributed between the brigades being controlled centrally by the division HQ. The division was organised on a "head load" basis, with porters carrying all heavy equipment and supplies. Although many of the troops were from the savannah of northern Ghana and Nigeria, they were well-trained and effective when operating in jungle and mountains.&#13;
&#13;
After further training, the division took part in the third Arakan campaign in December 1944 under XV Indian Corps. On 15 December the Division captured Buthidaung on the Kalapanzin River and created a bridgehead on the east bank of the river. This allowed allied troops to control the Maungdaw–Buthidaung road which had been contested for three years and enabled the transport of 650 river craft by road through railway tunnels to Buthidaung to supply Indian troops in the Mayu Range.&#13;
&#13;
The 82nd (West African) Division (supported by 28th Anti-tank Regiment RIA and 33rd Mountain Artillery Regiment RIA) then crossed a steep and jungle-covered mountain range to converge with the British 81st (West African) Division on Myohaung near the mouth of the Kaladan River. This move forced the Japanese to evacuate the Mayu peninsula which they had held for almost four years and retreat south along the coast. As they retreated, troops from the 3rd Commando Brigade and units of the 25th Indian Infantry Division landed in inlets and chaungs ahead of them. Caught between the troops landing from the sea and the 82nd (West African) Division, the Japanese suffered many casualties.&#13;
&#13;
At this point, air supply was withdrawn from the Arakan front to allow the transport aircraft to supply the Allied forces in Central Burma. The 82nd (West African) Division's carrier battalions carried all supplies and equipment for the division from this point. The Japanese 54th Division holding the Arakan was divided into two detachments holding the roads across the Arakan Hills leading from An and Taungup. The 82nd (West African) Division was asked to cross the Dalet Chaung and hilly terrain to approach the An Pass from the north west, while being supplied by air. The 1st and 4th (Nigerian) Brigades suffered many casualties in opening the routes to Kaw and Kyweguseik in late February. The 4th (Nigerian) Brigade even lost two of its commanding officers. By March, the division captured Dalet Chaung and the strategic supply base of Tamandu, in coordination with Indian units.&#13;
&#13;
The 2nd (Gold Coast) Brigade based at Letmauk subsequently became the target of intense Japanese counter-attacks, suffering many casualties. They were forced to withdraw, covered by the 1st (Nigerian) Brigade. By sending long distance fighting patrols to harass the Japanese flanks, the Nigerian unit was able to force a Japanese retreat and retake An on 13 May 1945. The main body of the division, with the 22nd (East African) Brigade under command, advanced south from Tamandu. By the end of May Kindaungyyi, Taungup and Sandoway had been captured. Campaigning ceased during the monsoon rains and the war ended a few weeks later. During the third Arakan campaign, the 82nd Division suffered 2,085 casualties, the highest of any unit in XV Corps. Some of those killed were buried in jungle tracts, but many Nigerian graves remain in cemeteries at the Dalet Chaung near Tamandu and the Taukkyan War Cemetery. Others are remembered at the War Memorial in Rangoon. Other commemorations of the division's (and its component formations') service are the names of Dodan, An, Myohaung, Arakan and Marda Barracks in Lagos, Letmauk Barracks in Ibadan, Dalet, Mogadishu, Colito and Kalapanzin Barracks in Kaduna, the Chindit Barracks in Zaria, Arakan Barracks in Accra and Myohaung Barracks in Takoradi.</text>
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                <text>1941-1945</text>
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                <text>Purchased from Ebay. Unit information pulled from Wikipedia.</text>
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                <text>This division was mostly comprised of soldiers from British colonies in West Africa. This included Nigeria, Gambia, Gold Coast (modern day Ghana), and Sierra Leone. An often overlooked unit in discussions of British military campaigns against the Italians in East Africa and the Japanese in Burma. The patch features buttons on the back so that it can be removed from the uniform when it is being laundered.</text>
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                <text>The framework on which the division was formed was the Royal West African Frontier Force. One of the brigades (the 3rd West African) and several of the supporting units which formed the division had already seen action with the 11th (African) Division, against the Italians in East Africa. The division was established as the 1st (West African) Division on 1 March 1943. Three days later it was renamed the 81st (West African) Division, taking the next vacant number in the list of British infantry divisions. The division's badge was a spider, in black on a yellow circular background. This spider was a reference to Ananse, a cunning character in Ashanti mythology, and drawn so that when a soldier raised his weapon to fire, the spider would appear to be going forwards.&#13;
The division arrived in India on 14 August 1943. The movement of the 5th (West African) Brigade was delayed, however, after the troopship which was to carry it was lost in the German attack on Convoy Faith off Portugal on the night of 11/12 July 1943. The 3rd (West African) Brigade was detached to the Chindits, and was intended to garrison jungle bases for the raiding columns. The remainder of the division took part in the second Arakan campaign from February to May, 1944, operating in the Kaladan Valley on the flank of XV Indian Corps. In late March, substantial Japanese reinforcements (with some troops from the Indian National Army) outflanked the division and forced it to retreat over a range of hills out of the Kaladan valley into that of the Kalapanzin. In August, the division re-entered the Kaladan valley, forcing the Japanese and Indian National Army to abandon Mowdok, a few miles east of the India–Burmese frontier. The division then advanced down the valley once again, reaching Myohaung near the mouth of the river on 28 January 1945. The division was withdrawn to India to rest on 22 April 1945. On 31 August, it was returned to West Africa and disbanded.</text>
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                <text>1943-1945</text>
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                <text>Purchased from Ebay. Unit information pulled from Wikipedia.</text>
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                  <text>German WWII ID Documents</text>
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                <text>Certification of Ownership for German POW Walter Schmitt (Rings)</text>
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                <text>January 18th, 1946</text>
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                <text>Interesting certification that Walter Schmitt owned several rings while in his POW camp. </text>
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                <text>Certification of Ownership for German POW Walter Schmitt</text>
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                <text>January 18th, 1946</text>
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                <text>Certification of ownership of several small items including a Bulova watch which were likely acquired while incarcerated in the United States.</text>
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                <text>January 2, 1946</text>
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                <text>Post war Red Cross Letter written to his family who are now living within the British occupation zone in Germany. He is still imprisoned in the US and has not yet been sent back to Germany. </text>
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                <text>The handwritten/typed German message reads:&#13;
&#13;
My dear parents,&#13;
&#13;
First of all, I am sending you belatedly my warmest Christmas greetings and wish you a happy New Year. How is Berthold?&#13;
&#13;
I met one of his classmates here, Walter Rück from Anrath.&#13;
&#13;
Warmest regards and all the best,&#13;
Your Walter&#13;
&#13;
The envelope is marked:&#13;
&#13;
PRISONER-OF-WAR MAIL&#13;
POSTAGE FREE&#13;
&#13;
German Red Cross&#13;
North Rhine Regional Association&#13;
Regional Tracing Service&#13;
Department 21&#13;
Düsseldorf&#13;
Deichstrasse 11a&#13;
&#13;
Sender: W. Schmidt&#13;
Krefeld, Ispelstrasse 1</text>
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