At our meeting in October member Simon McArthur presented various aspects of Third Reich postal history. The first half was taken up with a look at the city of Munich in the period of National Socialism. The city was regarded as the spiritual home of the Nazi Party. The display featured postcards and stamps featuring buildings constructed for the Nazi Party and looked back to the abortive 1923 putsch organised by Hitler and Field Marshall Ludendorff, which culminated in Hitler serving a 9-month prison sentence. The display also included different types of post within Munich such as the pneumatic and registered postal services along with special event cancels. Finally, the display showed a series of cards produced after the war showing the damage caused by allied bombing.
The second half featured displays on German agriculture in the Third Reich period and the NSKK (National Socialist Kraftfahrkorps) which was the motor vehicle transport arm of the Party. The Nazis were keen to stress the connection between the Aryan race and the soil, and organised many events to encourage this, which were depicted on cards and cancels of the period. Farmers were promoted heavily in the media of the time as Hitler sought to make Germany self sufficient. The NSKK provided training for Army drivers and also controlled motor racing within Germany at a time when successful drivers were wildly popular with the German public.