depaor01 Posted 1 April , 2018 Share Posted 1 April , 2018 (edited) Evenin' all, I acquired some sets of German postcards a while ago. I intended to sell all of them on, but can't part with this set and hence I'd like if possible if someone could decode the handwriting on the back of each. They're from a female friend of (I think) Max Schmidt of Res. Inf. Regt. 60, I Maschinen Gewehr Kompagnie, 215 Inf. Div. She writes from Frintrop in Essen, and they are almost weekly, dating from late 1916. The front of each depicts a studio portrait of a young girl, and each has lines from a Goethe poem titled "Mignon". You know that land where lemon orchards bloom, Its golden oranges aglow in gloom, That land of soft wind blowing from blue sky, Where myrtle hushes and the laurel's high? You know that land? That way! That way I'd go with you, my love, and go today. You know that house, its roof on colonnades, The halls agleam, the rooms of gems and jades? The marble statues eying all I do: "Oh wretched child, what have they done to you?” You know that house? That way! That way I'd go with you, my guardian, today. You know that mountain and its clouded peak? The path through mist that hooves of donkeys seek? In caves the ancient dragon-spawn now rove. The rocks loom high, and rivers burst above. You know that place? That way! That way, O Father, lies our path! Let's go today! I love the fact that they aren't military per se, they represent a link between a girl and a Great War soldier, and the images are striking. Can anyone decode the writing? First card: Second card: Third card: Fourth: Fifth Sixth Thanks in advance, Dave Edited 1 April , 2018 by depaor01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 1 April , 2018 Share Posted 1 April , 2018 (edited) Oooowww, it's been a while since I've translated Kurrent so do not take this as gospel! First card: Lieber Max! Die herzl[iche] Grüsse [zum? von?] Marine Opfertag sendet dir deine fr [Frau] Hermine Dearest Max! I send you my best greetings for Marine Opfertag, your Hermine It's from his wife. And it's countersigned by two other people who also send their best regards. And an Opfertag is a day where the German population show support to the troops (in this case the Navy). The Marine Opfertag was on 1st October. The card is stamped 2nd October 7-8 V (= between 7 and 8 in the morning) so probably written the day before, on Opfertag. Edited 1 April , 2018 by JWK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 1 April , 2018 Author Share Posted 1 April , 2018 Fantastic JWK. Thanks! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 1 April , 2018 Share Posted 1 April , 2018 Second card Frintrop, den 4.10.16 Lieber Max! Habe bis jetzt 4 Karten erhalten den Brief aber noch nicht. Hoffe dass es dir noch recht gut geht un verbleibe mit den innig sten Grusse. deinen dr. Hermine Dear Max! Have received 4 postcards upto now, but not yet the letter. Hope you're still doing very well. I remain with the most heartfelt regards your wife Hermine and countersigned by another person also sending his regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 1 April , 2018 Share Posted 1 April , 2018 (edited) Third card Lieber Max! Heute Mittag [sahe?] ich noch E. um die Bilder zu holen bin ge spannt wie dieselber ausgefallen sind. Werde dir direct eins zu schicken. Verbl. mit den innigsten Grussen auss ein bald. wiedersehen deine [dichtel??] Hermine This afternoon I saw/ I will see E to get the photos. I hope they turned out well. I'll send you one asap. I remain with the most heartfelt greetings and hope for a speedy reunion. Your [.....] Hermine and now my head is spinning! Kurrent overdose..... ;-) More to follow tomorrow (if there are any left to translate) Edited 1 April , 2018 by JWK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, JWK said: dir deine fr [Frau] Hermine Hi, well done, though at the end of the cards its not fr or dr. It´s tr[eue] = yours truly/faithfully Hermine. The closing line in #3 dichtrl could be a sort of ligature for dich tr[eu] l[iebende] = yours faithfully/truly loving And the text in No3 is not quite Heute Mittag [sahe?] ich noch E. um die Bilder zu holen It is Heute mittag fahre ich nach E[ssen] um die Bilder zu holen = today at noon I´ll go [by bus or tram] downtown Essen to get the photos. Frintrop is west of the city-center of Essen and close to Oberhausen. In cards 4-6 she basically acknowledges the receipt of mail by Max and notifies him about the sending of parcels. GreyC Edited 2 April , 2018 by GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 2 April , 2018 Author Share Posted 2 April , 2018 Thanks JWK for taking the trouble to decode these. There are two more in the original post if you have the stomach for it! Although it seems like run of the mill chat between them, it adds nicely to the story Thanks for the alternative interpretation GreyC. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 (edited) Hello! Interesting cards! They are from my hometown Essen!. Grey C did locate Frintrop right! (15min from my home). The abbreviation before Hermine could also stand for "Tante" (Aunt). btw. a very nice girl... The 1. and 2. MGK were set-up September 20, 1916, the 3rd December 2, 1916. The regiment was attached to 215.ID from September 19, 1916 until October 19, 1916 Edited 2 April , 2018 by The Prussian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 (edited) Hi, Andreas, I beg to differ. The letters are quite definitely a tr and are used time and again as abbreviazion for "treue". GreyC Edited 2 April , 2018 by GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 Ah. OK. Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 2 April , 2018 Author Share Posted 2 April , 2018 4 hours ago, The Prussian said: btw. a very nice girl... Indeed! One of the reasons they caught my eye. She's very "Clara Bow". Delighted the cards have a local connection for you. I wonder what became of them all - Hermine, Max and the girl on the postcard. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 Hi Dave! Unfortunately the 2nd name is Schmitz. There were not only a few of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 (edited) Thank you GreyC for the corrections! A miracle this complete set of cards is still together in such good condition, considering Max would have had to carry them with him at all times! Goethe probably meant a lot to him. Many more sets were made, some examples here and here on the Goethezeitportal As GreyC had already pointed out, the rest of the cards is "service announcements" so to say: card 4: Lieber Max! Heute nachmittag dein l. Kärtchen vom 10 erhalten. Meinen herzl. dank. Habe bereits am Dienstag den 10 ein Paketchen geschickt. Have received your lovely postcard this afternoon. Many thanks. Have sent a little parcel on Tuesday the 10th already. card 5 Lieber Max! Schon gestern morgen dein l. Brieffen vom 16 erhalten. Meinen herzl. dank Verbl. mit den herzl. Grüssen auf ein bald. [...] Wiedersehen Have received your lovely letter from the 16th yesterday morning already. Many thanks. Best regards and hope for a speedy reunion card 6 Lieber Max! Gestern dein lieber Kärtchen vom 19 er halten. Meinen herzl. dank. Brief folgt. Received your lovely postcard of the 19th yesterday. Many thanks. Letter to follow. Edited 2 April , 2018 by JWK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 There are a lot of Mignon cards at eBay. Different decades, different girls. She might be a Gipsy... The most beautiful one is from the ww1 era Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 2 April , 2018 Author Share Posted 2 April , 2018 JWK you may stand down. Huge thanks for service beyond the call of duty. Many thanks indeed. Maybe I can use the translation to learn Kurrent... Just maybe! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 (edited) Hi, it´s less that they liked Goethe, they were more into the then popular opera by the same name by Ambroise Thomas and based on motifs by Goethe. The lead singer who made it popular was Reta Walter (see card below from my collection). Clara Bow was quite a pretty girl back then, but a bit too young to have made an impact in the war, as she was born in 1905. But I know what you mean, Dave. For JWK I choose a picture from my collection that connects to his whereabouts. GreyC Edited 2 April , 2018 by GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie2 Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 A Max Schmitz RIR 60 doesn‘t appear in the casualty lists, as a PoW or in the regiment’s Roll of Honour, so perhaps he returned home safely. Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 2 April , 2018 Author Share Posted 2 April , 2018 Great Stuff. Cheers all. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 6 hours ago, depaor01 said: Maybe I can use the translation to learn Kurrent... Just maybe! Dave Dave, really: you shóuld! What more fun can there be had on a rainy Sunday-afternoon than trying to decipher Kurrent? Oh wait........ Ummm, I'll get my coat.... Also, and it's often overlooked: what these cards show is the efficiency of the German postal system 100 years ago. Apparently 215 Inf. Div was on the Eastern Front (Ukraine and thereabouts), but yet a postcard/letter takes only two days to reach the recipient (cards 4, 5 and 6) GreyC....... Ummmm, welllll, what Clara Bow is showing there is a lot of leg, and a vèry vèry vèry loose Hollywoodinised interpretation of a Dutch traditional costume (Volendam in this case, they must have had a crack marketing-team for that costume being known all over the world!) Anyway, there are many more traditional costumes, like e.g.: My grandparents' wedding, 1922. Protestant South Beveland/Zeeland. Sorry for veering waaay off topic, Dave! Won't do it again, I promise. Scout's honour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 2 April , 2018 Share Posted 2 April , 2018 Hi, well worth it, though. Wonderful photo! GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 3 April , 2018 Share Posted 3 April , 2018 What a superb thread to log onto! And what a nice looking lassie that Clara Bow is! But JWK, who is the unhappy greatgrandmamaof yours(?)on the extreme right? Also off-topic: my parents wedding day in 1934 shows my maternal grandfather at the opposite end of the line-up to my very stern-lookin maternal grandmother: they had divorced sometime in the 1920's...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 4 April , 2018 Author Share Posted 4 April , 2018 (edited) On 02/04/2018 at 23:38, JWK said: Dave, really: you shóuld! What more fun can there be had on a rainy Sunday-afternoon than trying to decipher Kurrent? Oh wait........ Ummm, I'll get my coat.... Also, and it's often overlooked: what these cards show is the efficiency of the German postal system 100 years ago. Apparently 215 Inf. Div was on the Eastern Front (Ukraine and thereabouts), but yet a postcard/letter takes only two days to reach the recipient (cards 4, 5 and 6) GreyC....... Ummmm, welllll, what Clara Bow is showing there is a lot of leg, and a vèry vèry vèry loose Hollywoodinised interpretation of a Dutch traditional costume (Volendam in this case, they must have had a crack marketing-team for that costume being known all over the world!) Anyway, there are many more traditional costumes, like e.g.: My grandparents' wedding, 1922. Protestant South Beveland/Zeeland. Sorry for veering waaay off topic, Dave! Won't do it again, I promise. Scout's honour! No punishment. Honest. May need your services again Great pic. Edited 4 April , 2018 by depaor01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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