Description

Here is your chance to own something unique. Here we have a signed postcard from Admiral Karl Dönitz, one of the most powerful men of the Reich who held the position of Supreme Commander of the German Navy. Signed on the lower half of the front side in indelible pencil. In excellent condition overall with only 1 crease as seen in the scans. With  the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe’s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26  February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the  Versailles Treaty through German re-armament and conscription would be  announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a Luftwaffe detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War,  provided the force with a valuable testing ground for new tactics and  aircraft. Partially as a result of this combat experience, the Luftwaffe had become one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and  battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II broke out  in 1939. The Luftwaffe also operated Fallschirmjäger paratrooper units.The Luftwaffe proved instrumental in the German victories across Poland and Western  Europe in 1939 and 1940. During the Battle of Britain, however, despite  inflicting severe damage to the RAF’s infrastructure and, during the  subsequent Blitz, devastating many British cities, the German air force  failed to batter the beleaguered British into submission. From 1942,  Allied bombing campaigns gradually destroyed the Luftwaffe’s fighter arm. From late 1942, the Luftwaffe used its surplus ground, support and other personnel to raise Luftwaffe Field Divisions. In addition to its service in the West, the Luftwaffe operated over the Soviet Union, North Africa and Southern Europe.  Despite its belated use of advanced turbojet and rocket propelled  aircraft for the destruction of Allied bombers, the Luftwaffe was overwhelmed by the Allies’ superior numbers and improved tactics,  and a lack of trained pilots and aviation fuel. In January 1945, during  the closing stages of the Battle of the Bulge, the Luftwaffe made a last-ditch effort to win air superiority, and met with failure.  With rapidly dwindling supplies of petroleum, oil, and lubricants after  this campaign, and as part of the entire combined Wehrmacht military  forces as a whole, the Luftwaffe ceased to be an effective fighting force.Free shipping ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD & I don’t charge PayPal fees like some of the other guys!