DEUTSCHES REICHPOST in 21 June 1938 issued four stamps to mark the Deutsche Turn- und Sportfest (German Gym and Sports Celebration) was the last big sports event organised by the Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, the Sports governing body of the Third Reich. It took place in Breslau (now Wroclaw) the most important city of Silesia, now in Poland.
The stamps depicted various views of Breslau:
- 3 Pf — Dome Island
- 6 Pf — Stadium
- 12 Pf — City Hall
- 15 Pf — Centennial Hall
The venue was staged from 24 till 31 July 1938 at the city's Hermann Göring Stadium, later renamed "Stadion Olimpijski", following the trademark grandiose style of the Nazi Sports Body. Everybody that could be there was there, including the 23rd Chancellor of Germany and Nazi Party Führer, Adolf Hitler.
- 3 Pf — Dome Island
- 6 Pf — Stadium
- 12 Pf — City Hall
- 15 Pf — Centennial Hall
The venue was staged from 24 till 31 July 1938 at the city's Hermann Göring Stadium, later renamed "Stadion Olimpijski", following the trademark grandiose style of the Nazi Sports Body. Everybody that could be there was there, including the 23rd Chancellor of Germany and Nazi Party Führer, Adolf Hitler.
Under the eyes of Hitler, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Gauleiter Wagner, Konrad Henlein and Reichssportführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten competitors tossed beams, ran, swam, boxed, danced, sang, paraded, rowed, jumped, dove, canoed, and waived Nazi eagle and swastika flags all over the Hermann Göring Sports Field and its vicinity along the river Oder.
This highly nationalistic sports event was designed to officially commemorate the 125th anniversary of the historical German Wars of Liberation against Napoleon and the first award of the Iron Cross in the city of Breslau itself in 1813. It was staged as a grand patriotic, expansionist occasion, illustrating the clamor for a Greater Germany to the public. This event gathered German athletes brought from many different parts of the world, like Argentina, South West Africa, Italy, the US and South Africa. It also became a gathering of representatives of German ethnic minorities, mainly from Eastern Europe (Siebenbürgen, Banat) who staged processions dressed in their colorful folkloric costumes, a display of the Nazi Drang nach Osten policies.
Not only sports competitions and athletes' parades took place, but also numerous military, civil and folklorical-costume processions in the mains streets of the city of Breslau. It was a sensational event, never to be held again because of the threat of war.
This highly nationalistic sports event was designed to officially commemorate the 125th anniversary of the historical German Wars of Liberation against Napoleon and the first award of the Iron Cross in the city of Breslau itself in 1813. It was staged as a grand patriotic, expansionist occasion, illustrating the clamor for a Greater Germany to the public. This event gathered German athletes brought from many different parts of the world, like Argentina, South West Africa, Italy, the US and South Africa. It also became a gathering of representatives of German ethnic minorities, mainly from Eastern Europe (Siebenbürgen, Banat) who staged processions dressed in their colorful folkloric costumes, a display of the Nazi Drang nach Osten policies.
Not only sports competitions and athletes' parades took place, but also numerous military, civil and folklorical-costume processions in the mains streets of the city of Breslau. It was a sensational event, never to be held again because of the threat of war.
Source: Wikipedia, German Stamps.net and USM Books.com
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