Postes France Devastated French Cities - 1945

POSTES FRANCE on 5 November 1945 issued four surtaxed French pictorial stamps of four cities devastated by WWII.  The surtax benefited the Entraide Française, in particular, the suffering residents of the four cities depicted in the stamps.

The four designs depicted the post-war ruins of the following:

 - Dunkirk.
 - Rouen.
 - Caen.
 - Saint-Malo.

According to the Yvert-Tellier specialised catalog, many of these charity stamps were issued for the benefit of the Entraide Française or the "French Mutual Aid [Society]".  This was a public charity whose purpose was to provide assistance to the sick, the disabled, and the needy.  Following a bit of further research, it seems that one of their key focuses was the plight of French Jewish families (especially the children) that had either been displaced or deported by the Germans during the war.