Hi Bob,

It's a postmark from the village of Waldwiesen / Waldwisse in France when under German occupation.

 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

Apparently, Waldwiesen (now Waldwisse) did not have a proper post office, but only a "Poststelle II", i.e. a small sub-office that did not use a postmark with a date. If the destination of a letter was within the area served by such a sub-office, the sub-office postmark ("Poststellenstempel") was often used to cancel the stamps and added the date by hand or by a separate rubber stamp. The rule was that the stamp had to be pen-cancelled, and sub-office postmark and date were to be set beside it, and that mail which left the village was to be postmarked in the parent post office, but it was often ignored, maybe even more so in wartime and in the occupied territories.

-jmh

 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.