the scm #026

The Sub-Carpathian Messenger – Number 26 (June 2013) Page: 1

The Sub-Carpathian Messenger

Newsletter of the Study Circle for the Postal History of the Carpatho-Ukraine

Number 26 – June 2013

The Great Synagogue in Užhorod / Ungvár


About us and the Newsletter The Study Circle is a loose group of persons who are interested in the postal (and general) history of the area known as Kárpátalja in Hungarian, as Podkarpatská Rus during the First Czechoslovak Republic, which had a short day of independence as Carpatho Ukraine, and later was integrated into the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union as the ‘Zakarpatskaja Oblast’. Since 1991 it is ЗАКАР-ПАТТЯ, the westernmost administrative district in the now independent Ukraine. The Newsletter came out of a meeting of a few collectors during the PRAHA 2008, its first number appeared in November 2008. In the last four years we have always produced five issues per year but cannot keep this high level and cannot promise regular publication intervals as they depend on the contributions we are receiving. As we can see from the numbers at the public web site, this Newsletter is read by more than hundred people. We congratulate our member Ing. Martin Jurkovič who has become official Slovak philatelic expert for the Carpatho Ukraine (and also Ing. Peter Csicsay who now is expert for Austro-Hungarian philately). We send our best wishes and kind regards to the members of the Study Circle. Distribution method All issues of the »Sub-Carpathian Messenger« can be browsed at and downloaded from the Inter-net address

http://www.slideshare.net/subcarpathian

For those who have no Internet access and/or no e-mail, the distribution method is still the same: you will receive a colour print-out by air/surface mail as you did in the past. Everybody can freely access the uploaded numbers of the Newsletter but the notification service for new numbers (including an easy download web datalink) will be limited to the members of the Study Circle. So joining us still has some advantage. Rules and Regulations All articles in the Newsletter carrying the name of an author are the sole responsibility of this author and should not be taken to represent the common opinion of the Study Circle. Such articles are, if not marked otherwise, copyrighted by the respective author. Free use within the Study Circle is granted. We thank our authors for their much appreciated work and contribution. Participation in the Study Circle is not bound to a formal membership and does not include the duty to pay a membership fee. There is a moral obligation to support the Newsletter from time to time by sending some article, some interesting piece of information, some question, some answer or whatever. We will “print” everything even only loosely connected with our subject of interest so any contri-bution is certainly welcome. Please send it (as Word 2003 or 2007 document, graphical elements in JPEG, 300 dpi) to our editor’s e-mail address ([email protected]). His postal address, if you would need it, is:

Dr. Helmut Kobelbauer, Untergrossau 81, A-8261 Sinabelkirchen, Austria / Europe


Helmut Kobelbauer Auction News The major event was, of course, the sale of Tønnes Ore’s Carpatho Ukraine collection as special part II of the 39th Burda auction (April 21st, 2013) in Praha. There was also a beautiful, carefully prepared auction catalogue:

With the exception of a few “top pieces”, the calls were rather moderate. One can clearly see that even an exhibit that was rewarded with an International Gold Medal – Jakarta (Indonesia) in 2012 – usually holds some material that fits into a small burse. This special auction was also interesting for the particular reason that one could gather actual market prices for single items of postal history in the European theatre (whereas, e. g., the sale of Jan Verleg’s spectacular collection was wholesale). It is for this reason that your editor has decided to reproduce all achieved results in the following table. The lot numbers, of course, refer to the special auction catalogue as pictured above. You can also try www.burda-auction.com.


The calls and results quoted are in CZK where approx. 1000 CZK ≈ 39 EUR. The results are without buyer’s premium (of 17 per cent) and without handling and shipping fees.

Lot Call Result Lot Call Result Lot Call Result

1653 1000 --- 1742 1000 1100 1831 700 1200

1654 1600 2600 1743 4000 5500 1832 2000 3400

1655 1000 1300 1744 3000 --- 1833 1000 ---

1656 1000 --- 1745 3000 4000 1834 1000 2200

1657 1000 1500 1746 1000 7500 1835 1000 1300

1658 700 1400 1747 1000 5500 1836 1500 ---

1659 600 --- 1748 900 1600 1837 1500 ---

1660 1500 5000 1749 1000 --- 1838 900 900

1661 700 --- 1750 500 550 1839 1000 1400

1662 1600 5500 1751 20.000 36.000 1840 1000 1100

1663 700 1100 1752 1000 1200 1841 2000 4200

1664 900 900 1753 2000 --- 1842 1000 1600

1665 2000 2000 1754 1000 3400 1843 2000 4600

1666 2000 --- 1755 3000 --- 1844 1000 1100

1667 1500 3000 1756 9000 --- 1845 1400 ---

1668 1000 1000 1757 5000 --- 1846 1800 ---

1669 1000 1000 1758 1000 1400 1847 2000 ---

1670 1000 --- 1759 1500 1500 1848 1500 ---

1671 600 800 1760 4000 7500 1849 1300 2200

1672 1600 2000 1761 800 850 1850 600 600

1673 700 700 1762 7000 --- 1851 1500 ---

1674 1000 1100 1763 1000 1100 1852 2000 3600

1675 1200 --- 1764 3000 --- 1853 2000 4200

1676 1000 1300 1765 600 850 1854 800 950

1677 1200 --- 1766 2000 --- 1855 1000 1000

1678 1000 1500 1767 1300 --- 1856 1000 7500

1679 1600 --- 1768 1000 1000 1857 1300 3800

1680 600 600 1769 800 800 1858 6000 8500

1681 1000 1100 1770 2000 --- 1859 2000 2000

1682 1800 --- 1771 400 --- 1860 1000 1600

1683 500 650 1772 1000 --- 1861 1000 5000

1684 700 750 1773 1200 1300 1862 10.000 15.500

1685 700 750 1774 500 850 1863 10.000 10.500

1686 800 1300 1775 500 2400 1864 6000 6000

1687 1500 1500 1776 500 500 1865 4000 4600

1688 1000 1000 1777 1000 4400 1866 20.000 20.000

1689 900 900 1778 500 950 1867 8000 15.000

1690 3000 3200 1779 300 500 1868 3000 8500

1691 5000 13.500 1780 1500 --- 1869 1000 1200

1692 2000 4600 1781 500 --- 1870 500 550

1693 5000 5000 1782 400 600 1871 500 550

1694 13.000 16.000 1783 500 850 1872 900 1000

1695 13.000 14.000 1784 1000 1000 1873 1000 1900

1696 10.000 58.000 1785 900 1100 1874 2000 4600

1697 30.000 33.000 1786 600 650 1875 2000 2000

1698 2000 34.000 1787 1200 --- 1876 15.000 29.000

1699 12.000 --- 1788 500 --- 1877 10.000 15.500

1700 10.000 12.000 1789 500 1000 1878 600 700

1701 1300 5500 1790 1800 --- 1879 9000 33.000

1702 1000 1400 1791 700 700 1880 3000 10.500


1703 800 1700 1792 800 850 1881 15.000 38.000

1704 7000 16.000 1793 400 --- 1882 1000 1000

1705 800 3000 1794 400 --- 1883 1000 1000

1706 6000 31.000 1795 1000 --- 1884 6000 33.000

1707 1800 --- 1796 300 1700 1885 2000 11.500

1708 2000 2000 1797 1500 3400 1886 10.000 22.000

1709 5000 42.000 1798 2000 --- 1887 30.000 30.000

1710 1000 6500 1799 900 --- 1888 900 1500

1711 2000 2800 1800 500 --- 1889 1000 ---

1712 4000 4200 1801 2000 2600 1890 3000 ---

1713 1000 1700 1802 600 --- 1891 7000 7000

1714 1000 1100 1803 400 450 1892 500 ---

1715 3000 4200 1804 600 --- 1893 10.000 10.000

1716 800 900 1805 1000 --- 1894 7000 12.500

1717 1700 2600 1806 1000 --- 1895 5000 8500

1718 1000 11.500 1807 2000 --- 1896 2000 2000

1719 15.000 18.000 1808 3000 --- 1897 1000 4200

1720 2000 2400 1809 3000 4200 1898 5000 8500

1721 4000 4000 1810 900 950 1899 5000 6000

1722 2000 16.000 1811 600 --- 1900 4000 6500

1723 3000 16.000 1812 2000 2000 1901 1000 1000

1724 7000 13.500 1813 1000 1600 1902 3000 5500

1725 1500 1500 1814 7000 7500 1903 1600 4400

1726 1500 1500 1815 700 1000 1904 2000 4400

1727 4000 6000 1816 500 1100 1905 2000 ---

1728 4000 23.000 1817 1000 1300 1906 3000 9000

1729 1500 7000 1818 1000 1200 1907 3000 4200

1730 1000 2200 1819 1300 1300 1908 500 5500

1731 1600 10.000 1820 10.000 --- 1909 900 2600

1732 1000 2200 1821 1500 32.000 1910 5000 8500

1733 1000 11.500 1822 400 500 1911 2000 ---

1734 1000 --- 1823 2000 --- 1912 16.000 25.000

1735 900 3000 1824 1300 2600 1913 1000 1700

1736 4000 12.000 1825 400 450 1914 1000 1900

1737 1600 2800 1826 600 --- 1915 1000 2200

1738 600 950 1827 1000 --- 1916 900 5000

1739 1500 4000 1828 2000 3600 1917 400 2400

1740 1000 6500 1829 500 ---

1741 2000 11.000 1830 500 --- Sum 644.100 1,248.200

One can see from the achieved prices that covers (and even cut-outs) from the classical Austrian and then Hungarian periods sold very well, and the same is true for non-philatelic material from the 1944/1945 period. Not so well sold the items from the First Czechoslovak Republic and then from the Day of Independence (March 15th, 1939). The “rocket” of this auction was the one card from Chust during the so-called Romanian occupa-tion (1920): it went from CZK 1500 to CZK 32.000, so – including all asides – nearly EUR 1.500. The buyers have learnt their lesson quite well – maybe too well, because my own bid for this lot was too conservative. My sincere congratulations to the new owner. My personal favourite is lot 1733: A registered letter from the postal agency Őrhegyalja (near Munkács) in 1916 to Lieboch (in Styria). It went from CZK 1000 to CZK 11.500, so nearly EUR 450. I had given it to my friend Tønnes two years ago for about EUR 150, my own buying price (it came from an Austrian auction). Nice business – for Tønnes’ family and for the auction house.


Helmut Kobelbauer Otto Hornung (1920 to 2013) – A Life Passion for Philately

Otto with his second wife Chichi.

From the obituary in the »Philatelic Exporter«:

Otto Hornung passed away in hospital on January 8, 2013, aged 92. He had been admitted with pneumonia but, due to complications, succumbed to heart failure. He was an internationally known philatelist and philatelic journalist, and was secretary of the Philatelic Traders’ So-ciety for 20 years. Twice he had to escape from his home country before settling in London in 1967. Otto was born in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) on September 10, 1920, where he lived with his family until March 1939, when the German army was approaching. He eluded the Germans and made his way to Poland, hiding amongst mail bags on a train and with the help of a Polish postal worker. His father was rounded up with other Jewish adult males in Ostrava and deported to Nisko near the Russian border. Although he escaped to Lvov in Russia he disappeared after the Germans occupied Russia. Otto’s mother and sister escaped to Hungary and survived the war. In Poland, Otto volunteered for the Czechoslovak Legion after being turned down for the British navy by the British consulate. When the Germans invaded Poland, once again he eluded them but he and his fellow legionnaires were interned by the Russians. In March 1941 they were sent to join the Czech army in the Middle East and Tobruk. Two years later he was sent on an officer training course and then, with his unit, boarded the Mauretania for Liverpool, from where they were transferred to Colchester barracks. In 1944, when the Czech army attacked the Germans at Dunkirk, Otto was severly wounded when a bullet passed through his body narrowly missing his heart, which necessitated a long period of convalescence in England. It wasn’t until the spring of 1945 when Second Lieutenant Hornung returned to active service with the Czech army in Northern France, and then through Germany back to their homeland. Second escape Otto left the army in 1946 as a captain and eventually found a job with a press agency in Prague. He was later sacked when the Russians discovered he had served alongside the British in the war, had family and a friend in the West, and was Jewish. As intrepid and resourceful as ever, he soon found another job on a daily newspaper. His command of eight languages, including English, German and Russian, enabled him to travel extensively in the course of his profession, and to establish valuable contacts in England and North America.


He met and married Barbara in Palestine and they had two sons Thomas and Steven who were born in Prague. In 1967, when the situation in Prague was deteriorating, the family fled Prague abandoning nearly all their posse-ssions and with just £100, and eventually settled in London. In December 1967, the Hornung family was tried and sentenced in absentia by a Prague court for leaving the country illegally. They were sentenced to several months’ imprisonment which, of course, they couldn’t serve, but in May 1968 there was an amnesty and the sentences were quashed. He was also stripped of his army rank, but in 1995 the Czech Republic not only reinstated his army rank but also promoted him to Lieutenant-Colonel (retired), a title he was proud to display on his letterheads and business cards. PTS One of his many contacts was Hermann ‘Pat’ Herst who informed him that the position of secretary of the PTS was vacant. He duly applied and was taken on as assistant to the chairman Ian Glassborow in 1967, pending his full appointment as secretary of the PTS and Stampex in 1968. In this role he flourished, combining his language and journalistic skills, philatelic knowledge, diplomacy, and affa-bility, to represent the PTS, both in the UK and abroad, until his retirement in December 1988. One of his greatest achievements was facilitating the participation of its members at overseas international exhibitions, especially liaising with customs officials. His first mission was in 1967 to Mexiko with a group of dealers, but only after he had been granted an emergency passport. The PTS was not the first philatelic organisation he was involved with; in 1962 he had been a founder-member of the International Association of Philatelic Journalists (AIJP) at the Praga ’62 exhibition and was its president from 1990 to 2003. In December 1968, Otto became a monthly contributor to The Philatelic Exporter. His column ‘In My View’ appear-ed in every number until August 2007 when, because he was unable to get out and about as much as he liked, he was finding it increasingly difficult to get enough copy to fill it. So, reluctantly, he decided to give up writing the column. The PE was by no means the only philatelic magazine he wrote for as many European and American publications also carried his articles. In the mid-1960s he had written The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Stamp Collecting which was published by the Czechoslovak state publishing house, Artia. This was later published by Hamlyn’s in four languages – English, Danish, German, and Japanese, selling over 60,000 copies. Roll and Rowland Hill Otto started collecting stamps as a schoolboy, but often had to sell his collections in times of hardship. When he left Prague in 1967 he found ways and means of ‘liberating’ his collection back to England. His philatelic interests included Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, City Post of Istanbul, and postal history of Carpatho-Ukraine. He won seve-ral awards for his displays at international exhibitions and became a signatory to the Roll of Distinguished Phila-telists in 1993. At the 2002 Rowland Hill Awards he was honoured for his Outstanding Contribution to stamps and the world of philately. Barbara died in February 1984. The following year he married Chiye, popularly known as Chichi, Otto’s pet name for her, who accompanied him on almost all his travels. On her 50th birthday she says she was astounded when he presented her with 50 red roses. In July 2009, Otto appeared in an episode of the BBC television series Heir Hunters, which traces unclaimed lega-cies. As Otto’s case concerned the loss of his father’s life assurance policy during the war much time was devoted to his and his family’s experiences during the 1930s and 1940s. The policy was traced and Otto duly received the proceeds. Although the amount he received was not much, he said at the time that it was not about the money but was the opportunity to tell his parents’ and sister’s stories. The funeral took place on January 11 at the Jewish Cementary in Edgware. He is survived by Chichi, his two sons, and four grandchildren.


Helmut Kobelbauer A Letter from 1748 to St. Basil’s Monastery near Munkács In one of the last Darabanth auctions I bought the following pre-stamp letter:

As can be deduced from the letter’s content (see next page), it was written October 22nd, 1748, in Vienna, with a forwarding notice to be sent “Per Cassoviam” and “Munkacsini”, i. e., through Kaschau/Kassa/Košice and then Munkács to St. Basil’s Monastery near Munkács. As every experienced collector of Carpatho Ukrainian postal history knows, there is a gap bet-ween the “Schnörkelbriefe” and the pre-stamp letters of the late 18th century. Private letters from that period are extremely rare – the only correspondance that one may occasionally find is in administrative or church matters. The above letter passed through Kaschau in 1748, so one year before a post office was established there. It carries a hand-written fee remark of “4” (in red crayon) which means that the sender had to pay 4 Kreuzer and the receiver paid the same (so-called half-porto system).


If you can decipher and translate this Latin text, you would be very welcome. (It is beyond my capabilities.) Since Tønnes’ passing away I fear that Jan Rompes and me are the only ones left who understand what a wonderful find this letter is. If you have anything of that kind between – let’s say – 1711 (Peace of Szatmár) and 1786 (first post offices opened in Kárpátalja), please come forward.


Franz Hochleutner Curious Letter from Saloniki to Ungvár

The following letter carries the (mysterious) handwritten remark “Shortly after the violent attack on the post office”. We assume that the post office in Saloniki was attacked – but would some-body know more ?


Friedrich Laux Zur Feldpost der Ukrainischen Legion im Verband der k.u.k. Armee 1914 – 1918 Reprint from the Circular of the „Arbeitsgemeinschaft österr. Feld- und Zensurpost 1914-1918”, nr. 28 (April 1992), pages 23 - 28, with kind permission. My additions always in [brackets]. The editor.

„Anfang August 1914 rief in Lemberg der “Bund zur Befreiung der Ukraine” dazu auf, ein ukrainisches Freiwilli-genkorps zu bilden. Bis zum 1. September befand sich die Sammelstelle für die Freiwilligen in Lemberg, wurde dann aber beim Vorrücken der Russen nach Stryj zurückverlegt. Hier legten am 3. September [1914] etwa 2500 ukrainische Legionäre den österreichischen Landwehr(Landsturm)-Eid ab. Von Stryj wurden sie nach Goronda und Stabycziw (Nordungarn) abkommandiert, um hier den ersten Kader des ukrainischen Freiwilligenkorps zu stellen. Der „Bund zur Befreiung der Ukraine“ übersiedelte nach dem Fall von Lemberg nach Wien, um dort seine politische Tätigkeit fortzusetzen. Hier wurde auch das „Ukrainische Damenhilfskomitee für verwundete Soldaten“ angesiedelt, dessen Post mit dem Eingangsstempel der Zentralen Leitung der Ukrainischen Legion versehen wurde (Abb. 1).

Abb. 1 : Österr.-ung. Feldpostkarte aus der „K.u.k. Kriegsinvalidenschule / in Gross-Ullersdorf (Nordmähren)“

mit dem Langstempel „Militärpflege“, aufgegeben am 3. II. 17 (Ortsstempel) an das Ukrainische Damenhilfskomitee für verwundete Soldaten in Wien. Eingangsstempel:

„Zentr.-Ltg. d. Ukr. Leg. / Eingang ….“ und weiterer Bearbeitungsstempel.

Im Laufe des Krieges bestand die Ukrainische Legion außer dem Kader und der Ausbildungstruppe aus zwei Kampfbataillonen Infanterie und einer Schwadron Kavallerie. Mit der Organisation der Ukrainischen Legion, deren beide Infanterie-Bataillons am 27. 3. 1915 zum 1. Ukrainischen Sitsch(ower)-Schützen-Regiment erweitert wurden, betraute man den k.u.k. Oberst Ignaz Edler von Mollik. Die Truppe unterstand dem Militärkommando in Munkács, wo anfangs auch die Ersatzabteilung des Regimentes lag. Anfang Oktober 1914 rückten die ersten beiden Kompagnien des ukrainischen Freiwilligen-Korps aus Munkács aus, um bei der Verteidigung der Karpathenpässe in den Winterschlachten 1914/15 eingesetzt zu werden. Das 1. Ukrainische Schützenregiment gehörte zur 130. Infanteriebrigade der k.u.k 55. Infanterie-Truppendivision (Gene-ralmajor Fleischmann) des Korps Feldmarschalleutnant Hofmann. Dieses Korps war seit Anfang 1915 der Deutschen Südarmee zugeteilt worden und verblieb dort bis 1917. Das Korps Hofmann und damit die Ukrainer waren ebenso in die Abwehrkämpfe in den Karpathen und bei der Eroberung des Ostry (April 1915) beteiligt, wie in


die sich nach dem Durchbruch bei Tarnow-Gorlice entwickelnden Schlachten in den Südkarpathen bei Stryj, Halicz, Dunajow, Burkanow an der Strypa und am Sereth (Mai – September 1915). Nach erfolgreichem Abschluß des Feldzuges lag die Deutsche Südarmee und mit ihr das k.u.k. Korps Hofmann im Raum um Tarnopol. Im Verlauf der Brussilow-Offensive (Juni/August 1916) mußte auch die Deutsche Südarmee in eine neue, feste Stellung zurückgenommen werden. Das Korps Feldmarschalleutnant Hofmann (54. und 55. k.u.k. Infanterie-Divi-sion) war dann in die monatelangen schweren Abwehrkämpfe zwischen Halicz und Brzezany am Nordflügel der Deutschen Südarmee eingesetzt. Das im März 1917 in österreichisch-ungarisches XXV. Korps umbenannte Korps Feldmarschalleutnant Hofmann war in der Schlacht von Brzezany (Juni/Juli 1917) [engagiert] und trat nach ge-glücktem Durchbruch (19. Juli [1917]) zusammen mit der Deutschen Südarmee den Vormarsch zum Sereth und zum Zbrucz an. Danach ging die 55. Infanterie-Division an die italienische Front ab (12. Isonzo-Schlacht), während die ukrainische Legion an der Front in Ostgalizien verblieb. Am 28. Februar 1918 rückten österr.-ung. Truppen in die Ukraine ein und längs der Eisenbahnlinie Podwoloczyska – Zmerinka – Odessa vor, das am 12. März genommen wurde. Das k.u.k. XXV. Korps gehörte zur 2. Armee (Feldmarschall Böhm-Ermolli), die ukrainische Legion zum Detachment Erzherzog Wilhelm von Habsburg. Nach Abschluß der Kämpfe war dieses Detachment zusammen mit dem k.u.k. XVII. Korps als Besetzung im Gouvernement Cherson (südliche Ukraine) eingesetzt. Am 24. August 1918 erfolgte die Übergabe der 1. Ukrainischen Schützen-Division an die ukrainische Regierung.

***************************** Die Postversorgung der Ukrainischen Legion erfolgte über die übergeordnete Infanterie-Division, meist der 55. k.u.k. Infanterie-Division, die bis etwa Juni 1915 den Stempel des „K.u.K. FELDPOSTAMT 350“, danach den des ungarischen Feldpostamtes „TABORI POSTAHIVATAL 649“ (Abb. 3) führte. Der bislang früheste Formations-stempel „K.K. ukrainisches Regiment No. 1“ stammt vom 9. VI. 1915 beim „K.u.K. FELDPOSTAMT 350“. Seit Ende 1915 tritt auch der Stempel des „K.u.K. FELDPOSTAMT 423“ auf, welcher der 54. k.u.k. Landsturm-Infanterie-Division zugeteilt war (Abb. 4), die ebenfalls zum Korps Feldmarschalleutnant Hofmann gehörte. 1917, nach dem Abgang der 55. k.u.k. Infanterie-Division an die italienische Front war der ungarische Feldpoststempel „TABORI POSTAHIVATAL 649“ der 155. Honved-Infanterie-Division zugeteilt, in deren Reihen nun offensichtlich die ukrai-nische Legion kämpfte, die, der nachfolgenden Aufstellung der Formationsstempel (Abb. 5) nach zu schließen, inzwischen durch die Huzulen-Legion verstärkt worden war.

Abb. 3: Bildpostkarte vom 22. IV. 1917 nach Lemberg. Feldpoststempel „TABORI POSTAHIVATAL,

917 APR. 23, 649“ und Formationsstempel: „Ukrainische Legion“.


Abb. 4: Österr. Feldpostkarte vom 24. IV. 1917 nach Wien, aufgegeben beim

„K.u.K. FELDPOSTAMT 423, 24. IV. 17“. Die Karte trägt zwei Formationsstempel: „K.u.k. Ukrainischer Kader“ und „K.u.k. 54. Inf. Divisionskommando“.

Die Ausbildungstruppen lagen im Hinterland, was die Stempel der verschiedenen Etappenpostämter (Abb. 2) belegen.

Abb. 2: Bildpostkarte vom Standort des Etappenpostamtes „K.u.K. FELDPOSTAMT 182“ vom 12. 1. 1917

nach Lemberg. Rundstempel mit zentralem österreichischen Wappen und Umschrift: „Ausbildungskader / des k.u.k. Ukr. Schützenregimentes Nr. 1“.

Der „Bund zur Befreiung der Ukraine“ verausgabte für die ukrainische Legion nicht nur vorgedruckte Feldpost-karten, sondern auch Soldatenmarken zu 2 Heller Nennwert. Lit[eratur] Arthur A. Arz, Zur Geschichte des großen Krieges 1914 – 1918 (Wien 1924) 244. M. Schwarte (Hrsg.), Der große Krieg 1914 – 1918, Bd. V, Der österreichisch-ungarische Krieg (Leipzig-Berlin 1922).


Alfred Clement, Handbuch der Feld- und Militärpost in Österreich, Bd. II, die k.u.k. Feldpost während des ersten Weltkrieges (Graz 1964). Theophil Hornykiewicz, Ereignisse in der Ukraine 1914 – 1922, deren Bedeutung und historische Hintergründe (Philadelphia 1967).“

Formationsstempel 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 K.K. ukrainisches Regiment No. 1 350 K.k. Ukrainisches Schützen-Regiment Nr. 1 350 K.k. Ukrainisches Schützenregiment No. 1 / ERSATZKOMPAGNIE 166 ERSATZKOMPAGNIE / des k.k. Ukrainischen Schützenregiments No. 1 / AUSBILDUNGSKADER

116

Ukrainische Legion k.k. ukrain. Schützenrgmt No. 1 Baon 350 Wappen / K.K. UKRAINISCHE LEGION / Regiment No. 1 350 Ukrainische Legion Regiment I. Baon … Komp … 182 Ukrainische Legion … Baon … Komp … 350 K.u.k. Ukrainischer Kader 444/III

423

423

Ukrainische Legion / I. Baons Kommando 649 Ukrainische Legion 649

423

Ausbildungskader / des k.k. Ukr. Schützenregiments Nr 1 182 Wappen / K.u.k. Huzulen Kompagnie / Ukrainische Legion 423 Ukrainische Legion / Legions Kommando 649

Abb. 5: Versuch einer Aufstellung der [dem] Verfasser bekannt gewordenen Formationsstempel der ukrainischen Legion mit den Stempeln der zugehörenden k.u.k. Feldpostämter.

I hope and think it is not necessary to translate the complete text into English. The points concer-ning the Carpatho Ukraine are: In early September 1914 the Ukrainian Volunteers Corps (about 2500 persons) was moved from Stryj to Goronda (near Munkács). This Volunteer Corps consisted of two bataillons of infantry and one squadron of cavallary. These forces on March 27th, 1915, were expanded to build the “1st Ukrainian Sitch Riflemen Regiment” and were subordinated to the Military Command in Munkács where also the Replacement Section was located. This regiment was engaged in the winter battles of 1914/1915 on the Carpathian crest. Later, i. e., after the breakthrough battles of Tarnow-Gorlice, it was located in the Tarnopol area as part of the “Korps FML Hofmann” and was then involved into the occupation of the Ukraine, where the Ukrainian Legion was part of the Detachment Archduke Wilhelm von Habsburg. On August 24th, 1918, the Ukrainian Legion was handed over to the Ukrainian Government.

Archduke Wilhelm von Habsburg.


Helmut Kobelbauer Heimkehr(er)lager – Repatriation Camps in 1918 It began with an „innocent“ find amongst field post cards from WWI some years ago:

Hungarian field post card, Rahó, October 23rd, 1918, to Judenburg. With cachet “K. u. k. Heimkehrlager Nr. 704 | Rahó“ in violet.

As Rahó lies in the valley of the Upper Tisza, this is certainly a piece belonging to the postal history of the Kárpátalja. Checking in Jan Verleg’s »Carpatho Ukraine« monograph, I did not find anything providing me with more information. Jan eventually told me that the “Heimkehrlager” illustration was the only thing he had not taken over from Béla Simády’s book »Kárpátalja Posta-története« because he felt he did not know enough about and had no such piece himself.

From Béla Simády’s book »Kárpátalja Postatörténete«, page 48.


The basics can be told quite easily: In the Treaty of Brest-Litowsk (March 8th, 1918) between the Central Powers, i. e., Germany, Austro-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, and the Soviet Govern-ment, the Treaty that ended the Great War in the East, both parties agreed on an unconditional exchange of their respective Prisoners of War. The same clause had also been included in the similar Treaty between the Central Powers and the Ukrainian Rada (of February 1918). For various causes this exchange began to take place in an organized way only some months later. One reason was that the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was reluctant to release the many Czarist prisoners of war that were working in the Hinterland and were obviously indispensible to bring in the crops. Another reason was probably that France and Great Britain put some pressure on the Soviet leaders because each Austrian, German or Hungarian Prisoner of War sent back would quickly become a fighting soldier on the Western or South Western Front again. Oberst Max(imilian) Ronge in 1918 was the commander of the Evidenz-Bureau, the military secret service of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In one of his books (»Kriegs- und Industrie-Spionage«, Amalthea-Verlag, Zürich Leipzig Wien, 1930), written and published after the end of WWI, I found some information on the Heimkehrlager organization:

„Eine gewisse Gefahr bedeuteten auch die auf dem Austauschwege [ab 1915] aus Rußland zurückkehren-den Kriegsgefangenen. Die in den russischen Gefangenenlagern betriebene staatsfeindliche Propaganda, die so manchen Slawen zum Kriegsdienst gegen seine früheren Kameraden verleitete, mochte auch man-chen Heimkehrer in ungünstigem Sinne beeinflußt haben. Außerdem war es für die Zukunft nötig, die sich in Rußland hervortuenden Rädelsführer und Hochverräter kennenzulernen. Aus diesen Gründen war es not-wendig, eine Art politischer Quarantäne einzuführen, wobei staatstreues vom staatsfeindlichen Element gesondert und durch protokollarische Einvernahme Material zur Feststellung verräterischen Treibens in der Gefangenschaft gewonnen werden sollte. Überdies wurde in Saßnitz, dem Eintrittsorte der über Schweden rückgelangenden Heimkehrer in Deutschland, eine k. u. k. Kontrollstelle unter Leitung des Generalstabs-hauptmanns Franz Brandstetter und des Polizeikommissärs Georg Rotschek, der früher in der Nachrichten-abteilung des Armeeoberkommandos Dienst machte, errichtet.“

op. cit., p. 244

„Noch [i. e., Anfang 1918] war die Front vollkommen verläßlich, so daß die Flut aufwiegelnder Flugschriften, vor denen uns bereits die russischen Offiziere bei den Verhandlungen [in Brest-Litowsk] gewarnt hatten, eine geringe, leicht abzuwehrende Gefahr bedeutete. Anders war es mit den heimkehrenden Kriegsgefan-genen und von Russen verschleppten Zivilpersonen. Die Propaganda unter den Kriegsgefangenen, um sie zum Treubruch und gegen die Monarchie aufzuhetzen, hatte bereits, wie wir immer wieder erfuhren, ihre Früchte getragen. Der ganze militärische defensive Kundschaftsdienst mußte der Abwehr dieser Gefahren gewidmet werden. Im allmählichen Ausbau wurde eine große Organisation zur Übernahme der Heimkehrer geschaffen; in vor-derster Linie von Riga bis Konstantinopel vierundzwanzig Übernahmsstationen, wo die Zurückkehrenden etwa einen Tag verblieben, um Spreu vom Weizen sondern zu können, dahinter dreiundfünfzig Heimkehrer-lager, wo sie etwa fünfundzwanzig Tage einer sanitären und moralischen Quarantäne unterworfen worden. Daß diese Aufenthalte die Heimkehrer, die zu ihren Angehörigen drängten, nicht besonders begeisterten, daß die Unterkunft Mängel aufwies und die Verpflegung bei allgemeiner Knappheit zu wünschen übrig ließ, erschwerte selbstverständlich die Aufgabe, bolschewistische Keime auszurotten, Disziplin und Liebe zum Vaterland wieder zu erwecken, unendlich. Zur Ausforschung der Gefangenen bezüglich ihrer Gesinnung und zur Gewinnung von Nachrichten bedurfte es einer Zahl von etwa 400 Kundschaftsoffizieren, die nicht dem bereits überlasteten bestehenden Apparat entnommen werden konnten, sondern frisch geschult werden mußten. Die Nachrichtenabteilung des Armeeoberkommandos hätte noch mindestens 1000 Agen-ten gebraucht, so unendlich war das Bedürfnis durch die Heimkehrerbewegung gewachsen, die vom Beginn 1918 bis 21. Oktober rund 4500 Offiziere und 660 000 Mann in die Monarchie brachte, wovon ungefähr zehntausend als verdächtig oder bedenklich bezeichnet worden sein dürften.“

op. cit., p. 320 and 321


The return of 4500 officers and 660.000 soldiers to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (where about 10.000 were classified as politically suspect) was directed through 24 transfer stations (Über-nahmsstationen), where they spent one day, and a line of 53 repatriation camps (Heimkehrer-lager), where they were kept for about 25 days in a sanitary and moral quarantine.

From the collection of Béla Simády: Two cards with “Heimkehrlager” cachets.

A long article by Oskar Schilling in the “Rundbrief” number 38 (September 1994) of the “Arbeits-gemeinschaft Österr. Feld- und Zensurpost 1914 – 1918” brought many details, amongst them a list of “Heimkehrlager” subordinated to the Military Commands in Kassa and in Lemberg:

Number Historical Name Hungarian Name and County Today in

701 Leordina Leordina, Máramaros vm. Romania 702 Karacsonyfalva Tiszakarácsonyfalva, Máramaros vm. Romania 703 Vissovölgy Visóvölgy, Máramaros vm. Romania 704 Raho Rahó, Máramaros vm. Ukraine 705 Tiszaborkut Tiszaborkút, Máramaros vm. Ukraine 706 Havasalja Havasalja, Bereg vm. Ukraine 707 Kosna 708 Dolina 709 Kolomea 710 Kolomea 711 Zablotow 712 Horodenka 713 Nepolokouz 714 Kotzmann

Table: List of Repatriation Camps with numbers “7xx”.

Those with numbers 707 to 714 were located in Galicia or Bukovina and may be ignored by us.


Map of Máramaros vm. – with locations of repatriation camps marked in red.

Although – according to the criteria of Dr. Simády – not all these locations belong to the Carpatho Ukraine, I am showing items as far as they are available (all are rare, anyway). You may be more selective – it is your choice.

Card, written July 21st, 1918, Leordina to Brünn. With cachet “K. u. k. Heimkehrlager Nr. 701 | Leordina” in violet.


Registered letter, Visóvölgy, September 9th, 1918, to Vienna. With cachet “K. u. k. Heimkehrlager Nr. 703 | Vissovölgy” in violet.

Letter, Rahó, September 19th, 1918, to Vienna. With cachet “Liquidierender Rechnungsführer | des k. u. k. Heimkehrlagers 704 – Raho“ in violet.

Numbers 705 (Tiszaborkút) and 706 (Havasalja) were shown from the Simády collection. An example of number 702 (Karácsonyfalva) is still missing – offers are very welcome. We have shown a (very rare) picture of repatriation camp number 706 (Havasalja, near Körös-mező) on page 32 of SCM #020. Comments and questions are welcome (although I doubt that I shall receive any.)


Helmut Kobelbauer Censored Registered Express Letter from Berehovo in 1921 Express letters from the Carpatho Ukraine are in general scarce. One such letter from Berehovo / Beregszász from the year 1921 was offered on eBay as #2004·2034·8835 some time ago. This town was called Beregsas from 1920 on and only in 1929 was renamed to Berehovo.

Registered express letter, Beregsas, December 21st, 1921, to Pusztaföldvár.

The fee for this letter consists of Kč 1.25 for the letter (abroad, not exceeding 20g), Kč 1.25 for registration, and Kč 1.00 for urgent delivery, in sum Kč 3.50 as applied. The political feelings between the First Czechoslovak Republic and the Horthy regime in Hungary were not exactly cordial. Both sides kept up their censorship activities much longer than other succession states of the Habsburg Monarchy. In this case the letter carries the “CENZUROVÁNO” mark in red from the censorship office in Bratislava. Similar pieces with Hungarian censorship marks can be found from 1922 and 1923, in singular instances even from 1924. Since the postal history conference in Košice (May 3rd to 5th, 2013) has been cancelled due to financial reasons, may this item stand for my now redundant presentation.


Helmut Kobelbauer Justice for the People of Rákóczi Many postcards exist which ask for political justice for Hungary between the two world wars. One of them pictures Rákóczi Ferenc II, the leader of the second Hungarian uprising (1703 to 1711) against the Catholic Habsburg dynasty.

His Kurucz soldier carries the flag with “Pro Libertate” (For Freedom), and in Hungarian, German, Polish, and Russian the card asks for “Justice for the People of Rákóczi”. I find it ironical that the Hungarians asked for a justice that they were obviously not ready to give to the minority peoples in their own state.


Helmut Kobelbauer Field Post of the Hungarian Forces in 1939 We have been informed that during the (re-)occupation of the so-called Zone 2 the Hungarian forces active in this campaign did not have a field post service, but did have one during the very short fight for Zone 3 against Slovakia. This field post was active from March 25th, 1939, until end of April.

Picture postcard of Velký Berezný (Nagy Berezna), written March 26th, 1939, to Baja, with provisional gum canceller “118” (assigned to Nagy Berezna).

The above card carries a hand-written remark “Tábori posta” (Field post) and seems to have been from a soldier of the Hungarian forces. The card was not accepted as field post; the amount of postage due was written down as “10 f[illé]r” – equal to the missing fee, not doubling it. On arri-val in Baja a postage due stamp of 10f was applied and cancelled on March 30th, 1939.


Helmut Kobelbauer USSR Stamp – 20 Years Union of Carpatho Ukraine and Soviet Ukraine The following “stamp” was offered on eBay as a fake. It appears as an USSR stamp of 1965 with face value of 4 kopeks, on thickish brown paper of cardboard type. The Russian and Ukrainian (!) text evokes “20 years of the re-union of the Carpatho Ukraine with the Soviet Ukraine”. (The famous “re-union” was nothing but a dirty propaganda trick – since the Kievan Rus, which may have or may not have included the Subcarpathian area in its utmost South-west, there never was a Ukrainian state that had administrative powers in the Carpatho Ukraine. The NRZU – the National Council of the Carpatho Ukraine in 1944 and 1945 – was created on the initiative of Soviet politicians then in the region and was supported and protected by the Soviet troops. It was the main tool of Stalin to get rid of Czechoslovak sovereignity in this area, quite important to him and his generals from a military perspective. If you don’t believe me, read the account of Frantíšek Nemec who was sent as official envoy of president Beneš to Khust; only to find out that he and his company was not wanted there. The Soviet general in power restricted them to Khust and did not let them go to Berehovo or Užhorod or Mukachevo – only for their personal safety, of course. At the same time, the NRZU had free travel and the financial means to organize a “National Appeal” to the Greatest Leader of All Times to let them become part of his wonderful Fatherland.)

Can any of our esteemed readers throw light on this stamp-like thing and its origin and aim?


Helmut Kobelbauer Twenty Years Ago … In 1993, Andrew Cronin in his role as editor of the »YAMSHCHIK – The Post-Rider«, the famous ma-gazine of the CSRP (Canadian Society for Russian Philately), wrote about the passing away of two prominent researcher-collectors of Carpatho Ukraine. We here reproduce his article and rekindle our memory of them (and him).

»ЯМЩИК – The Post-Rider« No. 32 (July 1993), page 18. It is not true that Miroslav Blaha’s collection was donated to the Postal Museum in Prague. Its destiny was unclear for nearly 15 years (and a lot of more or less silly rumours went around); then a substantial part of it came up in a Czech auction in 2008 and is now (as far as we know) part of Jiří Majer’s collection, alongside with Jan Verleg’s spectacular material. Dr. Simády’s excellent collection has been preserved (nearly) intact. In 1995 it was privately sold to an Austrian collector; it still is in Austria, although now in other hands, that of your editor. Its main strength is in the postal items from the Č. S. P. provisional and then NRZU period in 1944 and 1945. Also far more than half of what is documented from the so-called Romanian occupation (April 1919 to August 1920) was always in this collection (and has even become more during the last years ☺). It was with the knowledge that I could always show and describe pieces from the Simády collec-tion that I – amongst other reasons – decided to become editor of the »Sub-Carpathian Messen-ger«. Until now this was only occasionally necessary.

the scm #026

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