Between 1914 and 1918, an estimated 30 billion postcards were sent between the front and home. For soldiers, the post was often the only connection to family and loved ones for months or years and the last reminder of their civilian life. At home, in a time without telephone or e-mail, every field postcard represented the hoped-for sign of life from the husband, son, brother or friend from the front. The motifs provide an important insight into the world of thought of the soldiers as well as the population at home and thus open a window into a bygone era. This volume by Dutch historian Guus de Vries documents with a cross-section of almost 500 picture postcards from the most important belligerent countries how the motifs were similar, what national characteristics there were, and how the most diverse events in the course of four years of war were reflected in the design of the picture postcards. In twelve chapters, the reader learns important details about the course of the war, the participating countries and their armies, as well as the development of weapons technology, and receives impressions of the home front or the role of women in World War I.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Vries, G. de
Title
Grüße aus dem Felde. Internationale Feldpostkarten als Spiegelbild des Ersten Weltkriegs
Details
488 colour illustrations of the postcards, large format. 200 pp.