First World War Centenary. 11: Aid to East Prussia

On the Eastern Front, the First World War began with the Russian invasion of East Prussia (Ostpreußen) during August 1914.  In the following year, a German counter-offensive [1] resulted in the Great Retreat of Russian forces. During this period, the Russian army destroyed 33,500 buildings in East Prusia. The cost of the property damage was estimated at $250 million.

source: www.altearmee.de

One of the ways that Germany responded to this devastion was to form the Kriegshilfsverein (War Aid Association). By 1916, twenty-four branches were established throughout the country. [2] Their purpose was to 'adopt' a district in East Prussia, and raise money to support its reconstruction. Berlin, for example, adopted Landkreis Ortelsburg, one of the largest rural districts in East Prussia, which was almost completely destroyed in the opening salvos of the war. One method of fund-raising was the sale of Wohlsfahrts-Karten (charity cards). The card shown below is an example.

Ostpreußen während des Weltkrieges 1914/15
Kirche in Domnau
(East Prussia during the World War 1914/15
Church in Domnau) 

You will notice that the top of the card is serrated. Originally, it was part of a Postkartenbuch, a booklet containing 18 cards of varying scenes, which sold for two Marks, with 80 pfennigs going toward reconstruction in East Prussia. [3]  The verso states für Wohlfahrtszwecke (for charitable purposes). It was published by Verlag: Reichs-Kunst-Verein, Berlin.

On the verso it states, "nach Originalen von A. Kraska" (after an original [painting] by A. Kraska). Arthur Kaska was a German painter, graphic designer, film director and producer, and stage designer. During the First World War, he also designed Vivatbänder (memorial ribbons given in response to a donation). Kraska was employed at the Kunstgewerbemuseum and the Academy of Arts in Berlin. He was a pioneer during the 1920s in the commercial film industry. It appears that his painting was based on a contemporary photograph shown below. 

Domnau Church was built in the Fourteenth Century. Suffering slight damage in the two world wars, it is now a redundant church and has been empty since 1997.  The postcard is addressed to Fräulein Agnes Hicks, daughter of William Henry Hicks.

• Significant donations to the East Prussian appeal were acknowledged with a wall plate.

• Before the U.S. entered the First World War, sympathetic Americans established the East Prussia Relief Fund. 

Further Reading: 

William Glenn Gray. Charity as Cultural Renewal? German Civil Society and East Prussian Suffering, 1914-1918. (German Studies Association Annual Meeting
Kansas City, Missouri, September 2014).

1. The Gorlice-Tarnow Campaign, 1915.
2. Annalen des Deutschen Reichs für Gesetzgebung, Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft, Volume 49. 1916:210.
3. Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung Nr. 26-28. Juni 2014:14