Figure 1.--This card was sent by a German soldier in the trenches of the western Front in March 1918. He wears a sailor cap with "Brest" (or possibly "Breslau") on the tally (cap band). The caption reads, "Ein blauer Junge!" (A blue boy, meaning a sailor boy.) Click on the image to see the message on the back of the card. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

This card was sent by a German soldier in the trenches of the western Front in March 1918. The date is poignent. The The German Army launched its last great offensive on March 21, 1918. The card is a portrait of a German boy in a sailor suit and cap. The boy wears a sailor cap with "MS Brest" on the tally (cap band). Another possibility is "Breslau". On British caps the names of ships were displayed. This may represent the city of Brest-Litovsk, now referred to as Brest in Belarus. The "M.S. Brest" on the cap of the boy possibly means Motor Schiff Brest. Brest is a city in Brittany (Bretagne), France. We are unsure why a German boy would have a Frebch city on his cap or why a German naval ship would be named after a French city. The treaty between the Bolshevicks and the Germans ending the War in the east was known as the Traety of Brest-Litovsk which was signed March 3, 1918. The caption reads, "Ein blauer Junge!" (A blue boy , meaning a sailor boy.) Sailors in Germany often were called "Blaue Jungs" (blue boys), on account of the color of their uniforms. The message written on the back of the card can be viewed by clicking on the image. The German text on the card is: "Meine liebe Braut Kaethi, Bin noch gesund und munter und hoffe von Dir und Deinen lieben Eltern und Geschwistern dasselbe. Es gruesst Dein treuer Brautigam Kurt" The English transltion is "My dear bride Kaethi, (I) am healthy and cheerful and (I) hope the same for you and your dear parents and siblings Greetings from your true fiance Kurt." The word Brautigam really means groom. I don't know if Kurt and Kaethi already were married or not. The letter was sent on March 9 1918. Kurt might have never returned home. He also writes on the side: Auf Wiedersehen (See you again) The card has also been signed by an officer (I presume) named Wiegand just above 'Feldpost - so perhaps the German censor system was very similar to that of the British one.

Created: January 19, 2003
Last updated: January 19, 2003