Winter relief in the Netherlands during the war years

Collectors of stamp impressions sometimes come across postal items where a direct link can be established with the issuance of stamps. This is also the case with the impression of a stamp flag from a stamping machine that was located at the Mail Outbound Department of Amsterdam Central Station. The clover leaf on the envelope in the stamp was also visible on the two stamps dedicated to Winter Relief issued later, on March 6, 1944. During the war years, a street collection was decidedly unsuccessful, but lotteries remained popular. The Winter Relief Netherlands Foundation (WHN) was established on October 22, 1940, following the German model. It was an initiative of Reich Commissioner Seyss-Inquart. The WHN was intended to provide 'help and support to needy Dutch citizens without regard to person'. The support consisted of vouchers and goods, such as clothing, food, shoes, fuel, and the like. Carl Piek, Secretary General of the Dutch Red Cross, became director of the WHN. All Dutch mayors were appointed as local directors, and each province had its own office. The major cities also had their own offices. It was a large-scale organization. The main income of the WHN foundation consisted of proceeds from collections and lotteries, but also from mandatory contributions such as 5% of company profits and 1% of employees' wages. The collections were unpopular and were boycotted in many towns and villages. However, the urge to gamble often drove out principles, and many tickets were bought for the large cash prizes of the time. In the calendar year 1942/43, ten million tickets were sold at a price of 50 cents per ticket. Posters were produced and stamp flags were used to promote the lotteries. The series of stamps issued in 1944 was promoted by the Nederlandsche Volksdienst (NVD), which was founded in 1941 and served as an umbrella organization for, among others, the WHN. The catalogue only states that they are stamps with symbolic representations and family motifs. But there is more to say. The 1 cent + 3 cent stamp shows a child holding the Winter Relief logo, a clover leaf, in front of a house. A symbol, the rune of life, is incorporated into the facade of the house. This symbol also appears in the logo of the NVD. The 7½ + 7½ cent stamp depicts a child as a good luck charm, holding a sheaf of wheat meant to represent 'the bread'. The fact that the WHF foundation was entirely based on the same German institution is evident from the fact that the statutes, guidelines, and instructions were translated verbatim from the corresponding documents of the Winterhilfe. The entire administration, organization, and even the propaganda methods were also adopted one-to-one from the German institution. The then Dutch PTT issued only one series of stamps for the Volksdienst and the Winterhulp. In Belgium, however, series and blocks were issued annually for the Winterhulp. More on those issues next time.