1939 Special Postcard issued in commemoration of Hitler’s 50th birthday
Michel P 278/04 with Sonderstempel in commemoration of Hitler’s 50"' Birthday. Posted 20 April 1939 in Memel. (Although the “Antwort” error under Postkarte has been eliminated, the decoration remains.)
Before World War I, Memelland, an area on the Baltic Sea located to the north of the Memel River belonged to Prussia. After the war the newly formed state of Lithuania asked the Allied Powers to grant it possession of the Memel territory. The Allied Powers did detach Memelland from Germany but assumed direct control over the area. Lithuanian inhabitants of the region formed a Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor, gained the support of numerous volunteers from Lithuania proper, and on January 9, 1923, announced they were taking over the government of Memelland in order to unite the region, as an autonomous unit, with Lithuania. By January 15 the Lithuanian forces had gained control over the entire district, including the city of Memel. The Allied Powers protested but decided on February 16 to place Memelland under Lithuanian control. Eventually, the member states of the Ambassadors’ Conference signed the Memel Statue, which made Memelland an autonomous region within Lithuania.
The Memel Statue remained in effect until March 23, 1939 when Lithuania was forced to accept a German ultimatum demanding the return of Memelland. At the close of World War II, it was returned to Lithuania, by then a part of the U.S.S.R.