Lot 290
Germany, 1944 Hitler OSS Birthday Propaganda souvenir sheet of 4, perf 8, no gum, bright and fresh, Very Fine.Michel No. 18a €36,000 ($40,120).
AN EXTREMELY RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 1944 HITLER PROPAGANDA SOUVENIR SHEET OF FOUR IN BROWN VIOLET - ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL PROPAGANDA ISSUES WITH APPROXIMATELY FIFTEEN ARE KNOWN TO EXIST.
The American OSS was formed from a division that President Roosevelt enacted by Executive order and was under jurisdiction of the Joint Chief of Staff, giving the OSS the capability and status of a military branch. The goal of the operation was to disrupt the morale of the German people by using a method of large scale psychological operation (PSYOP) that the British MI6 had been pushing into service with the help of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The distribution of propaganda in letters and distributed by the German postal system was thought to be an ideal method of reaching the German population and undermine the support of Adolf Hitler. One tactic used in hopes of shaking the morale further in the German people, was to call upon master forgers to produce a variety of propaganda forgery stamps similar in nature to the current German issues. This souvenir sheet was to resemble the 1937 Hitler semi-postal souvenir sheet.
Realized: $12,000