POSTER STAMPS AND LABELS OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

1940 - V Winter Games - Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Official (?) poster for the 1940 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Games After Japan gave the 1940 Games back to the IOC in July 1938, the IOC then decided to give the Winter Olympics to St Moritz, Switzerland, which had hosted it in 1928. However, due to controversies between the Swiss organizing team and the IOC, the Games were withdrawn again. In the spring of 1939, the IOC gave the 1940 Winter Olympics, now scheduled for February 2-11, to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where the previous 1936 Games had been held. Three months later, Germany invaded Poland, on September 1, to ignite World War II and the Winter Games were cancelled in November. DuBois lists no poster stamps issued for the 1940 Winter Games in Garmisch- Partenkirchen, but I found the following image on the www - they look like luggage stickers, and the text says Winter Olympic Games - 1940 - Garmisch- Partenkirchen. 1940-x1 and x2 I think these are participant's badges. 11/14/18 - Alvaro Trucchi, collector and prize-winning exhibitor of Olympic vignettes, published the following rather crude image in an article about Winter Olympic labels for Phila-Sport magazine. He has no information about it, but it looks like a design for a semi-postal postage stamp. As such, it is a very borderline entry in this collection, but I show it in case someone can tell us more about it. 1940W-G-x3 Black on white, Downhill skier. "V. OLYMPISCHE WINTERSPIELE" and Olympic rings at top right, "42+8" and "Deutsches Reich" at bottom left. Dimensions unknown.

GERMAN POSTCARD FOR 1940 WINTER OLYMPICS

 
#1940-F-x2
148x104mm overall

This one's interesting. I found several examples on the www, with no description of size or origin, so I thought it might be a label.

The German text reads:
OLYMPIADE / GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN 1940 HELSINKI / DEUTSCHLAND-FINNLAND / FAND DURCH DEN UNS AUFGEZWUNGENEN KRIEG NICHT STATT
Rough Translation:
(THE 1940 OLYMPICS)
DID NOT TAKE PLACE BECAUSE OF THE WAR IMPOSED ON US

Wow!

Pavel, a Russian visitor to this site, wrote and sent the image above, with this message:

Hello William! I am finishing work on a monograph for the failed Games of the XII Olympiad (Tokyo, Helsinki). When studying material from the Internet, on Delcampe, a scan of a card issued in Germany and dedicated to the 1940 Olympics in Helsinki was found. On the card below, under "DEUTSCHLAND-FINNLAND", the text "FAND DURCH DEN UNS AUFGEZWUNGENEN KRIEG NICHT STATT" is missing and there is no "ES" monogram at the bottom right. I make the assumption that at first a card was printed without text below. When it was decided to cancel the Olympics, a red overprint of the text about the failed Olympics was made on the card. Cards are known in their pure form and with special cancellations. Earliest cancellation date 11/11/1942. Respectfully yours, Pavel

That's an interesting addition to the story, and makes sense. It would have been silly to issue the card just to complain about the cancellation - they issued it first expecting to hold them, then they were cancelled, and the overprint was added. Thanks, Pavel!