WEBVTT

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Hi. I'm Jesse Alexander.

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Thank you for supporting this companion episode of Glory and Defeat.

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The postcard as we know it today,

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got a huge boost in popularity,

WEBVTT

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thanks to the Franco-Prussian War.

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One of the main means of communication between the front and

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the German lands was the so-called field post correspondence card.

WEBVTT

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The French post formally introduced cards as well in 1872.

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Postcards were also important during the First World War,

WEBVTT

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and with the advancement of photography,

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soldiers could have their own pictures taken and send the prince home his postcards.

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Even in today's digital age, of course,

WEBVTT

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you can still buy historic reproductions of

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war-themed postcards that reflect the origins of the postcard in 1870.

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Thanks again for supporting glory and defeat.

WEBVTT

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I'll see you next week.
WEBVTT

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Soldiers could send these pictures cards from the field to reassure

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their relatives that they were still alive or inform them of a death.

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On September second, 1870, Lieutenant Von Bismarck,

WEBVTT

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no relation to Otto,

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wrote a card from the battlefield at Sedan to his hospitalized friend Captain Muller.

WEBVTT

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Bivouac near Sedan.

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Great battle yesterday.

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Lieutenant Schulz, Cammerer,

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and Jordan are dead.

WEBVTT

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Many men also send cards on special occasions like Christmas.

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On the night of December 24th 1870 alone,

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the German Field post transported 1 million postcards.

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On the French side,

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locally produced catheter posts were used

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to improve communication during the siege of Paris.

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Balloons carried them out,

WEBVTT

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and pigeons carried a simple yes or no answer back.

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After the war in Germany,

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the field post correspondence card evolved

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into the tourists picture postcard that we know today.

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The link to the war remained since tourists on

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battlefield pilgrimages often sent postcards home when they visited.

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Sending a postcard usually with a picture of

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a war memorial on it became a way that tourists could show

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people back home that they visited the site of

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the founding of the empire like good patriots.