Deutsches Dienstpostamt Oslo 1942-1945 by Bjørn E. Bunæs. 6 ¾ by 9 ½ inches, soft covers, perfect bound, 72 pages, in English and Norwegian, War and Philabooks Ltd., Tårnåsen, Norway, 2004. ISBN 82-995588-8-3, $26 plus $10 shipping to USA from the publisher, Gydas v. 52, 1413 Tårnåsen, Norway.

This booklet is an expanded version of Bunæs’ articles that appeared recently in the Norwegian War and Field Post Society journal. In order to handle official mail during WW II in occupied territories, the German Service Mail Offices were established (Deutsches Dienstpostamt). Such mail included mostly free franked items related to party offices, field hospitals, material supply departments, reserve and training units and their staff. Private mail from these organizations had to be franked.

The handling of this official mail at the Oslo office is described. A special rate table shows the postage required by relatives and employees for mail sent to the DDP—letters, post cards, registered matter, and parcels. Examples of official mail and private mail handled by this office are shown with many in color.

Branch offices in Drontheim, Narvik, and Tromsö are mentioned. A scheme of post box (P) numbers for official mail coming into Oslo was developed for mail going to specific agencies, thus helping the DDP to sort the large volume of inbound items. A list of sources and a list of German abbreviations and terms translated into English are useful tools. The English text is then repeated in Norwegian without the illustrations.

An elaborate table lists cancels, administrative cachets, and labels and stationery with size, rarity, period of use and illustrations. Appendices reproduce German postal communications that bear on this mail. The War and Field Post Society recognizes that this monograph is a starting point for compiling this data, and requests additional information from others who may be able to expand the work.

Alan Warren