#70 • Letter / Card Holder - Christmas in Exile: Refugees from Ostduinkerke, Atlantic Wall, 1944

Part of TRENCH ART & WWI Memorabilia (live auction by Bannerman Auctions)

High bid $20.00

Status: Sold

Category: Belgium

Letter / Card Holder - Christmas in Exile: Refugees from Ostduinkerke, Resistance Nest Waldersee, Atlantic Wall, 1944 Wooden letter holder has 5 graduated slots for letters or other paper items topped by a fretwork church against a dark sky with sand dunes in the foreground and a shooting star passing overhead.  The scene is covered by an arc of lifting clouds or smoke.  An inscription in Flemish on the lower face translates as CHRISTMAS IN EXILE, OOSTDUINKERKE 44.  It measures 28.2 cm wide, 6 cm deep and 15.5 cm tall. It is constructed of layers of stained plywood with a bit of separation on the back and a few worm holes throughout.   Oostduinkerke was a strongpoint in the German fortification of the Belgian coast known as resistance nest Waldersee.  Heavily fortified with anti-aircraft batteries, minefields and bunkers since 1940, the inhabitants faced many hardships under German occupation including food shortages and forced labor.  Liberated by the Canadians in September of 1944, Christmas that year was still a grim affair but was the first in many years with their German occupiers. Estimate: $40 - $80