*See below!

[Below: Inside. Event schedule and menu. 'Norwegenfahrten' (Norwegian Trips).]

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[Below: 1939 event schedule and menu.]

[Below: Inside. 1939 event schedule and menu. 'Norwegenfahrten' (Norwegian Trips) and 'Willkommen An Board!' (Welcome Aboard!).]

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[Below: 1939 event schedule and menu. The 'Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen' was a German shipping company founded in Bremen.]

[Below: Inside. 1939 event schedule and menu. It says:

'Denkt an das
Kostümfest!
Helft alle mit,
daß es ganz,
ganz lustig wird!
Dazu gehört auch,
daß JEDER
im Kostüm erscheint!
Also an die Arbeit!'

(Think of the
Costume party!
Help everyone,
so that it is very
fun for all!
This includes,
that EVERYONE
comes in costume!
So get to work!).]

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[Below: 1939 event schedule and menu.]

[Below: Inside. 1939 event schedule and menu.]

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[Below: April 1939 event schedule and menu for the luxury liner 'Robert Ley'.]

[Below: Inside. April 1939 event schedule and menu for the luxury liner 'Robert Ley'.]

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[Below: 1939 event schedule and menu.]

[Below: Inside. 1939 event schedule and menu.]

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[Below: 1939 event schedule and menu.]

[Below: Inside. 1939 event schedule and menu.]

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[Below: 1939 menu.]

[Below: Inside. 1939 menu.]

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[Below: This is a KdF music schedule, it says 'Das Orchestra Littoria-Rom Spielt für unsere verwundeten Kamerad' (The Orchestra Littoria-Rome play for our wounded comrades).]

[Below: KdF music schedule - inside.]

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[Below: 1938 event schedule, currency exchange rates and menu.]

[Below: Page two - 1938 event schedule, currency exchange rates and menu.]

[Below: Page three - 1938 event schedule, currency exchange rates and menu.]

[Below: Page four - 1938 event schedule, currency exchange rates and menu.]

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[Below: This is a theater sheet that says:

'Wehrmacht
Bühne
Der NS-Gemeinschaft
Kraft
Durch
Freude
Im Auftrage des
Oberkommando
Der Wehrmacht'

(Wehrmacht
Stage
The NS community Strength
Through
Joy
On behalf of the
High Command
The Wehrmacht).]

[Below: Inside.]

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[Below: This is an April 1939 sixteen page booklet from Strength Through Joy. It says:

'Nationalsozialistische Gemeinschaft
"Kraft durch Freude"
Kulturgemeinde Kassel.'

(National Socialist Community
"Strength Through Joy"
Cultural community Kassel).

Click to see inside.]

[Below: First page within.]

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[Below: This is a February 1939 vacation booklet from Strength Through Joy from the Hamburg district. It was a ten day trip through cities, towns and natural sights. It says:

'Merkblatt
Urlaubsreife
In das Riesen gebirge.'

(Information sheet
Vacation readiness
into the Giant Mountains).

Click to see inside.]

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[Below: This is a February 1936 vacation vacation registration form from Strength Through Joy from the Hamburg district.]

[Below: Reverse. It begins to say:

'Wichtigste Teilnehmer-Bedingungen:

Teilnahmeberechtigt an den KDF=Urlaubsfahrten ist jeder minderbemittelte Volksgenoffe, der sich eine Urlaubsfahrt zum normalen Preise nicht leisten kann. Voraussetzung ist ferner die Mitgliedschaft bei der Deutschen Arbeitsfront oder einem ihr angegliederten Verband.'

(Most important participant conditions:

Any underprivileged citizen who cannot afford a holiday trip at normal prices is eligible to take part in the KDF holiday trips. A further requirement is membership in the German Labor Front or an affiliated association.)]

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[Below: Strength Through Joy booklet containing various maps. Front/reverse. On the left it says:

'Freüde dürch Reisen
Reisen dürch Sparen'

(Joy through travel
Travel through saving)]

On the right it says:

'Kraft durch Freude
Amt für Reisen, Wandern und Urlaub'

(Strength through Joy
Office for Travel, Hiking and Vacation)

[Below: Pages within.]

[Below: Map... wow, look at how condensed it is. Pretty much every map looks this way. The need for living space was very real.]

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[Below: 1936 Strength Through Joy postcard.]

[Below: Reverse. 1936 Strength Through Joy postcard showing the menu from the cruise ship 'Monte Olivia'.]

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[Below: Strength Through Joy postcards showing menus from the cruise ship 'Monte Olivia'.]

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[Below: 1935 Strength Through Joy postcard showing the menu from the cruise ship 'Monte Sarmiento'.]

[Below: Reverse. 1935 Strength Through Joy postcard.]

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[Below: Strength Through Joy ticket book.]

[Below: Close-up. Strength Through Joy ticket book.]

[Below: Reverse. Strength Through Joy ticket book.]

[Below: Inside. Strength Through Joy ticket book.]

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[Below: Privately printed Strength Through Joy postcard advertising a 1937 stamp show celebrating the 700th anniversary of the town of Gera, sponsored by the KdF organization.]

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[Below: This Strength Through Joy postcard says: 'Das KDF.=Flaggschiff "Robert Ley" an der Mole von Lissabon' (The KDF.=Flagship "Robert Ley" at the pier of Lisbon). There are beautiful videos of this trip from Portugal, many of the people are holding little National Socialist flags and cheering at the pier. Click to Enlarge.]

[Below: Close-up of cancel.]

[Below: Unused version of postcard above. Click to Enlarge.]

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[Below: WHW (Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes, or Winter Relief of the German People) postcard that has been overprinted (upper left hand corner) by the KdF (Strength Through Joy) organization. It's canceled on May 21, 1939. Click to Enlarge.]

[Below: Close-up of cancel.]

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[Below: This KdF postcard says:

'Erste Sammlerschau
der KdF. Ortssammlergruppe'

(First collector's show
the KdF. Local collector group).

Click to Enlarge.]

[Below: Postcard reverse. It is canceled on October 27, 1940. Click to Enlarge.]

[Below: Cancel close-up.]

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[Below: These two KdF postcards say:

'7. KWHW-Reichs-Strassensammlung'

(7th KWHW Reich Road Collection).

I'm guessing these are wildflowers that grow beside the road. Click to Enlarge.]

[Below: Close-up. The cancel says 'Schaffende sammeln Schaffende geben' (Creators collect, creators give). Click to Enlarge.]

[Below: Postcard #2. Click to Enlarge.]

[Below: Close-up. Click to Enlarge.]

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[Below: This is a sheet made for collectors from 1943. At the bottom it says: '3 Jahre Wehmachtbetreuung' (3 years Wehmacht support).]

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[Below: This postcard, from January 9, 1938, celebrates 'Stamp Day', at the top it says: 'Deutsche Sammler Gemeinschaft' (German Collector Community).]

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[Below: This postcard, postmarked on October 27, 1940, is adverising a stamp collectors show, at the top it says: 'Sammlerschau der KdF Ortssammlergruppe' (Collector's show of the KdF local collector group). At the bottom it says: 'Erste Briefmarkenausstellung der Ortssammlergruppe Berlin=Schöneberg in der NS.=Gemeinschaft "Kraft durch Freude" am 26. und 27. October 1940 im alten Schöneberger Rathaus' (First stamp exhibition of the local collector group Berlin=Schöneberg in the NS.=Community "Strength through Joy" on October 26th and 27th, 1940 in the old Schöneberg town hall).]

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[Below: Strength Through Joy sports program tax stamp.]

[Below: Strength Through Joy tax stamp.]

[Below: This is a 'Kraft durch Freude' (Strength through Joy) Hitler Youth savings stamp.]

[Below: These are 'Kraft durch Freude Sparkassen' (Strength Through Joy Savings Banks) stamps. Let me explain the strange little face. Look closely at the face, from the left it says 'DSGV' which stands for 'Deutscher Sparkassen-und Giroverband' (German Savings Banks Association). Note that most of these stamps shown here have the little face.]

[Below: These are 'Kraft durch Freude Sparkassen' (Strength Through Joy Savings Banks) stamps, in a block of four.]

[Below: This 'Hörermarke' is another Strength Through Joy stamp, although I'm unsure what it was for. 'Hörer' means 'listener', perhaps this had something to do with the radio?]

[Below: The is a KDF sports accident insurance.]

[Below: Sheet of Strength Through Joy tax stamps. Herborn is a historic town in Hesse, Germany.]

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[Below: The back of this picture (seen below) has a description that reads:

'Erhaltung und Förderung der Schaffenskraft Das ist eine der wichtigsten Aufgaben, die sich die deutsche Arbeitsfront gestellt hat. Mit Hilfe der für diesen Zweck geschaffenen Einrichtungen wie "Schönheit der Arbeit" und "Kraft durch Freude" haben unzählige Betriebe im ganzen Reich, ganz besonders in den Jahren vor dem Kriege, hierin schon vieles geleistet.

Atlantic, April 22, 1944'

(Preservation and promotion of creative power. This is one of the most important tasks that the German Labor Front has set itself. With the help of the institutions created for this purpose, such as "Beauty of Work" and "Strength through Joy," countless companies throughout the Reich have already achieved a great deal in this regard, especially in the years before the war.

Atlantic, April 22, 1944)

There are a few things of note here. Look at all the natural sunlight, the clean working environment and even the addition of plants. Many American workers, in comparison, literally lived in shanty towns.]

[Below: Photo reverse.]

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[Below: The "Strength Through Joy" flagship "Robert Ley". A beautiful marvel of its time. Note the Strength Through Joy sign on the chimney of the ship.]

[Below: The "Strength Through Joy" flagship "Robert Ley".]

[Below: Everything the Allies touched turned to death and ruin. The once beautiful and proud ship after Allied terror bombs. It laid in the docks in Hamburg until 1947, when the British stole her remains from the German people and towed it home to scrap it.]

[Below: Click on the picture below to see more period photographs of the "Robert Ley" ship on its maiden voyage in the North Sea. Photos by Hugo Jaeger. Wow, check out the swastikas near the ceiling... beautiful.]

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[Below: The KDF sister ship of the Robert Ley -- The Wilhelm Gustloff. It suffered the tragic fate of being sunk by a Soviet submarine at the war's end, losing nearly 10,000 lives. It was loaded with civilians (mostly women, children, and elderly) and the wounded, who were fleeing west in advance of the Soviet murder machine.]