Operation Cornflakes: How Postage Stamps Helped Destroy Hitler
In the early months of 1945, the world had been at war for over three years. Germany appeared to be nearing defeat, but American casualties were mounting as its resources dwindled. An idea was hatched – a brilliant plan to bring down the Nazi government. The weapon chosen to defeat Hitler – postage stamps!
The Challenge
The Office of Strategic Services – an intelligence agency and forerunner of today’s CIA – was formed during World War II. Throughout the war, one of its most effective tools was propaganda aimed at demoralizing the German people, which OSS officials hoped would spark a revolt against the Nazis.
However, getting the propaganda into the hands of every day Germans was challenging. The OSS had dropped leaflets from the air, but wind, rain and other factors often destroyed the materials before they reached the intended audience.
The Plan
Then a bold plan developed – use Nazi government workers to distribute misinformation to their citizens via their own postal service. If effective, it would have a powerful psychological effect on the German people.
To launch the operation, OSS operatives quizzed German POWs who had been postal workers to learn even the smallest details about the mail service. Stamp samples, cancellations, mail sacks and envelopes were studied. Two million mailing addresses gathered and envelopes were created using legitimate businesses as return addresses. Propaganda pieces were printed and special bombs were produced to carry mailbags (we’ll learn why in a minute). A newspaper entitled Das Neue Deutschland, which claimed to be printed by an opposition group in Germany, was produced to urge fellow Germans to join the movement.
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And most importantly, stamps had to be produced. The then-current 6pf and 12pf German stamps picturing Adolf Hitler were forged for use on covers.
A third version of the 12pf stamp was also printed with an image of Hitler’s skull and the inscription “Futsches Reich” (Ruined Empire). These stamps were included inside the envelopes along with other anti-Nazi propaganda pieces.
To smuggle the stamps into Germany, OSS officials planned to bomb mail trains and drop mailbags near the wreckage. By using the specially-designed bombs mentioned earlier, OSS operatives hoped to mimic realistic damage caused by bombs without destroying the propaganda pieces.
Because most mail was delivered very early in the morning, as Germans were sitting down for breakfast, the scheme was dubbed “Operation Cornflakes.”
Operation Cornflakes
Operation Cornflakes launched on February 5, 1945. Allied planes dropped bombs on a mail train bound for Linz, Hitler’s childhood home. Bags filled with almost 3,000 propaganda pieces were then dropped into the wreckage, where they mixed with actual German mail sacks. They were later salvaged by German authorities and delivered as usual.
Over a three-month period, 20 missions were flown, with 320 fake mail bags dropped – about 96,000 propaganda pieces in all. But a mistake was made during the March 16 air raid. After the phony mail was collected from the wreckage, a German clerk noticed a misspelling in one of the return addresses. “Wiener Giro-und Kassenverein,” a central securities deposit, had been misspelled “Wiener Giro-und Cassenverein.” When the same error was found on several other pieces of mail, German officials opened the envelopes and discovered the propaganda.
The Stamps Today
Later questioned about the success of Operation Cornflakes, some 10,000 German deserters and POWs said they had been affected by the campaign. And we know the raids taxed the Nazi’s by burdening their postal service and destroying mail routes. But the benefits to stamp collectors today are the stamps that remain. Only a few survived the war and they’re highly valued by collectors, who first learned of their existence when President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s collection was sold. Others that survive were saved by OSS operatives and high-ranking military officials – genuine history preserved by the very Americans who changed the course of world history!
Good story.
What an intriguing story. How sad that only a few people who were involved are able to have such treasures. Once again, we see Pres. Roosevelt being given special access to historic and valuable stamp issues. Do you suppose we could get reprints, like the Farley’s, if we screamed loud enough?
It’s nice to read about stamps and their roll in WWII History. Thank for your effort.
Great story. Stamp collecting during the golden age of Franklin Roosevelt was an educational experience for my circle of friends in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn. We learned a lot about geography and historical events. Later on with my son I started collecting stamps again in the 1970s. It was a great father and son activity that went along with our camping and foreign travel.
Great story about stamps and how they helped win the war against Nazi Germany!
Good story. it’s always interesting to hear these little known facts abou WWII
How very interesting and educational. Thanks for sharing this information on WWII.
Regarding the 6pf Hitler bust issue, you might also want to include a comment about
Britain having reproduced this issue portraying the head of Heinrich Himmler, leader of the S.S. and Minister of the Interior. (I am a philatelist)
Very interesting, VERY INFORMATIVE. Thank you for sharing this very unknown piece of history.
Very interesting indeed. I never knew this.
Thank you!
What interesting history. I never would have known this, had I not read it here. Thanks so much for sharing.
Great article and I too would enjoy daily mailings like this!
Re first paragraph, I think you will find that the war started in 1939!!!
Hey Terry! You forgot Dec, 7, 1941
DON SUNDMAN: YOU SURELY WOULD KNOW THE HISTORY. H.E. HARRIS IN 1943 BOUGHT KENMORE STAMP CO. FROM ERNEST JARVIS (WHILE HELPING START YOUR FATHER AT LITTLETON, GARCELON IN CALAIS,ME, JAMESTOWN STAMP, ELMIRA OR JAMESTOWN, NY (MAYBE OTHERS TOO) AND MOVED KENMORE TO RICHFORD, VT. THEN, SUPPOSEDLY H.E. HARRIS, JR. (?) ACQUIRED KENMORE FROM HIS FATHER, MOVED IT TO ARLINGTON,MA, AND SUBSEQUENTLY TO MILFORD, NH WHERE IT THEN RELOCATED FROM MILFORD’S TOWN HALL TO ITS (NOW) OWN BUILDING IN MILFORD. QUESTION: WHO NOW OWNS KENMORE? DO YOU ??? IF SO, HOW IN THE NAME OF OUR GOOD LORD DO YOU MANAGE IT ALL ??
Thanks for the kind words about my father and others. Harris was an important source for stamps for Littleton, Mystic, Garcelon, Jamestown, and Kenmore all bought most of their stamps wholesale from H.E. Harris. My father was close friends with Harris having met in the 1930’s. After my father returned from army service in North Africa and Europe during WWII he started Littleton Stamp Company with trade credit from Harris. H.E. Harris’s son, known as Bill, started Kenmore after WWII. Bill flew in the army air force. Bill passed away a few years ago. Bills daughter and son-in-law continue to run Kenmore in Milford.
My father admired McIntosh and Tatham and that was one reason Littleton started selling coins in the 1950s. Now that company is Littleton Coin Company and my brother David Sundman is president. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
– Don Sundman
1941-1945 Hitler – New Daily Stamp Dot: 14 x 14¼ -6 pfennigre stamp Original color pale Violet the color of the stamp in my hand Pencil Barnas where I can find Errol description.
I’m sorry. We don’t have more information on this stamp.
The main interesting thing about this piece is it’s ludicrous title. The fact that the article makes it clear that this plan had little effect on the war shows that the title was intended to be misleading.
Enjoyed your story of how Hitler’s postage stamps helped in his downfall. I was born in 1944 and had never read or heard of it until I found it searching stamps. KUDOS.
OH, also that Hitler protected those two countries, and they were a refuge for him, so the card fits.
Does anyone collect Hitler stamps?
I have at least 50 Hitler stamps. My mom collected stamps when she was a little girl. She was born in 1940.
Unt zis iz us var prapunganda. Ve hav known yours plans frum za start. Unt ve ur vatchingz youz.