Commemorative Postcard "First Meeting of German Shortwave Amateurs after the War in Stuttgart"

Commemorative postcard for the "First Meeting of German Shortwave Amateurs after the War in Stuttgart" held on 7-8 June 1947.

The postcard featured an illustration of presumabl Stuttgart, with radio equipment and antennas.

The text "Hams always come back" and "Der alte Ham-Spirit lebt noch!" (The old Ham-Spirit still lives!) reflected the resilience and passion of German amateur radio enthusiasts after World War II.

The locked cage with vacuum tubes and the question "Wer hat den Schlüssel?" (Who has the key?) likely alluded to the challenges and restrictions faced by German amateur radio operators in the immediate post-war period.

The reverse side of the card is identified as a "Tagungs-Festpostkarte," which translates to "Conference-Festival Postcard," suggesting it was issued for this specific amateur radio gathering.

The card was "Herausgegeben vom Veranstalter" (issued by the organizer) WBRC, located at Stuttgart, Neue Weinsteige 5.

Affixed to the postcard is a 24 Pfennig stamp depicting Heinrich von Stephan, a key figure in German postal history.

The circular postmark indicates "Stuttgart",  7-8.6.1947. It also mentions "deutscher Kurzweil Amateure Württ-Bad. Radia-P," suggesting this particular amateur radio event was held in the Württemberg-Baden region.

Background 

In July 1947, this shortwave conference was held in Stuttgart, attended by around 500 radio amateurs from all over Germany, giving amateur radio a significant boost there. 

Clubs were gradually authorised in other parts of Germany as well. First, the Hessian Radio Club (HRC), modeled on the Stuttgart model (even American officials considered this a precedent), then the Bavarian Amateur Radio Club (BARC), and finally the German Amateur Radio Club/British Zone (DARC/BZ). The radio operators in the French Zone had to wait until 1949, those in the Saar region until 1951, and those in the Soviet Zone until 1952 (this is a reminder for GDR nostalgics). 

An important culmination of this development was the founding of the DARC (without any additions) in the fall of 1950, into which the aforementioned clubs and their members were integrated over time.