ABSTRACT
The slogan 'May God punish England!' became a common greeting, to which the addressed person had to reply 'May he punish it!' These martial slogans can also be found on the postcard. Postcards are a neglected historical source. One reason is that there are no official archives collecting them systematically. During the First World War more than twenty-eight billion postal mailings were sent by the German Army alone, of which approximately 25% were postcards. At the beginning of First World War a noticeably large number of German soldiers attended military church services seeking atonement. The German postcard shows, similar to the one described by Eusebius, a shining cross above the sun. An infantryman piously takes off his helmet and goes on his knees for a prayer while a dragoon admires the wonder in silence. The German policy in the postcard propaganda to focus on honour and religion was not as successful as anticipated because romantic motifs were preferred by soldiers.
