Communists were the Nazis' first victims, ruthlessly repressed. Members of the Communist Party who escaped the initial wave of arrests immediately established an illegal underground organization to carry on their political struggle against Hitler. Commanded by senior party officials from exile in the Soviet Union, an effective courier systems kept each local Communist group in communication with the leadership. Communist Parties outside Germany collected money from their members to pay the expenses of their German comrades, particularly the cost of couriers.

A 1935 American Communist's membership book includes both unemployed dues stamps and solidarity assessment stamps.

Red 2-cent assessment stamps are receipts for each month's payment to support the illegal anti-Nazi activities of the German Communist Party. next >>