Lot 958
Guam 1915-17 S.M.S. Cormoran Internee and P.O.W. mail, two covers and four postcards mailed from Guam by the crew of the German merchant raider Cormoran between Jan 29, 1915 and Jan 26, 1917. Two are stampless Feldpost with the "K.D.M. Schiffspost No. 8" c.d.s., one is mailed from the Navy station ship U.S.S. Supply. Also a cover mailed by a crew member from Guam after war was declared with Germany on April 6, 1917 and a card mailed by a Cormoran P.O.W. from Ft. Douglas, Utah, Nov 30, 1919, Fine-Very Fine and a very scarce group. Eight items in all, five from one correspondence between one Walter Kendelbacher and a Martha Karsch in Berlin.
Estimate 500 - 750
On December 14, 1914 the Cormoran, short of coal, pulled into the neutral port of Guam. Due to the uncertain relationship between Germany and the U.S., and to the fact that Guam also had a very limited amount of coal, the Guam Military Governor refused to supply the Cormoran with more than a token amount of coal. Since she was a warship of a warring nation her presence violated the neutrality of the United States. Accordingly, on December 15th, the ship, her officers and her crew were forced to remain in Guam in a de facto state of internment. Over the next two and a half years the crew became guests of the Guamanians and settled into a "normal" routine.
When the U.S. declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, American officials on Guam demanded the surrender of the Cormoran and her crew. Because of the excellent relationships between the Germans and the Americans, the German captain was fully expected to cooperate and surrender peacefully. He did not.
On the morning of April 7th, the Captain, Adalbert Zuckschwerdt, ordered his crew to scuttle the Cormoran rather than surrender her to the Americans. In the explosion and resulting fire 13 of her crew were lost. They were buried with full military honors in the Agana Naval cemetery. The remainder of the crew was held on Guam as prisoners of war until mid-June when they were transferred to San Francisco and then to Ft. Douglas, Utah. They were repatriated to Germany after the war.
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| Realized $1,050 |
