1945 6Pf + 12Pf Austria on Postcard to Vienna

This historic postcard is a fascinating philatelic document from post-WWII Austria, specifically illustrating the 1945 Vienna Local Issue (Wiener Lokalausgabe).

Following the liberation of Austria and the collapse of the Nazi regime in the spring of 1945, the provisional Austrian postal service faced a severe shortage of new postage stamps. To resume operations quickly, the Postal Directorate of Vienna overprinted existing stocks of German Reich stamps featuring Adolf Hitler's portrait.
These provisional stamps are known as the Vienna Local Issues (Wiener Lokalausgaben):
The name "Österreich" (Austria) was printed over the stamps, usually combined with black bars or a grid pattern to deliberately deface and obliterate Hitler's face.

Provenance: Ex Werbizky.