The township Židikai (Zhidiki, Schidiki) lies ca. 20 km west of Mažeikiai. When the German advance into Žemaitija and Courland began on April 27, 1915, Židikai was bypassed except for a reco detachment. After the German withdrawal from Russia at the end of 1918, in January 1919 Židikai was held by Abteilung Doin of the Eiserne Division.
In czarist times, Židikai had had a post office (Zhidiki) but it was discontinued during the German occupation. According to a local historian, the late Balys Radžiūnas (in “Paštas ir Filatelija Lietuvoje”, No. 30, p.35), a postal facility was opened in Židikai some time in 1919, under the auspices of the local shire council. In charge, though not as a centrally appointed postmaster, was Elena Aliukaitė – Šepskienė. It seems that, as in czarist times, mail was exchanged with a similar facility at nearby Lūšė railway station.
For stamps, Židikai seems to have had a small supply of Fourth Berlin Issue etc. In the absence of a regular postmarker, the Židikai facility made use of a seal-like cachet [see card below] whose inscription is not sufficiently legible.
This cachet was still used in mid-1921, but a formal calendar-type postmarker was supplied by 1922. Meantime there may have been other markings. For registration Židikai made use of a locally made cachet.
Known provisional markings:
Cancelling by a seal-like cachet:
2 / VI / 21 card to Kaunas, Berlin IV 30 [colln. Bubnys]Registration by a local cachet:
302 8.III.22 cover to USA, K?stutis 2a x4 [colln. ?]