Some of my Germany Covers and Why I like Them

This postal card, while registered and innocently trying to pose as a legitimate-usage cover, screams stamp collector contrived; I could be wrong (comments anyone?) but I like it anyway.

The original pre-printed card may have been of the Third Reich era, even portraying a now-forbidden Hitler definitive stamp likeness, so this counts, technically I think, as an "uprated" card.

The neatness and wide spaces allowed between some of the stamps suggests a careful placement for balance and aesthetics.  Most hurried clerks or postal patrons would not have taken the obvious philatelic care in preparing a cover for a simple registration and mailing fee. 

This 1938 cover has me puzzled....

Looks like the German writing is Ver---- Ausdehnung / Hafen Pflichtwerbedienst which has something to do with the expansion of a port and compulsory service or guard duty....I just can't find the relevant information!  Did Erich Schattat ever get this urgent letter?  Who was the mysterious sender from Hotel Wiesbaden--was it the notated A. Zenker below the Hotel Address???..... and lastly, why would someone pencil in such an odd price of €8.68 ?

I bought it, of course, because of all the questions! And I like HOTEL and REGISTRATION and EXPRESS combination covers anyway!

This World War II era postcard shows a bold propaganda slogan cancel--

"more than 32 million British Registered Tons are gone!"

I spent hours one night trying to ascertain if the figure of 32,000,000 BRT was overly exaggerated.  I couldn't come up with a definitive answer other than the figure appears slightly overblown as of the summer of 1943. 

What if they had Google in 1939, would that have changed history?

What if Hitler had access to, and surfed the Internet, would he have spent all his time playing war-games thus sparing the lives of millions???

Shall it stay this way?  NO! NEVER!

reads the top title of this map printed on the reverse of a 1949 cover.  It shows a map of divided Germany and a Soviet chain surrounding the eastern occupation zone which soon became the German "Democratic" Republic (East Germany).  To the right are the areas of Germany cleansed of German nationals and turned over to Poland.  Only the Western zones of the US, Britain, and France remained free of communist rule under the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Cold War was in full swing, and an "Iron Curtain" was quickly descending on half of Europe.
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The bottom reads "Self-determination right for all people! Reunification in peace and freedom!"

Only after the Berlin Wall fell, and negotiations lasting over a year, was a peace treaty finalized known as the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany (also Two Plus Four) In the treaty the Four Powers renounced all rights they held in Germany, allowing a united Germany to become fully sovereign the following year.

It would take forty more years to achieve this, but by the end of 1989 all of Germany was on a fast, if bumpy ride to reunification in peace and freedom. 

This letter has a colorful etiquette, or Cinderella, exhorting the public to Read the National-Sozialistische Press.  The pre-addressed envelope was postpaid with a meter, or Freistempel and made its way to the WHW offices, Lottery Division in Luebeck on the Baltic (Ostsee). 

The WHW was an annual charity drive with "None shall starve nor freeze" as its slogan.  Originally set up in 1931, Hitler would later claim sole credit.   From 1933 to 1945 (October through March) WHW was designed to provide food, clothing, coal, and other items to less fortunate Germans during the inclement months.

In German-occupied France a similar drive was set up, known in French as the Secours d'Hiver and in the Netherlands known as the Winterhulp.

This sad-looking letter made my mother cry when I brought in the mail just over forty years ago, in 1974.  I was a 15 year-old stamp collector and normally ripped any stamps off our incoming mail to soak and add to my growing collection.

Curious as to how she knew her favorite uncle had died, I was quickly introduced to the since-forgotten practice of sending Mourning Covers to family and acquaintances.  Poor Onkel Ferdi, I had visited him two years before and he was ill but young ones think their family members will live forever.

In a way he does, as I always think of Onkel Ferdi fondly and smiling when I see this cover.  

Never again do I tear stamps from their envelopes!

I am a cover fanatic now........

This postcard solicitation for Die Rigaer Zeitschrift ("The Riga Magazine") touted it as a great German-language periodical needed by anyone wishing to keep abreast of the lucrative Russian/Baltic market for German goods and services.

The first sentence (in bold, on top) mentions how "The Baltic-Russian market is independent of wild currency swings because of its hunger for goods building on Russia's 140 million inhabitants"

Uh-oh. I'm falling behind!

These are some really nice pieces, Jim. A few comments, from the top.

1919 Semi-Postals -- these appear to be the common colors. Probably a philatelic usage, unless it was a really heavy letter.

Glider-post -- really love the glider cachet. It's a shame the postal clerk didn't press a little harder on the cancels, because those are really nice commemorative cancels.

AMG -- this is a really interesting piece. The "AM Post" Bi-Zone issues were printed by the Americans, British, and Germans, and there are noticeable differences in the three (here's a handy reference). For example, you have three 3 Pf varieties -- the first is American, the second British, and the bottom one German. That screams philatelic, but it's neat nonetheless. The rate is a little excessive (84 Pf), but it's correct if you discount the 12 Pf AM Post that's covered-up by the 25 Pf and 10 Pf. It seems odd that a philatelic usage would cover-up a stamp, so there may be a reason behind doing so that would also explain the rate.

Torino -- love the handwriting. It's actually readable, which is rare for the period!

Hotel -- the handwriting appears to be a mix of Kurrent and Sütterlin scripts, with horrible penmanship on top of it all. I can't get the business name, but the address appears to be Lindenstraße 20, unit 5. This would be mere yards from the Berlin SW 68 post office, which was on Ritterstraße between Lindenstraße and Alte Jakobstraße, about a block SE of what would later become Checkpoint Charlie. The building that's currently at that address appears to be old, so it's probably the same building your addressee lived/worked in.

Gelber Hund -- nice one.  The corners aren't in bad shape, which is a good sign.  These tend to be rough around the edges.

BRT cancel -- awesome machine cancel.  Catalogs in Bochmann as MS 403.  Used at numerous post offices from June-December 1943.



SA/SS -- I agree! Stay away!!! Fake cancels on fake SA/SS stamps.

FDC -- interestingly enough, it was FDC for the 30 Pf stamps, but not the 60 Pf. It's also a gross overfranking, unless they were mailing a brick!

NSDAP -- neat cinderella, but let's talk about the cancel for a moment. During the period, it was common for companies (for some reason, largely financial institutions) to pay for machine cancels advertising their business. This one is advertising the Hamburger Sparcasse (still around, but now spelled Hamburger Sparkasse), a bank in Hamburg founded in 1827. The counter (4821) indicated how many cancels had been applied, so the post office knew how much to charge the business.

Officials -- not sure what's going on with the rate on this one. There's no combination of weight/services which would warrant a 70 M rate. Either a shorted 100 M, or excessive postage for a 60 M letter.

Mourning cover -- nice that you have one with a personal connection!

Unfranked -- another great machine cancel. Catalogs in Bochmann as Gera 4 (4/i A), and was in use from 1937-40/



This cover also has a nice free franking marking from the II. Battalion, Kavallerieschützenregiment 7 (2nd Battalion, Cavalry Rifle Regiment 7), which was based at Gera.

This nice Hindenburg Zeppelin postcard dates from 19 July 1936, and has the appropriate red flight cancel, atop a nice Olympics slogan machine cancel!

It is postmarked at the original shipyard/foundry in Friedrichshaven, but I am not sure it actually was carried on board--does anyone know if the red flight cancels prove it flew on board as mail or not? 

I think the addressee reads Muernitz bei Wilhelmsfuerth/Mittelfranken.

If you look closely at the bottom of the picture, you can see teeny tiny people scurrying about as the immense airship makes its ascent!

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About ten months later, the Hindenburg would go down in flames in Lakehurst, New Jersey....ending the viability of airships!

Jim and PostmasterGS, this a great thread, with excellent comments. Philatelically-competent and with content skillfully written, the comments are also nuanced with italic and bold features, in perfect manner. This is a world-class thread. Bravo!

This cover is franked with five different values of the President Heuss series from the mid-fifties.  Three other stamps added likely overpaid the rate to Canada in 1956 (DM 1,60 was the total postage paid, worth about 35 US cents at the time).  Perhaps it was sent to a stamp collector; I picked it up for less than the price of a cup of tea!

What is the price of a cup of tea ?? .....I do not drink tea.....
René

nice btw

This cover was sent to a small town called Blaubeuren in Baden-Wuerttemberg not far from the town of Ulm.  I stayed in a lovely hotel there last year with my son and wife, while visiting family nearby.  I remember visiting the same town when I was ten or eleven years old living with my parents nearby.  So naturally I remembered the town when I saw this cover in a dealer's box and just had to have it, for way less than the price of a cup of coffee!  The special cancel is from the nearby town of Sigmaringen, another popular tourist town!


Hotel Ochsen is where we spent the night.  It has a fine restaurant by the same name and owners as well!

I always wondered, and recently asked my mother, why Oma was allowed to visit the West.  The Communist regime would allow family members to visit Western relatives, but only if there was ample reason to believe they would return to the East.

My grandmother had four younger children at home in Weimar; ages eight, ten, twelve, and sixteen (my mother's four younger sisters) and the authorities felt a mother traveling alone had more reason to return if her children were forcibly kept behind.  Years later, one by one, my four aunts made their escape and fled to the West, each time staying with us or other relatives in West Germany until they managed on their own.

Eventually my grandmother and grandfather did finally flee, but only after the Berlin Wall in 1961 made escape that much more difficult.  My grandfather had hesitated because, of all things, he did NOT want to leave his prized stamp collection behind!