References to "Mi" plus a number (e.g., Mi #242) refer to the catalog number of a particular stamp in the
Michel catalog
of German postage stamps.
Deutsche Post of the GDR
|
Flag used from 1975 until 1990
|
|
Formed
| 1949
|
---|
Dissolved
| 1990
|
---|
Headquarters
| East Berlin
|
---|
The
Deutsche Post
(
DP
), also
Deutsche Post of the GDR
(
German
: Deutsche Post der DDR
) was the state-owned
postal
and
telecommunications
monopoly
of the German Democratic Republic (GDR -
East Germany
). The DP was placed under the control of the
Ministry for Postal and Telecommunication Services of the GDR
(Ministerium fur Post- und Fernmeldewesen der DDR
-(MPF)) - a member of the
Council of Ministers of the GDR
(
Ministerrat
der DDR)
- and was in operation from 1949 until the
reunification of Germany
on 3 October 1990.
Historical background
[
edit
]
With the end of the
Second World War
in
Europe
in May 1945, the
Allied Control Council
succeeded the former
Nazi
regime in Germany; as part of this action, the
Deutsche Reichspost
(the postal service of the
German Reich
) was absorbed by the occupation authorities. Germany was divided into
four occupation zones
, and
Berlin
into four sectors; the territories east of the
Oder-Neisse
rivers were placed under
Polish
and
Soviet
authority. One of the first tasks of restoring civil government in Germany involved the restoration of postal and telecommunications services.
The
German Central Administration for Communication Services
(Deutsche Zentralverwaltung fur das Nachrichtenwesen)
began its work in the
Soviet occupation zone
under the jurisdiction of the
Soviet Military Administration in Germany
on 27 July 1945. The post office in the Soviet zone fell under its authority. Initially, the individual states
(Lander)
in the Soviet zone issued their own stamps, but by 1946, stamps bearing the inscription
Deutsche Post
, valid in all four occupation zones, were being issued.
[1]
When negotiations related to general German currency reforms broke down, the
Western Allies
proceeded with the currency reform in
West Germany
, and on 21 June 1948 the
Deutsche Mark
was introduced.
[2]
In response, the Soviet Union announced its reform of the East German currency on 24 June 1948; the
East German Mark
became the currency for the Soviet zone, and its stamps were marked with overprints.
[2]
This established the economic separation of the two German states. In July 1948, the stamps of the previously common issue were overprinted with the words "Soviet Occupation Zone" and subsequently the Soviet zone issued different stamps from the western zones, all, however, under the "Deutsche Post" label.
[3]
The
Federal Republic of Germany
(FRG) was founded on 23 May 1949; the formation of the
German Democratic Republic
followed on 7 October 1949.
[4]
In the FRG the "Deutsche Post" was renamed
Deutsche Bundespost
(German Federal Post) in 1950, while the GDR retained the term "Deutsche Post". Due to
Berlin
's occupation status, the
West Berlin
postal service was technically independent of the West German
Bundespost
; it was known as the
Deutsche Bundespost Berlin
. However, no such requirements were applied to the DP operating in
East Berlin
.
Functions
[
edit
]
Overview
[
edit
]
Similar to many other European postal administrations until the 1990s, the DP provided the following services throughout the GDR:
- Postal services (including philately)
- Telephone
services
- Telegrams
- Postal banking services (including
giro
and savings accounts)
As in other European countries, although banking services were also available through other institutions, the DP enjoyed a monopoly on the provision of postal and telecommunications services inside the GDR (including East Berlin).
The DP maintained 2279 post offices throughout the GDR, as well as 9586 other offices and locations. In 1985, the DP transported 1.273 billion pieces of mail, 15 million packages, and 40 million packets, while the telephone system handled 767 million long-distance and 1.317 billion local telephone calls.
[5]
Stamp issuances
[
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]
The first stamp was issued on 9 October 1949, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the
Universal Postal Union
(UPU) (Mi #242). Regular air mail service started in 1950, beginning with the
Soviet Union
, then with other countries. With the creation of two German states, mail between the two was handled according to the regulations of the UPU.
According to the
Scott catalog
, during the next 41 years the DP issued more stamps than any other postal authority in Germany - 2,802 different stamps including many
commemoratives
, plus 191
semi-postal
designs, and 16
air mail
stamps. Topics of commemoratives include common
topicals
(e.g. nature, sports, arts), science and technical issues, and
communist-related
themes. Additional stamps of the DP consisted of official stamps (44 types). Following the economic and currency union of the two German states on 1 July 1990, stamps were denominated in
Deutsche Mark
. The last DP stamp issue, on 2 October 1990, was a
Heinrich Schliemann
commemorative (Mi #3364/5).
Stamps for hard currency
[
edit
]
Stamps were to some degree produced for sale to gain
hard currency
abroad, and while valid these stamps were not issued for circulation to the general public but sold directly to stamp dealers abroad and to registered philatelists. The DP invented the practice of producing a specific stamp in a set at an intentionally low number – called a
Sperrwert
(limited issue stamp) – to artificially increase the value of the stamp and the set.
[6]
The first
Sperrwert
was the Mi #464. An example of a
Sperrwert
is the 25 Pfennig stamp of the 1981 postal set Mi #2587. The other stamps in the set were printed in quantities ranging from 4.5 million to 16 million, but only 2 million of the 25 Pfennig stamp were printed.
[7]
Distribution of periodicals and collection of radio and television fees
[
edit
]
The DP also held a monopoly on the distribution of periodicals in the GDR, both retail and through subscription, as established by a law dated 3 April 1959. The DP maintained a central list of authorized periodicals, of both domestic and foreign origin. Failure to be included on this list amounted to a ban on circulation or sale of a periodical within the GDR. Authorized foreign periodicals almost always emanated from other socialist countries, such as the Soviet Union. Most distribution of periodicals took place via a network of kiosks throughout the GDR, including railway stations, roadside rest stops, and in urban areas. Delivery by subscription was relatively rare, owing in part to the fact that print runs of popular publications were normally never sufficient to meet demand.
Most West German (and other West European) publications were excluded from the list. However, by the late 1980s, even certain Soviet periodicals, such as the popular magazine "Sputnik", were removed from the authorized distribution list, effectively resulting in a ban. However, in October 1989, the Ministry for Postal and Telecommunication Services announced that "Sputnik" had been restored to the list.
Reunification
[
edit
]
With the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, the DP became part of the
Deutsche Bundespost
, which in turn later became the privatized
Deutsche Post AG
on 1 January 1995. As part of the reunification process, the DP's stamps became valid also for the FRG and
West Berlin
, beginning on 2 July 1990, and
vice versa
, until their eventual expiration.
[8]
The dates regarding the expiration of the validity of GDR stamps were established as follows: for stamps Mi #1004-#3343, they were invalid as of 1 October 1990, while for Mi #3344-#3365, they were invalid as of 12 December 1991.
[9]
Organization
[
edit
]
The agency was divided into directorates
(Direktionen)
, which in turn were subdivided into offices
(Amter)
. Further, the DP operated the production facilities for construction of
telecommunications
, technical services for radio and television, as well as related institutes for research, education, and learning.
The DP had its own flag ? the German national flag, with the
post horn
in the centre. The colour for postal services was the traditional yellow, while telecommunications was grey, and radio and television technical services was dark blue. The postal uniforms were modified several times, and generally worn only in the postal service, while in the other services uniforms were usually displayed only for special events.
The following ranks were applied:
[10]
- Assistants (
Unterassistent, Assistent, Oberassistent, Hauptassistent
: 1 stripe, 1 to 4 stars)
- Secretaries (
Untersekretar, Sekretar, Obersekretar, Hauptsekretar
: 2 stripes, 1 to 4 stars)
- Inspectors (
Inspektor, Oberinspektor,
Amtmann
: 3 stripes, 1 to 3 stars)
- Counsellors (
Rat, Oberrat, Hauptrat
: 1 broad stripe, 1 to 3 stars with oak leaves)
- Directors (
Direktor, Oberdirektor, Hauptdirektor
: 2 broad stripes, 1 to 3 stars with oak leaves)
The DP's civil servants were trained at the directorate schools - at the Engineering School
Rosa Luxemburg
in
Leipzig
, and at the College for Traffic Technology
(Hochschule fur Verkehrswesen)
in
Dresden
(depicted on Mi #2587 above).
See also
[
edit
]
References and sources
[
edit
]
- ^
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 799
- ^
a
b
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 893
- ^
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 911ff
- ^
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 929 and p.1549
- ^
Historical web site, HfV Dresden (German)
- ^
"Weniger ist mehr" (German)
Archived
2007-10-20 at the
Wayback Machine
Explains the policy of limiting production of one specific stamp of a set to artificially increase its value, accessed 03-29-2008
- ^
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1,168
- ^
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 929
- ^
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1238
- ^
"Ranks and insignia"
. Archived from
the original
on 2019-10-25
. Retrieved
2008-03-30
.
- Sources
- Michel catalog
(1997).
Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997
. Munich: Schwaneberger Verlag GmbH.
- Scott catalog
(2006).
Scott 2006 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Volume3
. Sidney, Ohio: Scott Publishing Co.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Fischer, Peter, Skupin P., Gudenschwager W.,
DDR-Universalkatalog
. Berlin:
Transpress VEB Verlag
, 1986.
- Hille, Horst.
DDR-Briefmarken
. Berlin: Transpress VEB Verlag, 1970 186p.
External links
[
edit
]