Deutsche Post of the GDR
Encyclopedia
- References to "Mi" plus a number (e.g., Mi #242) refer to the catalog number of a particular stamp in the Michel catalogMichel catalogThe Michel catalog is the largest and best-known stamp catalog in the German-speaking world. First published in 1910, it has become an important reference work for philately, with information not available in the English-language Scott catalog.The catalog started out as a price list for the dealer...
of German postage stamps.
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German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: 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 für Post- und Fernmeldewesen der DDR -(MPF)) - a member of the Council of Ministers of the GDR (Ministerrat
Ministerrat
The Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic was the chief executive body of East Germany from November 1950 until the GDR was unified with the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990...
der DDR) - and was in operation from 1949 until the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990.
Historical background
With the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in May 1945, the Allied Control Council
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
succeeded the former Nazi regime in Germany; as part of this action, the Deutsche Reichspost
Reichspost
- Imperial Reichspost :* The Imperial Reichspost was the name of the postal service of the Holy Roman Empire, founded by Franz von Taxis in 1495...
(the postal service of the German Reich) was absorbed by the occupation authorities. Germany was divided into four occupation zones
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
, and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
into four sectors; the territories east of the Oder-Neisse rivers were placed under Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
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 für das Nachrichtenwesen) began its work in the Soviet occupation zone under the jurisdiction of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany
Soviet Military Administration in Germany
The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone of Germany from the German surrender in May 1945 until after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in October...
on 27 July 1945. The post office in the Soviet zone fell under its authority. Initially, the individual states (Länder) 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.
When the negotiations about a general German currency reform broke down, the Western Allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
proceeded with the currency reform in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, and on 21 June 1948 the Deutsche Mark was introduced. In response, the Soviet Union announced its reform of the East German currency on 24 June 1948; the East German Mark
East German mark
The East German mark commonly called the eastern mark , in East Germany only Mark, was the currency of the German Democratic Republic . Its ISO 4217 currency code was DDM...
became the currency for the Soviet zone, and its stamps were marked with overprints. 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 than the western zones, all, however, under the "Deutsche Post" label.
The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was founded on 23 May 1949; the formation of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
followed on 7 October 1949. In the FRG the "Deutsche Post" was renamed Deutsche Bundespost
Deutsche Bundespost
The Deutsche Bundespost was created in 1947 as a successor to the Reichspost . Between 1947 and 1950 the enterprise was called Deutsche Post...
(German Federal Post) in 1950, while the GDR retained the term "Deutsche Post". Due to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
's occupation status, the West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
postal service was technically independent of the West German Bundespost; it was known as the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin
Deutsche Bundespost Berlin
The Deutsche Bundespost Berlin was the governmental agency to provide mail and telecommunication services for West Berlin. This civil service agency was in operation from 1949 until 1990.-Historical background:...
. However, no such requirements were applied to the DP operating in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
.
Overview
Similar to many other European postal administrations until the 1990s, the DP provided the following services throughout the GDR:- Postal services (including philately)
- TelephoneTelephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
services - Telegrams
- Postal banking services (including giroGiroA Giro or giro transfer is a payment transfer from one bank account to another bank account and instigated by the payer, not the payee...
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.
Stamp issuances
The first stamp was issued on 9 October 1949, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Postal UnionUniversal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
(UPU) (Mi #242). Regular air mail service started in 1950, beginning with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, 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 commemorative
Commemorative
Commemorative may refer to:*Commemorative coin*United States Commemorative Coin*Commemorative issue - a special edition of a book, magazine, or other item released around, or in memory of, a special event or occurrence.*Commemorative stamp...
s, plus 191 semi-postal designs, and 16 air mail stamps. Topics of commemoratives include common topical
Topical
In medicine, a topical medication is applied to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes such as the vagina, anus, throat, eyes and ears.Many topical medications are epicutaneous, meaning that they are applied directly to the skin...
s (i.e. nature, sports, arts), science and technical issues, and communist-related
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
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
Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and amateur archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an archaeological excavator of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns...
commemorative (Mi #3364/5).
Stamps for hard currency
Stamps were to some degree produced for sale to gain hard currencyHard currency
Hard currency , in economics, refers to a globally traded currency that is expected to serve as a reliable and stable store of value...
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. 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.
Distribution of periodicals and collection of radio and television fees
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
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 BerlinWest Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, beginning on 2 July 1990, and vice versa, until their eventual expiration.
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.
Organization
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s, 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
Post horn
The post horn is a valveless cylindrical brass or copper instrument with cupped mouthpiece, used to signal the arrival or departure of a post rider or mail coach...
in the center. The color for postal services was the traditional yellow, while telecommunications was gray, 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:
- Assistants (Unterassistent, Assistent, Oberassistent, Hauptassistent: 1 stipe, 1 to 4 stars)
- Secretaries (Untersekretär, Sekretär, Obersekretär, Hauptsekretär: 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
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and activist of Polish Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, and at the College for Traffic Technology (Hochschule für Verkehrswesen) in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
(depicted on Mi #2587 above).
See also
- Postage stamps and postal history of GermanyPostage stamps and postal history of GermanyThis is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Germany and philatelically related areas. The main modern providers of service were the Reichspost , the Deutsche Post under Allied control , the Deutsche Post of the GDR , the Deutsche Bundespost , along with the Deutsche Bundespost...
- Sperrwert - German wiki
- Michel catalogMichel catalogThe Michel catalog is the largest and best-known stamp catalog in the German-speaking world. First published in 1910, it has become an important reference work for philately, with information not available in the English-language Scott catalog.The catalog started out as a price list for the dealer...
- Scott catalog