Allied field post in Germany after 1945
This article deals with the relationship between the Deutsche Bundespost and the Allied troops stationed in Germany and their supply of field post after the Second World War.
Allied military mail
In the years after the war, there is little evidence of mail from the occupying powers . On October 3, 1947, the official gazette pointed out that only official mail from the occupying powers was exempt from postage charges, as well as those items that the military government had expressly provided for free of charge.
The PCIRO (Preparatory Commission of the International Refugee Organization) was not an office of an occupying power and was therefore not authorized to send letters free of charge, according to Official Gazette Order 92 of 1947.
After the resumption of the airmail service in Germany on May 1, 1948, it was also available to all allies who were allowed to use the German post office against payment of fees in American ( MPC ) or English (BAFSV) military money. The Allies could buy airmail letters for 10 cents or 6 pence from post offices with foreign exchange acceptance points and drop them into any letter box. The use of British military money was no longer permitted from October 1, 1948.
From October 20, 1948, airmail traffic from the United Economic Area to other countries was expanded so that letters up to 100 g could be posted by anyone against payment of the fee in German marks. The airmail letters, which were also permitted and had previously only been issued for 2 reply coupons, were also for sale in cash for 60 pfennigs from October 20th. The sale of airmail letters should be promoted as far as possible. Allies could continue to post airmail letters for American military money (MPC).
On January 20, 1949, one could read in an order that the radio in the American sector (RIAS) was an agency of the American military government and was therefore free of charge.
Since February 11, 1949, post offices with foreign exchange acceptance points have also been able to accept registered mail for foreign air mail from members of the occupying power in exchange for payment in American military money (MPC). The registration fee was 5 cents.
In Official Gazette 73 of September 27, 1949 it is announced that US service mail to army and military government units will henceforth be forwarded by Deutsche Post, with the fee being redeemed. The flat fee was determined by counting.
In 1950 we find a definition of the duties of the Army Post Offices (APO's). There, mail from Allies is accepted and handed over to Deutsche Post for transport, which is directed to civil recipients in Germany. The items posted in British APO's are either marked "On His Majesty's Service" free of charge or postage paid for with British postage at special rates (lower than for items from Great Britain). They can be recognized by the day stamps labeled “Field Post Office” or occasionally “Zone Postal Depot”. They may not be charged with an additional fee. Shipments posted to American, French and Belgian APO's or BPM (Bureau Postal Militaire) are prepaid in such a way that a postage charge is out of the question.
Since mid-1951, parcels of value sent to members of the American occupation forces with the address of an American APO could be accepted for transport under the same conditions as parcels of value to the USA. In addition to the handling fee of 60 pounds and the value fee of 30 pounds per 300 DM of the value, the following weight fees are to be charged. Exchange office APO 82 in Frankfurt am Main
On September 29, 1953, the French military post informed the Deutsche Bundespost that the address for parcels sent to members of the French armed forces, whose mail is routed through military post offices, was only allowed to contain the following information: 1. Name, first name, rank (master roll number for the Members of the armed forces who come from North Africa or the overseas territories), 2. if applicable, company, battery or squadron and 3. the number of the postal district (with 5 digits). The number of the military post office (with 3 digits) could not be given.
On January 1, 1954, the existing special tariff (in MPC) for the transport of airmail letters (postcards, airmail light letters and letters up to 20 g) from allied persons to foreign countries was suspended. The following were to be charged: The equivalent of the German fees (normal free fee and airmail surcharge) converted into MPC according to the ratio 1 $ = 4.20 DM or 1 DM = 23.81.
The official gazette provides information on the legal status of the military post. There it says: "From January 1, 1957, the Basic Law applies to the Federal Republic of Germany in accordance with the law on the integration of the Saarland of December 23, 1956 also in the Saarland." Appendix 16 deals with the legal status of the armed forces of the For us only Article 6 is of interest: "The armed forces can set up military post offices [now also in Saarland] to handle their own mail and telegraph traffic."
With the order of May 9, 1958, it is pointed out that all parcels to recipients with military postal addresses (APO, BFPO, CAPO, etc.) must be fully prepaid when dealing with the stationing forces. It is also pointed out that cash on delivery items , postal and payment orders , postal orders , letters with a delivery certificate and valuable items (except for parcels with APO addresses up to DM 1,400 in value) to recipients with military inscriptions are not permitted.
The mail traffic with the foreign armed forces stationed in the FRG with the involvement of the DBP's offices was regulated by order 38 of January 21, 1961. It says: The postal relationships, which have been based on numerous individual agreements ... have been uniformly regulated. The following applies (abbreviated): The military post offices are to be regarded as the forward post offices of the sending state. From this it follows that the postal traffic with them as international traffic is to be carried out according to the provisions of the Universal Postal Agreement and the subsidiary agreements as well as according to the bilateral agreements applicable to civil postal traffic between the DBP and the sending country of the respective stationing forces, unless otherwise agreed. Mail sent to the troops (military unit, troop, organization, etc.), the civilian retinue (in the service of the troop), the members of the troop or the civilian retinue and their relatives are considered military mail.
The stationing forces use military designations in the address: Belgium BPS; France SP; Great Britain BFPO; Canada CAPO, and the United States of North America APO; the groups of letters are supplemented by numbers. (for example SP 22630, BFPO 40, APO 403). Additional information such as city, street, unit, etc. are permitted. Items without a military designation are not considered to be military mail. If the address gives rise to doubts, the shipment is to be regarded as military mail. Ordinary and registered letters as well as ordinary parcels are permitted; In dealings with the US armed forces, there are also value parcels up to a maximum amount of DM 1,370. Letters that are exchanged between the military post offices and the DBP for forwarding must generally be prepaid in both directions according to the international postal rates. The current regulation remains in place; thereafter, the items are deemed to have been sufficiently franked if they are franked in accordance with the domestic rates. These provisions, which do not apply in West Berlin, come into force on February 1, 1961.
Since July 1, 1963, reciprocal communication with the military post of the stationing forces was no longer permitted against acknowledgment of receipt .
The NATO troop statute regulates what is to be understood by organizations. The content of importance for the postal service is published in Official Gazette 15 of February 1, 1966. The following organizations are named as part of the allied armed forces: For the Belgians, the schools of the Belgian troops, the Belgian Hotels de Transit et de Welfare, the approved clubs of the Belgian troops and the Home de Retraite des Autumoniers of the Belgian troops; For the British, the British Forces Education Service and the British Forces Broadcasting Service; For the Canadian contingent, the Canadian Army Schools, the Regimental Institutes of the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force Non-Public Funds Institutes (self-payer organization of the Canadian Air Force); and for the Dutch, the schools of the Dutch troops, the canteen service of de Koniglijke Land- en Luchtmacht, the Welzijnszorg service and the officers 'and non-commissioned officers' mess. Further organizations could be requested from the embassies.
In Official Gazette 48 of April 9, 1981, we find Order 316: “The British Army of the Rhine sends postal parcels with equipment to members of their armed forces who live in rented apartments in the area of the DBP. These parcels, which the DBP receives from the British military post offices, have a sticker on the label side with the following wording: 'Military goods of the Rhine Army, which may be handed over to the recipient directly without the involvement of the customs administration (BMF of 19 March 1981 III B 2 - Z 1754-1 / 81) '. Furthermore, the official seal of the British Frontier Service is imprinted ... "
Mail exchange
The points of connection between the Allied field post and the German Federal Post are described in a special “Instruction on the postal traffic of foreign armed forces stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany when the agencies of the German Federal Post” (1960) or “AnwP Foreign Armed Forces”, according to the more recent version “AnwP Stat Armed Forces ", precisely regulated. These instructions regulate the mail traffic of the foreign armed forces stationed in Germany provided that it is handled with the involvement of the DBP offices. Telegram and telephone services are not included. The regulation does not apply to West Berlin . The stationing forces include the troops (units, agencies), the civilian retinue (in the service of the troops), members of the troops and their relatives. The relationship between DBP and the Bundeswehr is not affected. The military post offices are regarded as the forward post offices of the country of the respective sending state. It is therefore an international traffic that is carried out according to the provisions of the Universal Postal Treaty , the subsidiary agreements to the Universal Postal Treaty and special bilateral agreements applicable to civil traffic between the DBP and the respective stationing force. But we already know that. In these instructions, the term "military mail" was defined as mail that is sent by private senders to the stationing armed forces or by the stationing force to civilian recipients and, based on their address, must be routed through the services of the DBP and the military post offices. In the direction of the armed forces, this includes all items that have a military address (for example "1SGT Meyer, B-4090 BPS 7 BSD"). This also applies if additional information such as place, street, unit, etc. is included (for example "1SGT Meyer, 4770 Soest, B-4090 BPS 1"). This also includes items sent to members and relatives of the foreign armed forces with a military address, even if they contain additional information (for example, "Soest Military Hospital, G. Bylemann, B-4090 BPS 1"). Shipments without a military address are not considered to be military mail even if it is clear that they are military units. The same applies to members of the stationing armed forces with an open address. In case of doubt, postal officials are required to regard such items as military mail. Items sent by the stationing armed forces must have postage stamps or postage indicia of the country of the armed forces concerned and bear the stamp of a military post office. The items that are posted directly to the DBP by the sender are not included. These must of course be franked with German stamps. Ordinary and registered letters and ordinary parcels are permitted for military postal service. Parcels of up to 1,370 DM (1960), 1,210 DM (as of 1986) can only be sent with US Field Post. All items must be postage paid in both directions according to the international postal rates. Exceptions are: British Forces letters , which are prepaid at reduced rates. They are marked "British Field Post - reduced fee" on the front. Letters sent by the French armed forces are franked according to the French domestic rate. Next to the military postmark with the inscription “Postes aux Armées” the additional remark “Reduced fee”. Letters sent by the Belgian Armed Forces (BPS) are prepaid according to the Belgian domestic service rates. U.S. Forces mail is postage paid according to international fee rates. Official letters and parcels of the US armed forces are not provided with postage stamps, but rather have the franking “Postage and Fees Paid, Department of the Army (or Air Force)” on the label. Letters from the Canadian Armed Forces are posted directly to the DBP without the involvement of the Canadian Military Postal Services. Letters to the armed forces, unless they have to be forwarded to the country of destination via the international postcard key, are sufficiently franked if they are franked in accordance with the domestic fee rates. Letters from military post offices are generally considered to be sufficiently franked. In principle, additional fees are neither to be charged nor to be charged. Mail with a military postal address must be postage paid at least after the domestic charges. The shortfall up to this fee is to be stuck on and collected by the sender.
The exchange of mail between the military post offices and the designated DBP offices may only be carried out at the following locations.
Belgian armed forces
Exchange points 1960: Aachen, in addition, the Belgian armed forces were allowed to hand over normal domestic mail informally to the DBP offices at locations with Belgian military post offices. - 9 December 1969, exchange in Aachen, Kassel and Neheim-Hüsten and now also at the PA Siegen / Westf. Stand 86 5000 Cologne, 5100 Aachen, 5900 Siegen 1
British armed forces
Exchange points in 1960: Bielefeld, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Herford, Mönchen-Gladbach, Westerland (Sylt) and later also Münster. June 19, 1962, The British military post offices in Hamburg and Westerland (Sylt) have been closed. There are still: Bielefeld 1, Dortmund 1, Düsseldorf 1 or 2, Hanover 1 or 3, Herford 1 Mönchengladbach 1 or 2 and Münster (Westf) 2. From September 1, 1962, the Osnabrück PA becomes 1 exchange office for mail to British forces. On October 1, 1963, Verden (Aller) was agreed as a further exchange point for military mail from and to the British armed forces. Stand 86: 2810 Verden, 3000 Hannover 2, 4000 Düsseldorf 1 (letters only), 4000 Düsseldorf 1 (only parcels), 4050 Mönchengladbach 1, 4400 Münster 2, 4500 Osnabrück, 4600 Dortmund 1, 4800 Bielefeld 1, 4900 Herford 1, 6792 Ramstein-Miesenbach 3.
French armed forces
Exchange point 1960: Offenburg (Baden), on February 1, 1966, the exchange previously only took place at PA Offenburg 1, now an additional limited exchange at PA Saarbrücken 2. Registered letters and parcels with French military postal addresses are only to be sent to Offenburg 1. On December 22nd, 1983 the exchange of mail over 600 Saarbrücken is stopped, only over 7600 Offenburg. On May 13, 1984, normal letters can be exchanged via 5500 Trier 1. Stand 86: 5500 Trier 1 (only ordinary letters), 7600 Offenburg.
Canadian Armed Forces
Exchange point 1960: Düsseldorf and Zweibrücken. On January 16, 1962, the post office Baden-Baden 1 was named as another exchange office for mail to the Canadian armed forces (CAPO 5056 also RCAF). From June 1, 1963 to CAPO 5050 Werl (Westf.), CAPO 5056 Baden-Baden 1, shipments with other CAPO addresses and addresses of air force units (RCAF = Royal Canadian Air Force) to Zweibrücken 1 [279/63]. On May 1, 1965, the name of the Canadian Military Post Office changes from CAPO (Canadian Army Post Office) to CFPO (Canadian Forces Post Office). On May 5, 1967, CFPO 5,000 Lahr (Black Forest), CFPO 5050 Werl, Westf., CFPO 5055 Zweibrücken 1, CFPO 5056 Baden-Baden are named. on July 1, 1969 CFPO 5055 is relocated from Zweibrücken to Ramstein military airfield. There are also CFPO 5000 Lahr (Black Forest), CFPO 5050 Werl (Westf.), CFPO 5055 Landstuhl 4, CFPO 5056 Baden-Baden 1. According to a message from the Canadian postal administration dated September 3, 1974, the abbreviation is due to the bilingualism in Canada Canadian military post offices established in the FRG CFPO (Canadian Forces Post Office) synonymous with BPFC (Bureau de Postes des Forces canadiennes). Since October 8, 1981, the exchange of mail has also taken place in 5130 Geilenkirchen - CFPO 5053 Geilenkirchen. As of 1986: 5130 Geilenkirchen (CFPO 5053), 6792 Ramstein-Miesenbach 3 (CFPO 5055), 7570 Baden-Baden (CFPO 5056), 7630 Lahr (CFPO 5000).
US armed forces
Exchange point 1960: Ordinary mail and ordinary parcels in: 5300 Bad Godesberg, 6550 Bad Kreuznach, 5520 Bitburg (Eifel), 2850 Bremerhaven, 6000 Frankfurt (Main), 6300 Gießen, 6900 Heidelberg, 6750 Kaiserslautern, 3500 Kassel, 8000 Munich, 8500 Nuremberg , 7000 Bad Cannstatt, 7000 Stuttgart-Vaihingen, 6200 Wiesbaden and 8700 Würzburg. Registered letters and parcels (in the direction of the APOs also air mail and international mail) in Frankfurt am Main. On August 28, 1964, Fürth (Bay) was agreed as another exchange location. (Letters continue to be sent via PA Nürnberg 2). Ordinary letters and parcels have also been exchanged in Worms since August 1, 1968. Stand 86: Ordinary letters and ordinary parcels - even if they have the additional information "c / o Postmaster New York" - to: 2850 Bremerhaven 1, 5300 Bonn 2, 5520 Bitburg, 2860 Osterholz-Scharmbeck, 6000 Frankfurt 3 (letters only) , 6000 Frankfurt 4 (only parcels), 6200 Wiesbaden, 6300 Gießen 1, 6520 Worms 2, 6550 Bad Kreuznach 1, 6750 Kaiserslautern 1, 4792 Ramstein-Miesenbach 3, 6900 Heidelberg 1, 7000 Stuttgart 50, 7000 Stuttgart 80, 8000 Munich 80 , 8510 Fürth 2, Bayern, 8700 Würzburg 1. Registered letters - even if they have the additional information "c / o Postmaster New York" - only to: 6000 Frankfurt 3. Parcels - even if they contain the additional information - "c / o Postmaster New York ”- to: 6000 Frankfurt 4 On September 24, 1987, the exchange was relocated from Post Office 8000 Munich 80 (Giesing / Au) to Munich 90 (Berg am Laim / Haidhausen).
Dutch armed forces
On May 22, 1962, the regulations for postal traffic with military post offices also apply to the Dutch armed forces stationed in the FRG. Letters and parcels from the Dutch military post offices are sufficiently franked according to the Dutch domestic fees, provided they are stamped with the stamp of the military post office. Military mail sent to the Dutch armed forces has the recipient details and the additional designation NAPO followed by a multi-digit number. The exchange post offices are Münster (Westf) 2 and Celle 1. On October 1, 1963, Zeven (Bz.Bremen) was agreed as another exchange location. Since November 1st, 1966 only with the PÄ Bremen 5, Osnabrück 1 and Münster (Westf.) 2. Stand 86: 2730 Zeven
literature
- Bundespost, The postal traffic in the Federal Republic , 1961
- Official Journal 38, Germany armed forces stationed with the involvement of the German Federal Post Office , 1961
- Federal Post Office, Instructions Post - Foreign Forces , 1960
- Federal Post Office, Instructions Post - Stationed Armed Forces , 1985