Belgian field post in Germany during the Cold War
The Belgian field post in Germany during the Cold War provided the postal service for the Belgian armed forces in Germany and their families. From 1946 to 2003, this included Belgian military post offices (BPS). The postal organization reflects the military organization and gives a general overview of Belgium's military engagement in Germany.
Legal basis and fees
Since during this time all states regarded mail transport as a state act of sovereignty - in the Federal Republic of Germany there was a Federal Postal Ministry until 1997 and the Post Office employees were usually civil servants - it seemed unthinkable to entrust the transport of military service mail to a foreign state. Therefore, the supplementary agreement to the agreement between the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty on the legal status of their troops with regard to the foreign troops stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany ( NATO troop statute of 1951) of August 3, 1959 regulated the procedure practiced from the beginning of the stationing in a legally valid manner.
In principle, the military post of the stationing state had the right to send mail within and outside the federal territory or to use the military post of another stationing power. The exchange with the Deutsche Bundespost took place via fixed post offices. The relatives, the so-called "military entourage", were free to use the military mail. Official mailings were free of charge, private mail to Belgium and Germany had at the applicable national rate in Belgian francs freed are.
Organization and subordination
The Postes Militaires / Legerposterij (Army Post Directorate ), based in the Caserne Klerken / Klerken Kazerne in Cologne-Ossendorf, was responsible for supplying mail to the offices in the Belgian stationing area and to family members . Army post offices (Bureaux Postaux Secondaires) existed in the larger garrisons , especially at the locations of the army corps , the division and the brigades . As was the case during the occupation of the Rhineland from 1918 to 1930, a border post office (Bureau Postal Centralisateur) was set up in Aachen- Hitfeld ( Caserne Gabrielle Petit Kazerne ) for exchange with the Belgian post office . Liège acted as an exchange station with the Belgian Post . There was also an Echelon arrière in the Caserne Duc de Brabant / Hertog van Brabant Kazerne in the capital Brussels .
In 1972 the postal organization was changed and one of the four-digit postcodes (4090) customary in Belgium was introduced for the FBA / BSD. From this point on, the earlier BPS had an addition with the linguistically neutral abbreviation Post. contained in the address, e.g. B. the correct designation was now 4090 Post.1 instead of the previous BPS 1 .
Belgian field post offices in Germany from 1946 to 2003
| garrison | initial setup | BPS | Postal code 1972 | closure | comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soest | 1946 | BPS 1 | 4090, mail. 1 | 1994 | HQ 4th Brigade (Flemish) |
| Probsteierwald | 1959 | BPS 2 | 4090, mail. 2 | 1995 | 1946 Bad Driburg , 1947–1956 Brilon |
| Wins | 1948 | BPS 3 | 4090, mail. 3 | 1994 | 1946–1948 Bensberg, HQ 17th Brigade (francophone) |
| Westhoven | 1957 | BPS 4 | 4090, mail. 4th | 1995 | 1946 Monschau , 1955–1957 Siegburg |
| Ossendorf | 1949 | BPS 5 | 4090, mail. 5 | 1995 | 1946 Weiden |
| Neheim | 1946 | BPS 6 | 4090, mail. 6th | 1990 | HQ 16th Division |
| Pastures | 1949 | BPS 7 | 4090, mail. 7th | 2003 | 1946–1949 Bonn, HQ FBA / BSD and I. (BE) Corps |
| Bensberg | 1946 | BPS 8 | 4090, mail. 8th | 1992 | HQ 1st Division 1949–1952, 1960–1984 |
| Aachen | 1946 | BPS 9 | 4090, mail. 9 | 1991 | HQ 3rd Division 1949–1950 |
| Ludenscheid | 1946 | BPS 10 | 4090, mail. 10 | 1994 | HQ 16th Brigade 1960–1969 |
| Brakel | 1985 | BPS 11 | 4090, mail. 11 | 1986 | 1946–1948 Bad Godesberg , 1949–1985 Euskirchen |
| Düren with Grevenbroich | 1951 | BPS 12 | 4090, mail. 12 | 1991 | 1950 Wuppertal Military Hospital |
| Vogelsang military training area | 1951 | BPS 13 | 4090, mail. 13 | 1984/2005 | |
| Speak | 1957 | BPS 14 | 4090, mail. 14th | 1995 | 1950–1955 Unna |
| Hemer | BPS 22 | from BPS 4 Siegburg | |||
| Bergen-Hohne military training area | BPS 27 | ||||
| Xanten | 1977 | BPS 36 | 4090, mail. 36 | 1983 | 1957–1970 Kassel |
| Arolsen | 1951 | BPS 37 | 4090, mail. 37 | 1994 | HQ ComRecce |
| Grefrath with Mönchengladbach , Rheydt | 1969 | BPS 41 | 4090, mail. 41 | 1991 |
Abbreviations
| abbreviation | text |
|---|---|
| BPS | Bureau Postal Secondaire (Field Post Office) |
| BE | Belgian, Belgium |
| BSD | Belgian Strijdkrachten in Duitsland (Belgian Armed Forces in Germany) |
| ComRecce | Corps Reconnaissance Command (tank reconnaissance command) |
| FBA | Forces belges en Allemagne (Belgian Armed Forces in Germany) |
| HQ | headquarters |
See also
- List of Belgian military locations in Germany
- Field post of the Belgians in Germany after the First World War 1918–1935
- American field post in the Cold War
- British field post in Germany during the Cold War
- French field post in Germany during the Cold War