Drafts for the license plates in Germany
The drafts for the license plates in Germany were accompanied by a controversial decision-making process. Finding a new system for marking motor vehicles in the Federal Republic of Germany , which was sought after the Second World War , turned out to be difficult. The award process is shown in the following list.
First draft in 1950
In a first draft in 1950, the larger registration offices were assigned one or two letters as a distinguishing mark. Three-letter distinctive signs were provided for the smaller administrative units. The distinguishing letter or letters should be preceded or followed by a multi-digit number. Distinguishing signs were also established for the then independent cities and districts in the GDR . Since it was assumed that the former Prussian district-free cities and districts under Polish and Soviet administration would also belong to Germany again, these administrative districts were also assigned distinctive signs (see east zone directory for German license plates ).
Revisions of the system from 1951
The letters assigned to the administrative units changed several times. Ultimately, it was decided that the distinguishing mark should consist of one to three letters, followed by one or two letters and then a number of up to four digits.
Introduction of the new system in 1956
When, after the popular uprising in the GDR on June 17, 1953, the hope of an early reunification was buried, but in 1954 the Federal Republic of Germany and France set the date for the Saar referendum on October 23, 1955 - as a result, the Saarland on January 1 1957 became a fully-fledged federal state of the Federal Republic - it was decided out of this legal certainty (so-called "small reunification") for the administrative areas in the Federal Republic of Germany to issue the intended license plates from July 1, 1956. Since it was expected that the actual implementation would take at least six months, from January 1, 1957, the new license plates could also be issued in the Saarland as the only valid license plates.
The list documents two proposals from 1950 and the end of 1951, as well as the actual number plate assignment in 1956.
Synopsis of the number plate proposals for West Germany
The following list shows the intended vehicle registration numbers according to the drafts of 1950 and 1951 as well as the abbreviations actually assigned in 1956. Areas for which the proposal has changed are highlighted in color .
Details of the system introduced in 1956
Selected distinguishing marks
| Letters | in both lists | from the second list | from the first list | in any list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. | 20th | - | - | - |
| B. | 28 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| C. | 9 | 2 | - | - |
| D. | 13 | 6th | 1 | 1 |
| E. | 13 | 5 | 2 | - |
| F. | 15th | - | - | 3 |
| G | 15th | 10 | - | 2 |
| H | 23 | 11 | - | 1 |
| I. | 4th | - | - | - |
| J | 2 | - | - | - |
| K | 16 | 9 | - | - |
| L. | 15th | 8th | 1 | 1 |
| M. | 20th | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| N | 14th | 9 | 1 | - |
| O | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| P | 9 | 3 | - | - |
| R. | 14th | 8th | - | 1 |
| S. | 18th | 11 | - | 11 |
| T | 6th | 3 | - | 1 |
| U | 5 | 1 | - | - |
| V | 3 | 4th | 1 | 1 |
| W. | 16 | 18th | 5 | 1 |
| Z | 1 | 2 | - | - |
| together | 289 | 132 | 14th | 30th |
Remarks
Of the 463 distinctive signs selected in 1950, a total of 298 were assigned to the regional authorities concerned in 1956. In 163 cases a different distinguishing mark was assigned, in two cases each intended for a city plus a district, these were assigned different marks. Two indicators (LEV and WOB) were assigned to the new regional authorities created after 1950.
The following distinguishing marks met with opposition for various reasons and therefore could not be assigned:
- The concentration camp was intended for the city and district of Konstanz . This abbreviation for " concentration camp " is not used in identification numbers today, see also Unwanted identification numbers .
- WC was intended for the district of Wittlich . As a common abbreviation for the toilet , this was not understood by the residents. Now the harmless WIL also applies in the successor district of Bernkastel-Wittlich .
The Stade case
Because of the abbreviation SD for the security service of the Reichsführer SS , the district of Stade was not prepared to accept this distinguishing mark. From July 1, 1956, the distinctive sign ST was illegally issued until it was decided at short notice that the district would use STD for the license plates of vehicles registered in its district. However, this combination was intended for the Stendal district , which therefore had to switch to the SDL identifier in 1991 . This was the first case early on that a distinguishing mark, which was intended for a district in what was then the GDR, was assigned to a district in what was then the Federal Republic. The ST has been issued since 1975 for the then newly formed Steinfurt district . In connection with the license plate liberalization , other letters have also become possible here .
An independent city and a district, both of which no longer existed
The city of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse was formerly called Neustadt an der Haardt . The first change of name took place in 1936. However, in 1945 the city was renamed Neustadt an der Haardt again. Finally, the last renaming took place in 1950. Since then the city has had its current name Neustadt an der Weinstrasse . The district made these name changes at the same time.
When the first suggestions for the distinctive signs were made as part of the introduction of a new labeling system, the city and the district were called Neustadt an der Haardt . So this selected abbreviation was retained and assigned to the regional authorities that had been renamed Neustadt an der Weinstrasse for six years , which of course led to resentment in the affected area. However, the change could not have come about as easily.
They came up with the idea as quickly as possible instead of NH now NW define as a distinctive sign. With the registration number NW , however, the first vehicles were already registered in the Neuwied district . So this had to get a new distinctive sign, namely NR (for Neuwied am Rhein, although the river name was not and is not part of the name of the city or the district).
Cloppenburg, Wittlich
It has been heard several times that the district of Cloppenburg should have received the identifier CLO when the distinctive signs were introduced . It was only after fierce resistance that the politicians managed to avert this adversity from vehicle owners in the district. CLP has now been established as a distinguishing mark . The above list contradicts this story. It is true, however, that the Wittlich district should be given WC as an identifier and that it has successfully fought against it.
Extension of the system to Saarland in 1957
When the Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany on January 1, 1957, the city and the district of Saarbrücken received the distinctive symbol SB . Other distinguishing marks were HOM for the district of Homburg , IGB for the district of Sankt Ingbert , MZG for the district of Merzig-Wadern , OTW for the district of Ottweiler , SLS for the district of Saarlouis and WND for the district of Sankt Wendel .
It is possible that in 1950 and 1951 there were no considerations for assigning distinctive signs to the city of Saarbrücken and the six districts. The then Siegkreis with the district town of Siegburg had to cede the SB planned for it to the independent city and the district of Saarbrücken.
Extension of the system to the new federal states in 1991
After German reunification on October 3, 1990, a system of vehicle registration numbers for the unified Germany could be found. In contrast to the system of postcodes , where the previous four-digit West and East German systems were replaced in 1993 by a completely new, all-German five-digit system, it was decided for the license plates to keep the system introduced in West Germany in 1956 and to move to the new federal states to expand.
In addition to the general fact that reunification was not a merger of equal partners, but an accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic, factual reasons also played a role for this decision:
- The West German system referred to smaller geographical units than the East German system. In the west, the administrative districts and independent cities were the registration authorities, the license plate allowed a very precise geographic allocation of a vehicle. In the GDR, only the (spatially much larger) district could be recognized on the license plates , which made it impossible to assign a vehicle locally. Those in the know could, however, identify the admission office (city or district) by means of the letter-number combination.
- The license plates in West Germany played an important role in establishing the identity of the citizens in their region, which was rather surprising for official vehicle registration permits. This identification with the license plate abbreviation , which is characterized by considerable local patriotism , already played a major role in the area reforms of the 1970s, where, when several districts were merged, jealous attention was paid to which old district was able to enforce its license plate for the new great district. In some cases, the continued use of the label of one old district even served as "compensation" for the choice of the district town of the other merger partner as the seat of the new district administration. The GDR license plates were also less suitable for regional identification in their choice of letters, as they did not refer to the names of the districts, but were assigned alphabetically from north to south.
After the decision to expand the West German system, new abbreviations had to be found for the East German districts and cities. The license plates ultimately determined for the administrative areas in the new federal states were issued from January 1, 1991.
Synopsis of the number plate proposals for East Germany
The following list shows the abbreviations used in the Eastern Zone Directory, the suggestions from May and July 1990 and the abbreviations actually issued in 1991. Changes in the proposals for individual areas are highlighted in orange .
Details of the 1991 expansion
Selected distinguishing marks
| Letters | from all lists | from the second and third lists | from the third list | from the second list | from the first list | in any list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. | 3 | 6th | 2 | - | - | - |
| B. | 2 | 9 | 1 | - | - | - |
| C. | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
| D. | 1 | 6th | - | - | - | - |
| E. | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | 1 |
| F. | 1 | 7th | - | - | - | - |
| G | 1 | 16 | - | - | - | 1 |
| H | 3 | 8th | 5 | - | - | 1 |
| I. | - | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| J | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| K | 1 | 4th | - | - | - | 1 |
| L. | 4th | 6th | - | - | - | - |
| M. | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| N | 2 | 6th | 1 | - | 1 | - |
| O | - | 3 | - | - | - | 2 |
| P | 2 | 6th | 1 | - | 1 | - |
| Q | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| R. | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| S. | 6th | 17th | 2 | 1 | 1 | - |
| T | - | 2 | - | - | - | 1 |
| U | - | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| W. | 5 | 8th | - | 1 | - | - |
| Z | - | 6th | - | - | - | 1 |
| together | 38 | 127 | 15th | 3 | 2 | 11 |
Note: The initial letters N and P together have two distinguishing signs - namely NDH and PCH - which are in the first and third lists. In the total number, only one of the two distinguishing signs was taken into account in order to avoid double counting.
Remarks
In 1991, in 40 cases, the regional authorities concerned were assigned distinctive signs, which were also mentioned in the eastern zone register of the German license plates . However, there is no evidence that this list was actually used. After all, another distinguishing mark was assigned in 156 cases.
In the following cases, a different distinguishing mark had to be assigned because the mark that was chosen was now assigned in the West:
- AS , originally intended for the Arnstadt district , was assigned to the Amberg-Sulzbach district on February 12, 1979 .
- EI , originally intended for the Eisenach district , was assigned to the Eichstätt district on February 12, 1979 .
- GT , originally intended for the district of Gotha , was assigned to the district of Gütersloh on January 1, 1973 .
- HS , at that time intended for the urban district of Halle (Saale) and the Saalkreis , was assigned to the Heinsberg district on January 1, 1972 .
- L , at that time intended for the city and district of Leipzig , was assigned to the independent city of Lahn and the Lahn-Dill district on January 1, 1977 . Nevertheless, the city and district of Leipzig were able to use the distinctive sign in 1990, as the Lahn-Dill district released the L and received the identifier LDK . (The town of Lahn, which originally also used the distinctive sign L , no longer existed since January 15, 1980.)
- STD , originally intended for the Stendal district , was assigned to the Stade district on August 1, 1956 .
The following distinguishing marks have not been assigned:
- APO was intended for the Apolda district . It referred to the extra-parliamentary opposition.
- NS was intended for the Neustrelitz district . It is reminiscent of National Socialism.
- ZK was intended for the city and district of Zwickau . It also means central committee.
Only a few distinctive signs have been changed from the list from July 1990:
- Instead of the EDL and the FUR , the districts of Quedlinburg and Querfurt received the distinctive signs with a leading Q , namely QLB and QFT .
- Instead of the ESN , the district of Eisenach received the distinctive sign ESA because of the syllable separation Eis-sen-ach valid at the time .
- Instead of the GRN , the Gransee district received the distinctive sign GRS .
- Instead of the GW , the Hanseatic City of Greifswald, like other Hanseatic cities, received the distinguishing mark with the leading H , i.e. HGW .
- Instead of the HAL for the city district of Halle (Saale) , the hall circle received its own distinctive sign SK , which was also previously intended for the hall circle.
- Instead of the HRO and the HWI , the districts of Rostock and Wismar received the distinctive signs ROS and WIS .
- Instead of the KLT and the OLS , the districts of Klingenthal and Oelsnitz received the common distinctive sign OVL for Obervogtland .
- Instead of the OST , after protests from its citizens, the Osterburg district received the distinguishing mark OBG .
- Instead of the SHS , the district of Sangerhausen received the distinctive sign SGH, which was planned as early as 1953 .
- Instead of the TW , the district of Teterow received the distinguishing mark TET .
- Instead of the TO of the given city and the district of Zwickau , the single letter distinguishing sign Z .
literature
- Andreas Herzfeld: The history of the German license plate . 4th edition. German Flag Society, 2010, ISBN 978-3-935131-11-7 .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ But then changed to NW for Neustadt (Weinstrasse)
- ↑ But then changed to NR because of the award to Neustadt (Weinstrasse)
- ↑ For example, the Hessian Rheingau-Taunus district still assigns the label “RÜD” (for Rüdesheim ) to the former Rheingau district , although the district town of Bad Schwalbach of the former Untertaunus district was chosen as the administrative seat for the newly formed district.