Hindenburg medallion

Sweeping print with divider , from stamp booklet (sheet)

Privately overprinted sheet stamps advertising KA-BE

The Hindenburg Medallion series of postage stamps was issued by the Deutsche Reichspost from October 1, 1932 and was valid until the surrender in 1945 , as the Reich Post Ministry decided, due to the war, in 1944 that all stamps would remain valid until further notice .

It was the second series of stamps, after the Reich President series of stamps, that had Reich President Paul von Hindenburg as a motif; In 1927, four charity stamps with his portrait had already appeared on his 80th birthday . The first day of the series was one day before his 85th birthday.

After his death, a partial edition appeared with a black border. As a special edition, this is not part of the definitive stamp series, but is listed in this article due to the similar motifs.

In addition to the permanent series Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler , which was only introduced from August 1941 , the Hindenburg series offered almost the only possibility of franking mail at the pure postage value. From the year of issue 1936 at the latest, special stamps were issued almost exclusively as surcharge stamps with a considerable surcharge.

During the Second World War , the stamps in this series were also available with the respective country imprints in the occupied territories. The Soviet, British and US armed forces and their secret services also used individual values ​​as templates for falsified propaganda .

After the surrender and the resumption of postal traffic , the remaining stamps were partially overprinted by the Allied occupying powers due to a lack of material and could thus continue to be used as franking for a short time; however, such uses are extremely rare.

Motif and printing process

The motif was identical in all denominations and showed the left half of Paul von Hindenburg's face in profile . The draft for the values ​​came from the medalist Karl Goetz .

The duration series has been consistently in the printing process on coated paper with a Kammzähnung from 14:14 1/4 in size from 21.5 × 26 mm × 10 sheets of 10 stamps with two different watermark ( "Waffles", and from December 1933 "Swastikas") or as roll brands in rolls of 200, 250 each = 500, 500 and 1000 rolls.

A total of 44 different brands have appeared:

• October 1, 1932: 7 values ​​(Michel numbers: 467–473)
• April to August 1933: 14 values ​​(482–495)
• 1933 to 1936: 17 values: (512–528)
• September 4, 1935: 6 values: (548–553)

As a definitive series, this was also used on postal stationery as a value stamp for picture and postcards in the format 148: 105 mm. A total of 29 (P216 to P244) different card templates have been published, including five picture postcards with 1,416 different motifs and eight special postcards with 23 different motifs. Furthermore, in 1941 there was a reply postcard (2 × 15 Pfennig) for the " foreign workers " employed in the area of ​​the Brussels Air District Command . From 1943 onwards, the remaining stocks were divided into question and answer sections and used as a domestic card in Germany with a new value imprint of 6 Pfennig. There was also a pneumatic tube card (55 pfennigs) for the two pneumatic tube networks in Berlin and Munich .

List of brands

German Empire

Definitive stamps

image	description	Values in pennies	Issue date	MiNr.
	Issue I ( Watermark 2: Waffles )	4th	October 1, 1932	467
		5	October 1, 1932	468
		12	October 1, 1932	469
		15th	October 1, 1932	470
		25th	October 1, 1932	471
		40	October 1, 1932	472
		50	October 1, 1932	473
	Issue II (Watermark 2: Waffles)	3	April 1933	482
		4th	May 1933	483
		6th	April 1933	484
		8th	April 1933	485
		10	May 1933	486
		12	April 1933	487
		15th	August 1933	488
		20th	May 1933	489
		30th	May 1933	490
		40	August 1933	491
		50	July 1933	492
		60	May 1933	493
		80	July 1933	494
		100	July 1933	495
	Issue III (Watermark 4: Swastikas )	1	4th December 1933	512
		3	January 1934	513
		4th	February 1934	514
		5	February 1934	515
		6th	February 1934	516
		8th	February 1934	517
		10	February 1934	518
		12	February 1934	519
		15th	April 1934	520
		20th	April 1934	521
		25th	April 1934	522
		30th	February 1934	523
		40	February 1934	524
		50	September 1934	525
		60	May 1934	526
		80	February 1936	527
		100	September 1934	528

Overprints

For booklets and roll stamps

1. August 5, 1933: Booklet sheet for booklet Michel-No .: 33. Watermark 2 with 5-, 6-, 8- and 12-pfennig stamps
2. June 1934: No. 35 (donates to the victims of the labor!)
3. End of August 1936/37: No. 36 (Supports the NS-Volkswohlfahrt !; Everything for Germany !; Germany a haven of peace!)
4. Beginning of October 1937/39: No. 37 (Supports the NS-Volkswohlfahrt!)
5. July 1939: from standard donor strip I, K21 from sheet (Supports the NS-Volkswohlfahrt !; Uses WHW postage stamps !; Save with the Postsparkasse !; Congratulations by sending jewelry sheet telegrams !; Join the NSV. !; Participate in postal checks!)
6. October 1939: No. 38
7. April 1940: No. 39 (Become a postal check participant !; Support the German Red Cross !; Congratulations through jewelry sheet telegrams!)
8. 1939: from machine rolls, the brand rolls had 250 pairs of 4 + 6 pfennigs
9. 1940 (February 1941): from standard donor strip II, K22 from sheet (supports the NS-Volkswohlfahrt!)
10. 1940 (end of June 1941): from standard donor strip III, K22 from sheet (save with the postal savings bank!)

Postal stationery

As a definitive series, this was also used on postal stationery as a value stamp for picture and postcards in the format 148: 105 mm. A total of 29 (P216 to P244) different card templates have been published, including five picture postcards with 1,416 different motifs and eight special postcards with 23 different motifs. There was also a consumption issue and a pneumatic tube card (RP25).

image	Value in pennies	Issue date	Postal stationery type	Printing process	particularities	Michel no.
	5	1932	postcard	Letterpress	five-line sender's note	P 216
	5	1933	postcard	Letterpress	five-line sender's note	P 217
	6th	1933	postcard	Letterpress	five-line sender's note	P 218
	15th	1933	World postcard	Letterpress	five-line sender's note	P 219
	6/6	1933	Postcard with reply card	Letterpress	five-line sender's note	P 220
	6th	1933	Picture postcard	Gravure printing	78 different motifs	P 221
	15th	1933	World postcard	Letterpress	Color change	P 222
	15/15	1933	World postcard with reply card	Letterpress	Color change	P 223
	6th	November 4, 1933	Special card	Letterpress	for the 450th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther	P 224
	5	1933/1934	postcard	Letterpress	Sender's note only 3 pre-printed and 3 dot lines, "e" from postcard with a short line at the end	P 225
	6th	1933/1934	postcard	Letterpress (like P 225)		P 226
	15th	1933/1934	postcard	Letterpress (like P 225)		P 227
	5/5	1933/1934	Postcard with reply card	Letterpress (like P 225)		P 228
	6/6	1933/1934	Postcard with reply card	Letterpress (like P 225)		P 229
	15/15	1933/1934	Postcard with reply card	Letterpress (like P 225)		P 230
	6th	1934	Picture postcard	Gravure printing	9 different motifs	P 231
	6th	1934	Picture postcard	Gravure printing	144 different motifs	P 232
	6th	1934	Picture postcard	Gravure printing	36 different motifs	P 233
	5	1934	Special postcard	Letterpress, the P225 provided with black mourning margin on the card edges	on the death of the Reich President von Hindenburg	P 234
	6th	1934	Special postcard	Letterpress, the P226 was provided with a black mourning border on the card edges	on the death of the Reich President von Hindenburg	P 235
	6th	1934	Picture postcard	Gravure printing	1218 different motifs	P 236
	6th	October 21, 1936	Special postcard	Gravure printing	for the laying of the foundation stone of the House of German Law in Munich	P 237
	5	1934	Picture postcard for local traffic	Gravure printing	9 different motifs	P 238
external image	3	January 7, 1939	Special postcard	?-pressure	day of the stamp	P 239
	6th	July 18, 1939	Special postcard	?-pressure	to the KdF -Reichstagung in Hamburg, picture: KdF-Schiff Robert Ley	P 240
	6th	January 12, 1941	Special postcard	Gravure printing	Day of the postage stamp ; Image: Messenger of the Wiener Klapperpost (here the map from the occupied territory of Luxembourg)	P 241
	6th	January 12, 1941	Special postcard	?-pressure	Day of the postage stamp ; KdF collectors groups with eight different motifs of different types of troops: "In the struggle for freedom"	P 242
	6th	April 20, 1941	Special postcard	Value stamp: letterpress Map: rotogravure printing	Leader's birthday ; KdF collectors groups with eight different motifs of different types of troops: "With our flags there is victory"	P 243
	(15/15) / 6	(1941) / 1943	(Reply postcard) Consumption issue	Letterpress	1941 reply postcard (15/15) intended for the foreign workers employed in the area of ​​the Brussels Air District Command. From 1943 onwards, the remaining stocks were divided into question and answer sections and used as a domestic card in Germany with a new value imprint of 6 Pfennig.	(P1) P 244
	55	1934	Pneumatic postcard	light salmon-colored, 148: 105 mm	/ 01 Pneumatic post in Berlin / 02 Pneumatic post in Munich	RP 25

Funeral stamps

After Hindenburg's death on August 2, 1934, a special edition was published on September 4 with the six most frequent postage values ​​from the Hindenburg medallion with black border. In contrast to the permanent series values, these mourning stamps were only valid until December 31, 1935; their edition is not known.

• 

  3 Pfennig, Michel-No .: 548

• 

  5 Pfennig, Michel number: 549

• 

  6 Pfennig, Michel-No .: 550

• 

  8 Pfennig, Michel number: 551

• 

  12 Pfennig, Michel-No .: 552

• 

  25 Pfennig, Michel number: 553

Gift stamps

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Philatelist Club of 1888 e. V. presented the Reichspost with a sheet with the 50-pfennig stamp (Michel no. 525). In contrast to the usual edge prints, the sheet margins were different with the text “16. January 1938. 50 Years of the Berlin Philatelic Club EV ” . The sheet was kept undivided in the archives of the association until it burned in the war.

German occupation issues

• Generalgouvernement : From December 1, 1939. For this purpose the stamps 513-514, 516-525 and 528 with horizontal, three-line overprint of the Reichsdruckerei Berlin Deutsche Post / OSTEN . The value overprint was in groschen and zloty (1 zloty = 100 groschen = 50 reichspfennig). These 13 values ​​remained valid until September 30, 1940. See postage stamp issues for the Generalgouvernement 1939
• Alsace : From August 15, 1940 stamps 513-528 were provided with horizontal imprint Alsace . The 16 values ​​were valid until December 31, 1941, after which only unprinted stamps were used.
• Lorraine : From August 21, 1940, the stamps 513-528 were provided with horizontal imprint Lorraine . The 16 values ​​were valid until December 31, 1941, after which only unprinted stamps were used.
• Luxembourg : From October 1, 1940 stamps 513-528 were provided with a horizontal imprint Luxembourg . The 16 values ​​were valid until December 31, 1941, after which only unprinted stamps were used.

• 

  Deutsche Post East (Poland)

• 

  Alsace

• 

  Luxembourg

Further use after the surrender of Germany

After the surrender and the resumption of mail traffic, the Allied occupying powers partly overprinted the remaining stamps and continued to use them due to a lack of material. With the Hindenburg medallion stamps, this was mainly possible in Saxony until around mid-August 1945 , but rarely.

Fake propaganda

see also: stamp forgery

Soviet forgeries for Germany

The Soviet forgeries are limited to forgeries of postcards, the so-called propaganda cards. Numerous different cards were produced, some of which are provided with the imprinted brand image for 6 Reichspfennig of the Hindenburg postal stamp series.

The Fiihrer's Christmas presents: The homecoming

“On Hitler's orders, he went into the field healthy and with sound bones. So he returns: a cripple, mutilated, battered, a fragment of a person ...
What did this unfortunate man sacrifice his limbs, his health, his happiness for?
Was it all worth it?
GERMAN SOLDIER! As long as it's not too late - think about it. Let yourself be captured and the war is over for you. "

- Text on the card: The homecoming

The Führer Christmas presents: "Living space in the east"

“This is the living space that the German soldiers found on the Eastern Front. 2 meters underground and a birch cross on the ground. Died far from home, spoiled ...
The snow covers the fallen like a shroud. The wind is whistling. The crows croak:
Krrr! Betr-r-rug! Betr-r-rug!
Hitler betrayed you, German soldiers! He promised you to take Moscow, but left you dead and crippled. On Christmas Eve, German women mourn Hitler's victims.
But you who are alive put an end to Hitler!
Put an end to the war! "

- Text on the map: Habitat in the East

British counterfeits for Germany

As in the First World War, counterfeit war mails were produced in Great Britain for the German Empire during the Second World War. In this war, however, falsified propaganda were also produced.

First of all, forgeries of the 12 Reichspfennig value of the Hindenburg postage stamp series of the German Reich were produced in order to smuggle propaganda material into Germany similar to the allied US Americans. This was also done by aircraft dropping the letters franked with the counterfeit stamps over Germany. This was followed by the values ​​of 3, 4, 6 and 8 Reichspfennig. This war post forgery is also known to be mint never hinged, as not all postage forgeries have been used up.

See also

• People who were honored on a German postage stamp during their lifetime
  • People who were depicted on a postage stamp of the German Reich during their lifetime
• In the 1927 stamp year , four charity issues were published for German emergency aid with a portrait of Hindenburg; The occasion was his 80th birthday. Although these are supplement stamps , the donation value is not stated on the stamps.

image	description	Values in pennies	Issue date (1927)	Date of Expiry	Edition	draft	MiNr.
	80th birthday of Reich President Paul von Hindenburg Charity issue for the German emergency aid	8 (+7)	September 26th	July 31, 1928	4,801,295		403
	Charity issue for the German emergency aid	15 (+15)	September 26th	July 31, 1928	4,652,152		404
	Charity issue for the German emergency aid	25 (+25)	September 26th	July 31, 1928	714.259		405
	Charity issue for the German emergency aid	50 (+50)	September 26th	July 31, 1928	389,666		406

literature

• Michel catalog , Schwaneberger Verlag GmbH, Munich
  • Letters catalog Germany 1991, ISBN 3-87858-445-8
  • Germany 1992/93, ISBN 3-87858-021-5
  • Germany-Special 1999, ISBN 3-87858-132-7
  • Postal stationery catalog Germany 1999, ISBN 3-87858-632-9
• Frank Arnau , Lexicon of Philately, 1972

Individual evidence

1. ^ Postnachrichtenblatt - messages from the postal and telecommunications service; Ed .: Reichspostministerium, Volume 24, No. 3; Berlin, January 22, 1944
2. ↑ ^{a b c} The two series I and II differ in the denominations and colors issued. At the III. Series, which is similar in terms of value and colors to the II., But has a few additional value steps, however, a different watermark paper was used.
3. ↑ Michel-postal stationery catalog Germany 1999, pp. 152–155
4. ↑ Greeting cards (five words) are possible, but normally used only with additional postage
5. ↑ http://www.berliner-philatelisten-klub-1888.de/
6. ↑ Michel Germany Special Catalog 1999; P. 362
7. ↑ Michel Germany Catalog 2004/2005; P. 153

Web links

Commons : Hindenburg Medallion  - collection of images, videos and audio files