Postal history and postage stamps of Berlin

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The postal history of Berlin encompasses the history of the postal service in Berlin . In the philatelic sense, “Berlin” refers to those stamp issues that were issued for the enclave of West Berlin , which was considered de facto due to political circumstances . Less often the term also includes the bear stamps (for Greater Berlin after 1945) or any issues related to Berlin.

Last block of stamps ( Michel catalog no. Block 8) of the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin from January 15, 1987 for the 750th anniversary of Berlin . Copy with printed special cancellation ( stamp pads of the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin )

Situation until 1945

When the stamps were introduced, Berlin, like the entire Kingdom of Prussia, was in the area of ​​the Prussian state post . Accordingly, the following stamp issues were relevant for Berlin:

From 1914 to 1918 around 4,000 British men fit for military service were interned on the grounds of the harness racing track in Ruhleben . A camp post (RXD = Ruhleben Express Delivery) was established for the transmission of messages within the camp, which existed from July 19, 1915 to April 3, 1916 and issued its own stamps.

Between 1925 and 1928 the new building of the Berlin Oberpostdirektion was built based on designs by Willy Hoffmann. During the National Socialist era, the Oberpostdirektion was renamed 'Reichspostdirektion' and in 1954 it became 'Landespostdirektion Berlin' (for West Berlin). After privatization, the building became the property of Deutsche Telekom . Further post offices were built in the 1920s with the residential building at Herbartstrasse 21/22 and the Hedwig-Rüdiger-Haus.

1945-1948

The National Socialist leadership's adherence to a pointless continuation of the long lost war led to the battle for Berlin . Women and children were used as substitutes for postal workers who were at war. Two stamp issues of the "Grossdeutsche Reich" reached Berlin by air from the State Printing Office in Vienna, they could only be used on letters within some post offices in Berlin, as there was no longer any postal contact with the rest of Germany.

Rail mail from the west was still arriving by April 21, 1945, the postal check office was still booking, and by April 26, 1945, letter boxes were emptied and letters were delivered. It was only in an order of May 14, 1945 by the Reichspostdirektion Berlin that it said: “For the time being, any official act in the postal and telecommunications operations must be avoided”. Nevertheless, the remaining employees of the Post were called to come to work to carry out the most necessary clean-up work.

After the surrender , on May 19, 1945, the post and telecommunications system in Greater Berlin was assigned to the magistrate , making operation and administration an urban matter. At that time Berlin was occupied exclusively by Soviet troops . The Americans and British did not move in until July 4, 1945. The French followed on August 12, and on July 30, 1945, by resolution of September 12, 1944 in London , the administrative districts of Reinickendorf and Wedding, which had been separated from the British sector, were awarded to them. Greater Berlin was now under the Allied command .

Berlin bear stamp, Michel - 3A

Since May 18, 1945 there was a non-public relay post. The postal service resumed the money service, postal orders and postal checks on June 22nd. Since August 2, 1945, there was a limited, official postal service in Greater Berlin. Only postcards were allowed. Letters up to 1000 grams could only be sent by authorities and public companies. The Berlin bear stamps with the issuing country designation Stadt Berlin were introduced as postage stamps .

Postage stamp issues up to the currency reform

On May 20, 1945, the City of Berlin's magistrate decided to issue its first own postage stamps after the end of the war. Members of the magistrate had asked graphic designers to submit drafts that were intended to express the new political orientation in a few symbols. The postage stamps known as the “bear series” or “bear stamps ” (the main motif was the Berlin bear ) were selected from the designs . The templates came from Heinz Schwalbe , who created the Berlin heraldic animal simply (5, 8 and 20 pfennig value), with a spade (6 pfennig value), with brick (10 pfennig value) and with a bar (12 -Pfennig-Wert) shown. The 30-Pfennig value represents a newly planted oak in front of the ruins of Belle-Alliance-Platz . The first issue took place on May 22nd of that year. The stamps were valid in (Greater) Berlin until October 31, 1946.

Other stamp issues used in Berlin were:

The bear series introduces the SBZ collection area in the Michel catalog (Michel numbers 1–7), although it was actually an edition of all Allies and could therefore also be understood as a joint edition.

In the year of the currency reform, 1948

The Soviets set up their central administration for the Soviet zone of occupation in personal union at the magistrate post. This was to ensure that the Berlin magistrate post came under the administration of the Soviets. The scramble finally ended with the announcement by the Allied commanders that the magistrate had the position of curator vis-à-vis the Reichspost and that it would remain so until the Reichspost was reorganized. Until then, the head of the Reichspost must be an elected member of the magistrate.

The British and Americans had their bizones, the Russians converted the previous postal administration into the main postal and telecommunications administration of the German Economic Commission for the Soviet occupation zone, based in East Berlin . Subordinate to her were the upper post offices Dresden , Erfurt, Halle, Potsdam and Schwerin. There was no longer any hesitation in considering at least the Soviet sector of Greater Berlin to be under his direction.

In 1948 it became clear that the Soviet Union was not very interested in a four-power administration of Berlin. Access to the west was repeatedly interrupted. Technical difficulties, the poor condition of the bridges and locks, were just as implausible as the defense against refugees from West Germany to the Soviet-occupied zone. It became more specific on March 20, 1948, when the Soviet delegation left the Control Council and thus ended Germany's four-power government. On June 16, 1948, the Soviet delegation demonstratively withdrew from the meeting of the Allied Command in Berlin. At this time, the parcel and parcel shipping between Berlin and the four occupation zones, which had been approved in May 1947, was interrupted. Again, the justifications were extremely threadbare. Parcel traffic between the eastern zone and the western zones did not yet exist. The Eastern Zone offered the Berliners the services of the Eastern Post Office to remedy a grievance, as the Magistrate Post was obviously incapable. West Berliners should openly post their parcels to the West in the Eastern sectors, they did not want to forego content control. The offer did not have any notable success. And so by the time the airlift opened, 500,000 parcels had accumulated.

The currency reform in West Germany on June 20, 1948 gave rise to the complete closure of the traffic routes between East and West. The Soviets enacted their monetary reform on June 23, 1948 in the Eastern Zone and Greater Berlin . The western allies declared the order "null and void" and instructed the city authorities not to carry out the Soviet order in the western sectors. Thus, on June 24, 1948, letters in West Berlin could still be franked with Reichsmark currency.

On June 24th, the DM of the Bank Deutscher Länder was introduced as legal tender in the western sectors of Berlin. However, no employee had the right to receive more than 25% of his income in DM-West. The DM-West was only supposed to enable unhindered trade between Berlin and West Germany. The decision was not an easy one, the difficulties of a mixed or double currency were well known.

Bizone brands were flown into West Berlin on June 24th immediately after the currency reform. They came to issue on June 25th. These were the band imprints 6, 8, 12 and 24 Pfennig and network imprint 10, 16, 20 and 30 Pfennig. The other values ​​were later overprinted in Berlin.

The Soviet occupation zone did not recognize these postage stamps and declared them and the entire postal administration in West Berlin to be illegal.

Letter from West Berlin , not sent because of postage with Eastern stamps, February 1949
SBZ, 1948
West Berlin, 1949

Overprint editions

On September 1, 1948, new postage stamps were issued in West Berlin with the imprint “BERLIN” in black; they were also sold for East money at West Berlin post offices and were also not accepted by the East. As a result, stationery dealers offered Soviet Zone postage stamps for use in mailings to the East. These stamps were canceled by West Berlin post offices. The East reacted promptly. They fetched the remainder of the bear stamp with the issuing country name “City of Berlin”, marked it with the imprint “ Soviet Occupation Zone ” and sold it at their post offices (from September 20, 1948). The stamps stamped in this way in West Berlin gave the world the impression that the city of Berlin was part of the Soviet zone of occupation. On January 14, 1949, the Western Allies banned the use of trademarks from the Soviet zone of occupation for use within West Berlin and to West Germany. This also ended the possibility of east-west mixed postage. The following provision came into force:

“The use of the postage stamps valid in the Soviet sector and in the Soviet zone for franking postal items that are delivered within the western sectors of Greater Berlin is prohibited. This does not include mail that is to be delivered in the Soviet sector of Greater Berlin or in the Soviet zone of Germany. Items posted in the western sectors of Greater Berlin to recipients in the western sectors or in the western zones that are franked with the postage stamps valid in the eastern sector or in the Soviet zone of Germany must be returned to the sender as inadmissible.
On behalf of Dr. Kleemann "

The black overprints were still sold for Ostmark and were also valid for postage until March 20, 1949, except for registered postage to West Germany (use possible until March 31, 1949).

From January 20, 1949, the Magistratspost issued four new stamps, the values ​​of 10, 15, 20 and 60 pfennigs with the imprint “BERLIN” in red, which could only be sold against Western money . The other values ​​with red overprint did not follow until March 21, 1949.

The split also made itself felt in the postal check service. A post office in Berlin (West) had to be set up within 14 days. It started operating on August 9, 1948. Until December 3, 1948 exclusively responsible for West Berlin, with account management in both currencies, then also for the bizone and later for the French occupation zone .

The blockade of Berlin lasted nine months, during which mail was supplied to the West via the airlift . Even after the blockade was over, a large part of the mail still had to be transported by air, because the pent-up demand for coal, food and other basic necessities had priority.

On December 17, 1948 , after free elections in the western sectors, Ernst Reuter was unanimously elected mayor. The magistrate of Greater Berlin was deposed on November 30, 1948. The East Berlin Post immediately tried to take over the post and telecommunications in the western sectors.

On March 20, 1949, DM-West became the sole means of payment in West Berlin, which was now integrated into the West German economic and financial system. The East Berlin postal administration did not recognize postage stamps from West Berlin and added postage to such items in their sphere of control. This time the magistrate post did the same. This resulted in refusals of acceptance to an unprecedented extent. The dispute was settled on September 12, 1949.

The way was now free for an alignment in administration and fees with the Bundespost. There were still differences in the charging of fees. The postage stamps were mutually recognized for franking in the other postal area, and much more had to be arranged.

With the swearing-in of the first federal government on September 20, 1949, the new government also included the Federal Minister for Post and Telegraphy. The main administration for the postal and telecommunications system of the American and British occupation areas (HVPF) in Frankfurt am Main was entrusted with the management of the business of the Ministry of Post. With effect from April 1, 1950, the upper post offices in the states of Baden, Rhineland-Palatinate and Württemberg-Hohenzollern (French zone) were taken over by the federal administration.

From the currency reform to February 4, 1950

On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union implemented its own currency reform in its zone of occupation as a reaction to the currency reform of 1948 (West Germany) , which included the area of ​​Greater Berlin, but was not recognized by the Western Allies . With the currency reform, various overprinted issues of the community issues were issued in the new currency (Ostmark) and used immediately in the Soviet Zone and in the Soviet sector of Berlin. From this moment on, with the economic separation of Berlin into West and East Berlin , the postal separation also arose .

The western allies thereupon decreed their own currency reform in West Berlin on June 25, 1948, but the new Ostmark was just as valid here as the new SBZ stamps. On September 3, 1948, a new series of stamps was issued in the western part of the city. For this purpose, 20 stamps of the so-called 2nd Control Council issue (ie issues of the Allied occupation for all of Germany) were overprinted with a black imprint "Berlin" (black imprint). The Berlin collecting area began with these black overprints. However, the brands were not recognized and objected to in the Soviet Zone. That was the beginning of the Berlin Post War . On January 20, 1949 and March 21, 1949, another series of the 2nd Control Council edition (red overprint) appeared, this time overprinted in red. The stamps with red overprint were only sold against D-Mark . On March 21, 1949, the D-Mark was declared the only means of payment in West Berlin.

The use of the SBZ trademarks was gradually restricted in West Berlin:

  • From September 11, 1948, shipments with SBZ stamps were no longer to be transported over the airlift. However, this measure was pursued only half-heartedly.
  • From January 14, 1949, SBZ stamps were only allowed to be used on shipments to East Berlin, the Soviet Zone or abroad, and no longer for shipments within West Berlin or to the three western occupation zones.
  • From March 21, 1949, the SBZ stamps could no longer be used in West Berlin.

The Berlin Post War lasted until September 15, 1949. In the final phase, the SBZ stamps for mail from the SBZ to West Berlin were no longer recognized and postage was added. Only then did the four powers agree on the mutual recognition of the respective postage stamps.

From January 20, 1950, the Berlin stamps were also valid in the Federal Republic of Germany .

From October 27, 1949, the still valid trademarks of the Bizone , the French Zone and the Federal Republic of Germany were allowed to be used in West Berlin . The final and permanent permission to use West German trademarks during their validity period in West Berlin was granted on February 4, 1950.

From February 4, 1950 until German reunification

The Allies had their own post offices within West Berlin, here the American post office in Berlin-Tempelhof
The Postbank high-rise (formerly: Postscheckamt Berlin West ) and the Berlin TV tower
Art in architecture at the
Spandau post office
Mailbox
Issue of welcome money to GDR citizens at Post Office 36, 1989

On February 4, 1950, the following key points were established, which essentially remained unchanged until German reunification :

  • In Germany there were the areas of the Federal Republic, West Berlin and GDR (for collectors: Bund, Berlin and GDR for short) that issued postage stamps. (Until mid-1959, the Saarland was still the fourth collection area). East Berlin had no special status within the GDR.
  • The trademarks of West Berlin and the Federal Republic were mutually valid.
  • With a few exceptions, no Berlin stamps were sold at the post office counters in what was then the Federal Republic of Germany and vice versa: The post office in Bonn's Bundeshaus has been selling both stamps from the Deutsche Bundespost and stamps from the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin since the early 1950s in solidarity with the divided Berlin. Postal customers and collectors were able to purchase the stamps of both issues from the "Dispatch points for collector's stamps" (later "Dispatch points for postage stamps") in Weiden , West Berlin (Post Office Goethestrasse) and Frankfurt am Main. The Berlin 3-pfennig definitive stamp with the depiction of the Brandenburg Gate in landscape format, which appeared on March 1, 1963, was also offered as a supplementary value at West German post offices.

There was a change in the Berlin postal system in 1954. Until then, the West Berlin Senate was responsible for the issue of postage stamps in the western part of the city. The Landespostdirektion Berlin was founded on April 1, 1954 . De jure, this was not part of the Deutsche Bundespost , but owed its tasks and rights to a corresponding approval by the Western Allies. The Landespostdirektion Berlin was de facto subordinate to the Deutsche Bundespost in all areas, such as asset management or the budget. The Allies allowed the State Post Office's postage stamp issues to be called Deutsche Bundespost Berlin from 1955 onwards , but there was never an organization with this name.

By issuing a special stamp in favor of flood victims, a total of 150,000  marks (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 373,000 euros) were collected in donations.

The Landespostdirektion maintained its own technical college, which from 1976 was also opened to students who were not employees of the Post. In 1971 the new post office was put into operation.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the post office also took over the distribution of the welcome money to GDR citizens.

In 1990, Germany was given full sovereignty in the two-plus-four treaty . In addition to other restrictions, the special status of West Berlin was lifted. So there was no longer any need to issue your own postage stamps for Berlin. The last Berlin stamp appeared on September 27, 1990, a few days before the reunification. Deutsche Bundespost Telekom began installing card phones in East Berlin in 1990, and the telecommunications sector was later completely separated from the Post. On February 1, 1991, the West Berlin State Post Office was renamed Oberpostdirektion and from then on was responsible for all of Berlin. The Post Museum Berlin An der Urania was closed in favor of the Post Museum in East Berlin.

The last few months have brought some changes in the validity periods of the stamps:

  • From July 2, 1990, brands from West Berlin that were still valid could also be used in the GDR.
  • From July 2, 1990, stamps in D-Mark currency were issued in the GDR. Conversely, these stamps were also valid in West Berlin until December 31, 1991.

All Berlin postage stamps ended on December 31, 1991. Stocks of postage stamps have been used up by collectors and postal customers in the last few weeks, this explains the cancellations from December 1991 on stamps of different years. However, there was also the option of exchanging for postage stamps from the German Federal Post Office. Postage stamps intended for Berlin were issued in late 1990 and 1991 as issues of the reunified Germany.

Postage stamps from Berlin as a collecting area

Postage stamps from Berlin have always been collected to complete a collection of postage stamps from the Federal Republic of Germany. Until 1955 the Post as collectors' items Official expended First Day Covers and from 1956 to 1958 and then again from 1975 Ersttagsblätter . Due to the enormous increases in the value of stamp issues from 1945 to around 1955, this led to an enormous increase in collectors and stamp issues in the 1960s and 1970s, and the range from that time is correspondingly large today. All the more important are those areas that were ignored by collectors at the time, such as receipts and postmarks from real postal traffic. In general, the Berlin collecting area has a greater significance than almost any other collecting area.

Overview of the stamp issues

West Berlin postage stamp from 1963 with the
Brandenburg Gate in the eastern part of the city
8 Pf postage within Berlin

Starting with the black overprint edition, the Berlin editions end with the Michel number 879. Since four numbers were not assigned, Berlin had 875 editions and eight miniature sheets . Of which were:

  • 80 independent definitive stamps , including 38 overprints of the 2nd control council issue (black, red and green overprint) and 42 others ( Berlin buildings and Berlin cityscapes )
  • 159 definitive stamps, with the same motif and value as the corresponding stamps of the Federal Post Office, distinguishable by the inscription "Deutsche Bundespost Berlin" ( Heuss (medallion) , Significant Germans , German buildings from 12 centuries I and II , Brandenburg Gate , Federal President Gustav Heinemann , Accident Prevention , Industry and technology , castles and palaces , women of German history , sights ). Three of these stamps appeared only in Berlin in order to be able to cover the postage for postcards within Berlin (8 Pf “Bauwerke II”, 8 and 15 Pf “Heinemann”). The same stamps from the Bundespost had the same issue date with the exception of the 20-pfennig value of the “castles and palaces” and the 60-pfennig value of the “women of German history”. Since the series “Women of German History” and “Sights” were continued by the Bundespost after reunification, these sentences from Berlin are much smaller. But not all stamps appeared in Berlin during the Berlin issue period (missing: the value of 1.20 DM for the “women” and the values ​​of 33 Pf, 38 Pf, 45 Pf, 90 Pf and 2.80 DM for the “sights "). Before that, the 90-pfennig value of the "Significant Germans" was the only value in this series that was not spent in Berlin.
  • 587 independent Berlin special stamps . That includes eight blocks.
  • 49 special stamps with the same motif and value as the corresponding stamps of the Bundespost with the inscription "Deutsche Bundespost Berlin". The same stamps from the Federal Post Office each had the same issue date.

From 1949 to 1989, 15 stamp booklets appeared in the main types, including the editions with different advertising on the cover, there were 51.

From 1987 vending machine brands were also available in Berlin , the motif was Charlottenburg Palace .

Availability

The convenient “subscription collection” had led to an increase in the number of collectors. These collections came later on the market and have resulted in a very large supply of mint and postage stamps, additional products such as first day covers, first day sheets, numis covers and others are on the market in large numbers.

Postage stamps with postmarks from real postal traffic from Berlin were previously avoided by collectors and were more likely to be found in casual collections, for example by children. Today the situation has reversed, well-preserved postage stamps from real postal traffic are more in demand than supposedly perfect philatelic products.

particularities

The postage levels in West Berlin corresponded to those of the Federal Republic of Germany, with the exception of letters and postcards that were sent within the whole of Berlin, for which reduced postage was valid until March 31, 1991. This postage level "in local traffic" was abolished in the Federal Republic on March 1, 1963.

Carl Friedrich Zelter , postage stamp 1952, Michel no. 91

The inscriptions of the Berlin brands (according to Michel numbers):

  • 1-90, 101-105, 112-113, 118: Deutsche Post
  • 91-100, 106-111, 115-117, 119-125: Deutsche Post Berlin
  • 126–127: Landespost Berlin
  • 128–879: Deutsche Bundespost Berlin

On December 1, 1948, tax stamps ( Notopfer Berlin ) at 2 Pfennig were issued in the American and British zones in favor of Berlin. All mail items also had to be franked with one of these stamps, otherwise the item would not be sent. Later, these stamps became compulsory in the French zone as well. From January 1, 1950, the newly founded Federal Republic was obliged to use it. Shipments to and from Berlin as well as the Soviet Zone and GDR did not require the stamp. The obligation ended on April 1, 1956, although certain types of mail had already been exempted from tax liability. Although the brand image essentially consisted of the inscription "Berlin", these are not Berlin postage stamps, but pure tax stamps.

Among the few issues that were also sold at post offices in the Federal Republic of Germany were the 1-Pf and the 3-Pf edition of the "Berliner Stadtbilder". It was recommended to add the 1 Pf stamp as a sign of solidarity with Berlin To use franking. The 3-Pf-stamp was needed because the postage for printed matter was raised from 7 Pf to 10 Pf. Another 3 Pf stamp was not available.

Due to the unification, the long-term series “Women” only ran for around four years. Neatly stamped copies from the Berlin postal service are (unlike those with the postmarks of the shipping points) as rare, especially for the seldom used values.

As the issue area was thematically very limited, niche topics were also honored with issues such as the anniversary of a school or BVG buses. In 1990, “500 Years of the Post” was the last special stamp to be published as a joint issue with the Bundespost. Overall, it appeared for the Federal Republic of Germany , Berlin, the GDR , Austria and Belgium with the same motif .

Meaning of the stamps

Postage stamp Mi. No. 264 from 1965 with a central cancellation from the branch post office 191
Postage stamp Mi. No. 797 from 1987 canceled after the currency reform in East Berlin, 1990
Machine stamp from a West German postage stamp machine, used in Berlin-Neukölln
Different cancellations using the example of a Berlin postage stamp from 1971

Is of great importance in the collection area Berlin the cancellations to, because the stamps were mutually valid in West Germany, and also to 1991 in Germany and thus also in the area of the former GDR.

The following stamp categories can be found on Berlin postage stamps:

  • Day stamps from post offices in West Berlin (also BERLIN 12 except for the variants mentioned below, also BERLIN 11 except for machine stamps ): Post that was posted at the counters was usually canceled there (some only in the central sorting point). Good cancellations from the mail on demand from Berlin are in demand and achieve good prices that often exceed catalog quotations many times over.
  • Machine stamp BERLIN 11 of the central sorting station: All mail that was posted in letterboxes was machine stamped in the Berlin 11 sorting station. Some of the mail from the post offices was also postmarked here. Next door, however, there was also the Berlin 11 post office. Berlin 11 stamps are more common than those of other Berlin post offices, but as pieces of Berlin postage on demand, these are almost as popular with collectors.
  • Day cancellation from post offices in East Berlin (1990–1991). For around 1 12  years it was possible to buy West Berlin postage stamps in the east of the city, but not buy them at the post office counter. Merchants and institutions from West Berlin in particular used the lower postage to post there, also with holdings from letter postage buyers (from old collections), as well as the personal needs of collectors from the east of the city. Nevertheless, the short time this option is available makes such cancellations rare and in demand. They are valid for West Berlin cancellations as equivalent or more valuable, depending on preference.
  • Day and machine stamps from post offices in the old federal territory (and 1990–1991 in the new federal territory ): West Berlin postage stamps were officially only available there, as well as through the sales outlets in Frankfurt am Main (and later also in Weiden). The view that West Berlin is part of the Federal Republic of Germany prompted not only collectors to have Berlin postage stamps canceled or used throughout Germany. It is speculated that West German post offices also sold Berlin postage irregularly for the same reason. As a result, used stamps from Germany are more common than those from Berlin. Today's demand for such domestic cancellations is limited.
  • Postage stamp dispatch points BERLIN-Charlottenburg 2 (as, ax, bl), BERLIN 12 (bk, bn, br, by, ce, ci, co, cn, de, dn, dr) and motif stamps, FRANKFURT 1 (ez) and WEIDEN , OBERPF 1 (ap): Generations of collectors preferred to have postage stamps sent to them by the mailing outlets . These were hand-stamped or with stamps printed on them and there are extremely large numbers on the market. As a philatelic activity, these are hardly in demand today, the stock books of dealers are full of stamps from the "collection by subscription".

False stamps with supposedly contemporary but false rubber stamps or also copied stamps, both allegedly from post offices in West Berlin, appear again and again, especially with postage stamps from blocks, with postage stamps with surcharges and with definitive stamps beyond the postage levels, including machine stamps Berlin 11 in uncommon full color edition and Berlin 12 with the distinctive mark mc, which never existed there .

Use of West German postage stamps in Berlin (West)

Postage stamps from Berlin and from the old Federal Republic were mutually valid. Due to the Berlin status , the West German postage stamps in Berlin were only sold at the collector's counter at Post Office 12, both mint and with the postage stamp of "Berlin 12". The use of other post offices and even the machine stamps for “Berlin 11” are consequently not very common, even though the number of stamps themselves was high. The copies used mostly come from postal customers who brought the stamps with them from stays in Germany. Special stamps and the dispatch point version of the stamp “Berlin 12”, however, are often found.

In the course of German reunification , postage stamps of the Federal Republic were introduced in both former parts of Berlin and were available at all post offices, including West German definitive stamps that were issued earlier.

Post offices in Berlin (West)

In order to identify the stamps and letters used in West Berlin from the stamps, the former responsible post offices are listed below. The name changed with the introduction of the postcodes.

Independent post offices in Berlin (West), before the introduction of the postal code system from 1962

Branch offices in Berlin (West), before the introduction of the postal code system from 1962

The branch offices mainly stamped the items posted at the post office counter.

Furthermore, all post offices with the above names that only differ by additional numbers (such as Berlin-Tegel 2) or additions such as "Ost 2" (as in Berlin-Reinickendorf).

It should be noted that the post offices Berlin W 1, NW 6, NW 7, W 8, W 9 and Staaken via Falkensee are in the Soviet sector of Berlin or in the SBZ, and are therefore not considered.

After the introduction of the new federal German postal code system in 1962, the numbers of the old Berlin delivery districts Berlin W 15, Berlin NW 21, Berlin W 30, Berlin SO 36, Berlin SW 61 and Berlin N 65 were continued without the abbreviations, as was the number of the Berlin post office SW 11 as the 11th Berlin from Berlin-Charlottenburg 1, 2 and 9 were Berlin 10, Berlin 12 and Berlin 19. the other Zustellpostämter received new, not yet assigned two-digit numbers, which followed a geographically segmented system (with two starting numbers in the north , beginning with 3 in the southwest, etc.), into which the still valid old Berlin numbers were partly not inserted.

Designation of the post offices with two-digit numbers in Berlin (West), after the introduction of postcodes

With the introduction of the postcodes initially as 1 Berlin XX, from the 1970s as 1000 Berlin XX. The list also shows the postal codes of the delivery districts that have been valid since 1993.

  • Berlin 11 (central sorting point, ex SW 11)
  • Berlin 10 ( Charlottenburg ), since 1993: 10585-10589 Berlin
  • Berlin 12 (Charlottenburg), since 1993: 10623–10629 Berlin
  • Berlin 13 ( Charlottenburg-Nord and Siemensstadt ), since 1993: 13627–13629 Berlin
  • Berlin 15 (ex W15; Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf ), since 1993 together with Berlin 31 : 10707-10719 Berlin
  • Berlin 19 Charlottenburg, since 1993: 14050–14059 Berlin
  • Berlin 20 ( Spandau , Staaken and Haselhorst ), since 1993: 13581–13599 Berlin
  • Berlin 21 ( Moabit ), since 1993: 10551-10559 Berlin
  • Berlin 22 ( Gatow and Kladow ), since 1993: 14089 Berlin
  • Berlin 26 ( Wittenau ), since 1993: 13435–13439 Berlin
  • Berlin 27 ( Tegel , Konradshöhe and Heiligensee ), since 1993: 13503–13509 Berlin
  • Berlin 42 ( Tempelhof and Mariendorf ), since 1993: 12099–12109 Berlin
  • Berlin 44 ( Neukölln ), since 1993: 12043–12059 Berlin
  • Berlin 45 ( Lichterfelde ), since 1993: 12203–12209 Berlin
  • Berlin 46 ( Lankwitz ), since 1993: 12247–12249 Berlin
  • Berlin 47 ( Britz , Buckow and Rudow ), since 1993: 12347–12359 Berlin
  • Berlin 48 ( Marienfelde ), since 1993: 12277–12279 Berlin
  • Berlin 49 ( Lichtenrade ), since 1993: 12305–12309 Berlin
  • Berlin 51 ( Reinickendorf -Ost), since 1993: 13403-13409 Berlin
  • Berlin 52 ( Reinickendorf -West), later (in 1993) in Berlin 51 included
  • Berlin 61 ( Kreuzberg-West ), since 1993: 10961-10969 Berlin
  • Berlin 62 ( Schöneberg -Süd), since 1993: 10823-10829 Berlin
  • Berlin 65 ( Wedding ), since 1993: 13347–13359 Berlin
  • Berlin 77 (customs clearance center)

The branch post offices had three-digit numbers, the first two digits of which were identical to the number of the main post office responsible. The most famous of these branch post offices, in Charlottenburg in the Zoologischer Garten station, had the number Berlin 120 .

The two-digit post office numbers were also used as delivery district numbers until the five-digit postcodes were introduced in 1993. In 1993, all delivery districts in West Berlin were each converted into a new routing area to which a group of numbers is assigned, the only exception being the merging of Berlin 15 with Berlin 31 into one routing area (delivery districts 10707-10719). The numbers valid since 1962 are still in use as post office numbers and as the initial digits of the post office box numbers. Since about 2015, the numbers of the districts on postmarks have been replaced by place names. The former sorting points Berlin 11 (West) and Berlin BPA (East) have been replaced by letter centers.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. berlin.de
  2. How the Berlin bear stamps came about. From the memories of the former City Councilor for Post and Telecommunications Ernst Kehler. With a timetable by Frithjof Skupin. In: Berlin history. Documents, articles, information. City archive of the capital of the GDR, Berlin. Berlin 1982, pp. 70-76.
  3. Compilation of the old and new district names in the Federal Telephone Book 1967, Volume 1, entry Berlin, wiki-de.genealogy.net digitized on wiki-de.genealogy.net
  4. Source: Deutsche Bundespost Postdienst (Ed.): Das ZIP code book , Bonn 1993; P. 278 ff Area maps of Berlin
  5. "Christmas operation" in the middle of summer. In: taz , June 26, 1993