Mail was first introduced on January 15, 1933 by the Deutsche Reichspost .
history
At first, the mail was only allowed on a trial basis between certain larger locations. At least five shipments had to be posted for the same destination. The maximum weight was set at 7 kg. Posting was also permitted as unsealed valuables or cash on delivery . However, posting as a sealed item of value and requesting a return receipt and express delivery was not permitted.
For Postgutsendungen not existed Freimachungszwang . There were also no surcharges for unpaid mail up to 5 kg. The delivery fee was already included in the posting fee. In terms of liability law, there was the same liability as for packages.
On the day the mail was officially introduced (January 15, 1933), the postage fees were reduced and the unrestricted acceptance of mail in local traffic was permitted throughout the Reich .
The mailing of mail was stopped by the Reichspost during the Second World War .
On April 1, 1950, already at the Federal Post Office the mail readmitted by the Official Journal available. From July 1, 1955, it was also possible to send express mail .
On August 1, 1954, it was also introduced to the GDR's Deutsche Post as economic mail in small goods traffic.
The new shipping regulations were then regulated in the postal regulations of 1964: Parcels could now be sent as postal goods for a reduced fee if they were sent in local traffic or in traffic between certain locations or if at least three items were posted at the same time by a sender to a destination . Postage could only be posted by self-bookers . Unfree, ie pacts for which the recipient had to pay the fees (recognizable by the brown parcel numbers), or bulky items were not permitted as mail (however, these were permitted from July 1, 1974 to December 31, 1978). Cash on delivery and express delivery were also permitted. Sealed items of value, return receipts , airmail and urgent transport were excluded from carriage. Deliveries to the Soviet Zone and East Berlin were also not permitted.
In traffic between the State of Berlin and the rest of the Federal Republic of Germany, the next lower distance step was decisive for calculating the parcel and postage fees. This measure was lifted on July 1, 1991. The maximum weight rose to 10 kg on September 1, 1971, and the difference in fees between mail and parcel was 30 pfennigs. On January 1, 1979, the maximum weight was increased to 20 kg. Since 1988, mail has no longer been differentiated according to distance zones. In the case of mail, delivery charges or charges for holding items in storage ready for collection were not charged.
literature
Ministerial Director Dr. Hans Rackow: Concise dictionary of the postal system , printed in the Federal Printing Office, 1953, page 525