Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler (stamp series)

First day cover from August 1, 1941 with all 18 values. Stamp from Munich , further inscription: Capital of the Movement

Chancellor Adolf Hitler was a permanent stamp issue . It was issued by the Deutsche Reichspost from August 1, 1941, initially with the pfennig values ​​and supplemented in 1944 with a 42 pfennig value using the elaborate intaglio printing process and with the inscription "GROSSDEUTSCHES REICH". As early as 1942 , the printing process had been changed for two values ​​(10, 12 Pf) in order to reduce printing costs due to the war. In the same year, the four values ​​with denominations of 1 to 5 RM came to the counter, and the perforation was changed on these in 1944 .

This continuous series was valid until the surrender in 1945 . During the Second World War , the stamps with the respective imprints were also available in the occupied territories. In addition to the Hindenburg Medallion series , which had been in effect since 1932, the series offered almost the only way to send mail at the pure postage value. In the meantime, special stamps were only issued as surcharge stamps with a considerable surcharge.

The brand served the British and US armed forces and their secret services as a template for falsified propaganda. For example, the lettering “German Reich” was changed to Futsches Reich or the portrait of Hitler was depicted as a skull. After the surrender and the resumption of postal traffic , the remaining stamps were partially overprinted and continued to be used by the Allied occupying powers due to a lack of material.

Issue occasion

In the official gazette of the Reichspostministerium , issue no.61 of July 1, 1941, the order no.353 / 1941 appeared, in which the new series of definitive stamps was presented:

“The postage stamps of the definitive series will in future be made with the leader's head photo and will be handed over to all post offices and offices from August 1, 1941. In addition to the previous values ​​of 1 to 80 Reichspfennig, stamps of 16 and 24 Rpf are provided. The values ​​for 1, 2, 3 and 5 RM will follow later, the release and details of which will be announced separately. The former 100 Rpf mark is no longer produced. The draft of the new Rpf values ​​was made by Professor Richard Klein, Munich, based on a photo of the Reich photo reporter, Professor Heinrich Hoffmann . These stamps are produced in the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin. For the values ​​for 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 20 and 24 Rpf, the previous size of 21.5 × 25.5 mm has been retained, while the values ​​for 25, 30 , 40, 50, 60 and 80 Rpf are 24.5 × 29.15 mm in size. The stamps up to 8 Rpf are in letterpress, the values ​​from 10 to 80 Rpf are printed in steel engraving. The postage stamps for postcards etc. have all been made in letterpress. Paper without watermarks is now used for all brands: coated for letterpress stamps and uncoated for steel engraving stamps. Postage stamp booklets appear later. The colors of the brands are: 1 Rpf gray 3 light brown 4 steel blue 5 green 6 blue violet 8 light red 10 black brown 12 dark red 15 red brown 16 blue green 20 light blue 24 yellow brown 25 dark blue 30 olive green 40 red violet 50 black green 60 dark brown 80 black blue

Image of a 6 Rpf stamp in ¾ natural size on the front page. Min-Z 2041-0 "

- Official Gazette of the Reichspostministeriums - Announcements of the Deutsche Reichspost - Issue A : Berlin, July 1, 1941, No. 61, Order No. 353/1941, pp. 409-410

Motif and printing process

Brush trigger

Comparison between:
intaglio printing 787 + 788 and letterpress printing: 826 + 827

Special postcard: "Founding conference of the European Youth Association Vienna 1942"

The motif was - with marginal differences from the Reichsmark values ​​- the same on all 23 stamps and showed the right half of Adolf Hitler's face in profile. Furthermore, the parting of the hair, the light shirt collar, the tie and a dark suit collar can be recognized.

The design for the values ​​between 1 and 80 Pfennig came from Richard Klein and for the values ​​from 1 to 5 Reichsmark from Wilhelm Dachauer , the engraving was done by Ferdinand Lorber . The permanent series was produced in two different printing processes, letterpress and intaglio printing . The values ​​had four different brand sizes, which increased with the increasing brand value.

As a definitive stamp series, this was also used on postal stationery as a value stamp for picture and postcards . A total of 18 different card templates have been published, including three picture postcards with 1098 different motifs and three special postcards.

As with all other special postage stamps that showed Hitler since 1937 , the Reichspost had to pay him compensation for the rights to his own picture for depicting Hitler . This idea was brought to Hitler by Martin Bormann , the personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann and the responsible post minister Wilhelm Ohnesorge . The share of sales was small, but since brands appeared in all value levels, millions were raised for the private box managed by Bormann.

While the previous series Hindenburg-Medaillon Fraktur , d. H. had a "Gothic" or broken font as the font , the Hitler series was now labeled in Antiqua . On January 3, 1941, Adolf Hitler had decided that the “Gothic” fonts should all be abandoned in favor of the “normal” font; "Normal script" was the name for the fonts that were previously called the Latin script.

List of brands

German Empire

Most of the stamps in the series (18 of 25) appeared on August 1, 1941. The four stamps of 1 to 5 Reichsmarks followed on March 20, 1942. In December 1942, the changeover to letterpress instead of intaglio printing took place with the values ​​of 10 and 12 Reichspfennig. In 1944 the last stamp of the series for 42 Reichspfennig appeared, which differs from the others by the lettering Großdeutsches Reich .

The listing takes place in ascending order of the postage values, with the same postage values ​​according to the date of issue. For some values, the exact date of issue is not known (these are marked with "?").

image	Value in pennies	Issue date	Printing process	particularities	Michel no.
	1	August 1, 1941	Letterpress		781
	3	August 1, 1941	Letterpress	Served as a template for falsified propaganda	782
	4th	August 1, 1941	Letterpress	Served as a template for falsified propaganda	783
	5	August 1, 1941	Letterpress		784
	6th	August 1, 1941	Letterpress	Served as a template for falsified propaganda	785
	8th	August 1, 1941	Letterpress		786
	10	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		787
	10	?. December 1942	Letterpress	Now letterpress instead of intaglio printing	826
	12	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing	Served as a template for falsified propaganda, sometimes the head was replaced by a skull and the lettering changed to Futsche's Reich.	788
	12	?. December 1942	Letterpress	Now letterpress instead of intaglio printing	827
	15th	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		789
	16	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		790
	20th	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		791
	24	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		792
	25th	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		793
	30th	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		794
	40	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing	Was used from November 24, 1944 with the imprint 'FELDPOST / 2 kg' as an approval stamp for field post parcels.	795
	42	?. ???? 1944	Intaglio printing	Last stamp of the permanent series lettering: GROSSDEUTSCHES REICH	A795
	50	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		796
	60	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		797
	80	August 1, 1941	Intaglio printing		798
	1 RM	March 20, 1942	Intaglio printing 1942: Perfix perforation line perforation 12½ 1944: perforated comb perforation 14		799
	2 RM	March 20, 1942	Intaglio printing 1942: Perfix perforation line perforation 12½ 1944: perforated comb perforation 14		800
	3 RM	March 20, 1942	Intaglio printing 1942: Perfix perforation line perforation 12½ 1944: perforated comb perforation 14		801
	5 RM	March 20, 1942	Intaglio printing 1942: Perfix perforation line perforation 12½ 1944: perforated comb perforation 14		802

Stamp booklet

Complete stamp booklet sheet 70, from which stamp booklet sheets 119 and 120 come

From December 1941, the series was published in the most common values ​​for postcards and letters in two different stamp booklets. Both had five stamp booklet sheets and a face value of 2 Reichsmarks.

Note: The following numbers refer to the respective Michel number.

• Stamp booklet 48 contains the following stamp booklet sheets: 117, 118, 119, 120 and 122
• Stamp booklet 49 contains the following stamp booklet sheets: 117, 118, 119, 121 and 122

The booklets contain three different advertisement text on the second cover page: eraser , pen , stylus . There was also self-promotion for postal products or requests:

• Save at / the Post / Sparkasse!
• Become a postal check participant!
• Congratulations / through / jewelry leaf / telegrams!
• Support / the German / Red Cross!
• Join the / NSV !

Postal stationery

As a definitive stamp series, this was also used on postal stationery as a value stamp for picture and postcards . A total of 18 different card templates have been published, including three picture postcards with 1098 different motifs and three special postcards. There was also a pneumatic tube card.

image	Value in pennies	Issue date	Postal stationery type	Printing process	particularities	Michel no.
	5	August 1, 1941	postcard	Form in Antiqua sender's note three-line letterpress		P 298
	6th	August 1, 1941	postcard	like P298		P 299
	15th	August 1, 1941	postcard	like P298		P 300
	5/5	August 1, 1941	Postcard with reply card	like P298		P 301
	6/6	August 1, 1941	Postcard with reply card	like P298		P 302
	15/15	August 1, 1941	Postcard with reply card	like P298		P 303
	6th	> August 1, 1941	Picture postcard	Form in Antiqua Berliner Druck rotogravure printing	72 different motifs	P 304
	6th	> August 1, 1941	Picture postcard	Form in Antiqua Wiener Druck grid gravure	375 different motifs	P 305
	3	October 3, 1941	Special card		6. Reichsbundestag of the Reichsbund der Philatelisten. Value stamp in the laurel wreath. The left picture shows the stamp with the Michel no. 662	P 306
	6th	1942	Picture postcard		651 different motifs, under the word postcard there is a note: Only permitted in Germany	P 307
	3	January 11, 1942	Special postage stamp day card		Four different motifs of the Afrikakorps Deutsche Feldpost, Kriegsmarine Organization Todt	P 308
	6th	September 12, 1942	Special card		Founding meeting of the European Youth Association in Vienna in 1942	P 309
	6th	November 5, 1942	Special card		Same as P 309 plus: 5th day of the wholesale German stamp trade in Stuttgart, November 5th to 8th, 1942	P 309 I.
	6/6	November 5, 1942	Postcard with reply card	Letterpress	Card for Eastern workers employed in Germany. Trilingual form in German, Russian and Ukrainian	P 310
	5	1943/1944	postcard	Letterpress	with propaganda form at the bottom left	P 311
	6th	1943/1944	postcard	Letterpress	with nine different propaganda forms at the bottom left	P 312
	5	1944	postcard	Letterpress		P 313
	6th	1944	postcard	Letterpress		P 314
	55	October 1941	Pneumatic postcard	Form in Antiqua letterpress		RP 26

German occupation issues

Independent series in Bohemia and Moravia

In the occupied territories during the Second World War, the stamp was also available with the respective imprints. These included the Reichskommissariat Ostland and the Ukraine from November 1941. In Courland , there was also an imprint for civil mail shortly before the end of the war, as all land connections were cut off; for this, the stocks of the field post control center in Libau were used. In the Generalgouvernement stamps were used in the same design as for the RM values, but in the currency Złoty and with the additional lettering Generalgouvernement , from October 26, 1941 the definitive stamp series. The design also came from Wilhelm Dachauer. The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was from 1 July 1942, a separate definitive stamp series with a portrait of Hitler in the currency crowns out. Here, however, the left half of the face was shown. The design comes from Josef Sejpka , the engraving was done by Jaroslav Goldschmied .

• 

  Independent series in the Generalgouvernement in the same drawing

• 

  Ostland , from November 4, 1941

• 

  Ukraine from November 14, 1941

• 

  Courland , from April 20, 1945

Field post

Michel number 3 field post

See also : German field post in World War II

The stamp with the Michel number 795 was issued with a two-line imprint 'FELDPOST / 2 kg' as an approval stamp for field post parcels up to 2 kg from November 24, 1944 in a one-off campaign to units with field post numbers , after the entire field post parcel traffic exceeded 100 Gramm had already been discontinued due to the war.

The stamps were intended exclusively for field post parcels with winter clothing from home to the front.

Re-use after the end of the war

Local editions

The Ravensburger postage stamp with the Lorraine cross mentioned in the text (see below)

Upper sheet margins

After the capitulation and the resumption of mail traffic, the remaining stamps in Germany and Austria were partly overprinted and continued to be used by the Allied occupying powers due to the lack of material. Such local re-uses are known from:

• Bad Schmiedeberg from June 15 to the end of July 1945 (round rubber stamp imprint in black or blue, with a diameter of 18 to 19 mm)
• Braunsbedra only used in July 1945 (round cork stamp or informal)
• Döbeln mid-June to August 6, 1945 (letterpress overprint of a rectangle made of dot squares, above the place name, below the date '6.5.1945', which commemorates the invasion of the Russian troops)
• Erkner known use from May 14, 1945 to May 28, 1945 (round black cork stamp)
• Finsterwalde sample prints from July 18, 1945 known
• Grabow from May to July 27, 1945
• Meißen from June 15 to June 23, 1945 (horizontal hand stamp overprint 'Deutschlands Verderber' in different colors)
• Netzschkau -Reichenbach from July 25 to August 8, 1945
• Perleberg from June 11 to June 26, 1945
• Rothenburg (about Könnern) between 14th and 18th July 1945 (round to oval blackening with ink or copier)
• Schwarzenberg May to June 1945
• Wittenberg Lutherstadt May to August 14, 1945
• In Austria , too , the stamps were overprinted in various ways for local post traffic in Vienna (from May 2, 1945) and for post traffic between Vienna and Lower Austria (from May 18). From June 4th, following an order from the occupying power , another print had to be made that made the portrait of Hitler unrecognizable; Each post office had to procure the required additional stamp from suitable material (mostly a cork was used for this). From June 21st, the stamps were directly provided with a grid print consisting of 13 to 15 lines. These stamps were valid until June 27, 1945. In the Graz local issues for the area of Styria temporarily occupied by the Red Army , the stamps with a vertical imprint 'Austria' between three lines were issued from May 22nd and June 9th to July 2nd, 1945.

• 

  Only lettering "Austria" (validity: May 2 to June 27, 1945)

• 

  as before, only with an additional cork stamp so that you can no longer recognize the face at all

• 

  Additionally with lines or grid printing (June 21/25 to June 27, 1945)

• 

  Graz edition

Unofficial expenses or private products

In some cities stamps have also appeared; but these were not official issues and are considered private products. Some of these products also found their way onto real letters.

• Bad Saarow (Mark) in July 1945
• Barsinghausen May 1945 (two or three crossbeams)
• A series of stamps was produced in Ravensburg at the instigation of the French occupation forces , but not used in German postal traffic (Lothringer Kreuz with the text: RHIN / DANUBE / 1ere AF / April 28, 1945 / RAVENSBURG )

The same applies to various places in Czechoslovakia such as Aussig , Rumburg . After the armistice, the remaining German stamps from the Hitlerkopf edition from 1941 and stamps from Bohemia and Moravia with overprint and hand stamp overprints, place names and coats of arms, the year 1945 appeared in various designs. These local editions have not been recognized by the Central Post Office in Prague and are considered a private product. Letters that were actually sent were transported by chance. In the case of a brand defect, only cash franking was officially required.

Counterfeiting to damage the postal service and for propaganda purposes

The series served the British and US armed forces and their secret services as a template for counterfeiting to damage the post office and for propaganda purposes. Counterfeits are brands that are similar to the original brands. In the case of falsified propaganda, the motif (skull) or the inscription (Futsches Reich) were consciously changed. The following only deals with the special use of the Hitler series, further forgeries are included in the article forgery of stamps .

Counterfeits from the United States

The US government recognized the potential for war mail and propaganda forgery during World War II. At first it began with the forgery of the two postage stamps of 6 and 12 Reichspfennig of the German Reich. The forgeries differ greatly from the original postage stamps in terms of perforation , paper and gumming . These forgeries were produced in the fall of 1944 by a US field post printer of the OSS in occupied Rome . They served to cause confusion among the enemy: They were stuck on letters, given forged postmarks (Vienna 8, Vienna 40, Hanover 1) and dropped over the south of the German Reich by aircraft in Operation Cornflakes . Such letters with invented sender names , forged stamps and postmarks were found especially in the vicinity of Vienna, the second largest city in the German Empire at the time . The letters contained propaganda material. Even a whole mailbag with these forged letters was delivered in Berlin. In addition to the stamped war post forgeries, there are still mint items today, as not all of the letters were used up. The forged stamps were printed on a different sheet size than the original editions.

• 

  Original sheet of the 12 pfennig issue

• 

  Counterfeit
  6-pfennig bow

• 

  Counterfeit
  12-pfennig bow

• 

  Counterfeit
  12-pfennig bow with Hitler as a skull

Soon afterwards, the Americans issued the first falsified propaganda. The postage stamp series of the German Reich with the portrait of Hitler also served as a template .

Links: real stamp, right: Propaganda forgery putsch Empire

In the crimson red 12 Reichspfennig value, a skeleton resembling a skull was inserted into Hitler's face . The inscription was changed from "German Reich" to " Futsches Reich". This falsification of propaganda has not yet become known as a stamp. The stamp pad was forged on the occasion of Hitler's birthday in 1937 according to a similar principle . On the four stamps of the block, which originally showed Adolf Hitler, you can see Hitler's skull above numerous graves . The values ​​have been replaced by small gallows . The inscription "German Reich 1944" was added to the lower lines. Of these two propaganda forgeries, there are in turn forgeries to the detriment of collectors.

Propaganda forgeries of field postcards were also produced.

Counterfeits from Great Britain

Free invention of the British: Himmler instead of Hitler

Left real Hitler stamp from the Generalgouvernement. Right free invention of the British, illustration shows the then governor Hans Frank

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

From the 'Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler' stamp series, stamps were stuck onto four different cards and given a text. There are no stamped pieces, but there are imperforated proofs.

The first propaganda forgery was based on the German series of Hitler postage stamps and replaced Adolf Hitler with Heinrich Himmler . There are two clearly different variants, but there are imperforated proofs of the first type. No copies have yet been found with genuine stamps, all known documents are clearly forgeries to the detriment of collectors.

In addition, the British produced a war propaganda forgery of the Hitler stamp from the Generalgouvernement . The stamp showed Hans Frank instead of Hitler . The stamps were made in England and used with propaganda inscriptions by the Polish underground movement. Most of the letters have real postmarks from 1943, but mostly just as a courtesy . A real transport in the postal service is not yet known.

Hitler propaganda vignettes

As early as the Reichstag election in March 1933 , there were vignettes as election propaganda. The vignettes showed Hitler in a frontal photo and the caption "Our Hope" and were sold in booklets of 20 for 20 pfennigs and had no postage value. The printed sheets were produced by “Branddruck Verlags-Anstalt Braunschweig”. They were mostly stuck next to valid postage stamps. Uses from May 1, 1933 to January 25, 1943 are known.

Philatelic evaluation

General evaluation

As a definitive stamp series with a validity of almost four years, the series does not normally represent a philatelic or valuable highlight and is comparatively cheap in the cheapest variant, which is sufficient for a national collection of the German Empire . Motif collectors in the series, on the other hand, rate not only each individual brand, but also the varieties that have been created . These differ in this series by differently colored paper (yellow and green), missing perforation, incorrect printing “F” or by an “E” that looks like a Cyrillic “Б” in “D E UTSCHES REICH” (“D F UTSCHES” or . "D Б UTSCHES"). Unused brands show differences in the gumming , this is also taken into account. For collectors something valuable (except the default values for letters and cards) stocks that are still on complete postal park types , postal depot cards , envelopes or postcards are. The same applies to postal stationery, i.e. official postcards and picture postcards, since the place and date of dispatch can usually be seen on the postmark.

Evaluation in the GDR

Owning these brands was not prohibited in the GDR . Like all postage stamps of the National Socialist German Reich , however, they were not officially allowed to be traded or issued. In the Lipsia stamp catalog of the GDR they were neither depicted nor numbered:

"Since the German working class lacked the unified Marxist leadership and" the bourgeoisie was no longer able to rule with the old methods of parliamentarism and bourgeois democracy "( Stalin ), the open fascist dictatorship was established on January 30, 1933 which the most predatory imperialism and the most egregious terror came to power.
Since the consequences of the Hitler era are still too noticeable today, we believe that the consent of progressive collectors will be assured if we refrain from cataloging the stamps published during this period. Thus the numbers 470–910, the official stamps 130–177 , the field post stamps and the German occupation expenses during the Second World War are no longer applicable . "

- Lipsia stamp catalog Europe 1957 Volume I, page 71. VEB Bibliografisches Institut Leipzig, 1956, III / 18/97 20 TB 152 Publishing license 433 130/72/56

In the GDR, VEB Philatelie Wermsdorf has been handling the sale of postage stamps, mainly for foreign countries , since 1972, generating annual amounts in the millions. Since the beginning of 1986, the company has been under the responsibility of the Commercial Coordination Department of the GDR Ministry for Foreign Trade , headed by Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski . The Wermsdorf Philateliebetrieb also sold the Adolf Hitler postage stamps and other issues of the German Reich that were in the remainder of the former Reichsdruckerei abroad .

literature

• Michel catalogs Schwaneberger, 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 .
  • Austria. In: Europe catalog. Volume 1: Central Europe 2008. ISBN 978-3-87858-863-4 .
• Frank Arnau : Lexicon of Philately. Lingen, Cologne 1972.
• Wolfgang Lotz (Ed.): German POST history, essays and pictures. Nicolai, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-87584-249-9 .
  • Gerd R. Ueberschär : The German Reichspost in the Second World War, p. 289 ff.
  • Stefan Martens: Post and Propaganda - The Third Reich and the postage stamps of the German Reichspost 1933–1945. P. 321 ff.

Web links

Commons : Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler series  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information on the counterfeiting of United States (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Stefan Martens, p. 328.
2. ↑ Sven Felix Kellerhoff : Adolf Hitler, Billionaire - A remarkable ARD documentary clears up the propaganda lie of the humble statesman , welt.de of August 27, 2002
3. ↑ Although this stamp was not published until 1944, it belongs to this set and therefore belongs to the 1941 year. In addition, unlike the other stamps, it contains the indication "GROSSDEUTSCHES REICH"
4. ↑ Michel-postal stationery catalog Germany 1999, p. 162 ff.
5. ↑ Michel Germany Special 1999, field post stamps / approval stamps for field post in World War II, p. 828.
6. ↑ Michel Europe Catalog: Central Europe 2008, Volume 1, p. 132 f.
7. ↑ Michel Europe Catalog, Volume 1, 2008, p. 610
8. ↑ Michel Germany Special 1999, p. 841
9. ↑ Wolfgang Baldus: The Hitler propaganda vignettes "Our Hope" . In: philatelie - the magazine for the Association of German Philatelists , issue 431, May 2013, 65th year, pp. 28–31
10. ^ Trade in postage stamps in the GDR: Philately Wermsdorf
11. ↑ What, then, is it all Hitler-Köppe? In: Der Spiegel . No. 38 , 1991, pp. 71-75 ( online ).

This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on November 15, 2009 .

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on November 15, 2009 .