Central courier service
The Central Courier Service was a postal service of the GDR Interior Ministry carried out by the Deutsche Post of the German Democratic Republic .
Service letters and mail
The fee redemption procedure for letters sent by the Reich authorities (free by redemption of the Reich) were not reintroduced after the war, as the official gazette for the Soviet occupation zone of Germany announced on September 15, 1947. There are mail items with notices of replacement from Saxony, meaning the upper post office districts Dresden and Chemnitz, known until the end of 1945.
The mail from the allied control authorities to authorities, companies and private individuals was free of charge. Under service mail items was understood emanating from post offices letter to occupation, state, national, provincial and municipal authorities, etc., and directed to individuals writing, which served not predominantly the recipient's own concerns, further answers to requests employment. From 1948 onwards, mailing as official mail was also permitted for contributions from Deutsche Post's company correspondence to the Post and Telecommunications Headquarters. These consignments were marked "Post Office" with details of the sender and the official seal or stamp. Such broadcasts were free of charge. Postal items , which mainly concerns the receiver own served were considered "Paid Service thing". If such items were not franked or insufficiently franked, only the actual shortfall was recovered until the 1959 postal regulations. With the exception of the period from January 15, 1947 to July 30, 1949, the yellow postal check envelopes were also classified as postal items.
Government mail and business mail
Letters for payment transactions from banks and savings banks with the note " Payment transactions " outlined in red were transported and removed at an accelerated rate from October 1948. No special fee was charged for this. At almost the same time, in November 1948, official mail was introduced. It was understood to mean the letters sent by all authorities and public organizations, etc. a. the state governments, district councils, mayors, police, courts. Employment offices, chambers of crafts, forest offices, chambers of industry and commerce, political parties, the Association of Mutual Farmers Aid , People's Solidarity , Free German Youth (FDJ) and the Women's Association (DFD). They were given preferential treatment with the note “Post by the authorities” above the address. No special fees were charged for this either. Such consignments were to be handed in to the post office at the agreed times if possible. They were then transported to their destination in bundles or bags labeled "Dienstpost" and delivered there as quickly as possible.
On March 15, 1949, all types of letters, parcels and parcels marked “Saat” or “Harvest” were approved as official mail. From August 1, 1949 on, mail sent to authorities by private senders (in particular lawyers, experts, etc.) could also be marked with the comment “authority mail”. For consignments that were regularly exchanged, it was suggested that they be sent as a station letter.
On March 15, 1950, the designation "official mail" was replaced by "business mail". The old name was still accepted. After all, the post of all businesses working for the national economy now also belonged to business mail and, as before, was processed separately from normal post in separate bundles.
Direct mail exchange 1951–1955
On January 2, 1951, a direct exchange of mail was set up between the government offices in Berlin and the Saxon state government. The government offices brought their mail by courier to the post office W 1 in the House of Ministries in Leipziger Strasse and received the items intended for them. According to an internal arrangement, the broadcasts were free of charge. They received the day stamp BERLIN W 1a or 1b. With the introduction of "Verwaltungspost A", the service ended on October 9, 1955.
Cold War
In the midst of the “ cold war ” between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, it was believed that measures in the GDR had to be taken to guarantee the security of the postal service of the state, administrative and economic organs. In February 1952, the Ministry of the Interior set up a postal service for mail between government agencies. It should be prevented that enemy forces could smuggle any documents into traffic. The authorities had their mail delivered to an agreed post office by a messenger. Such consignments were expedited separately from normal mail. The service was not specially marked on the broadcasts.
Valuable administrative mail 1952–1956
Administrative value mail was created on October 1, 1952 for important or valuable mail . This was a simplified procedure of the official value post, in which the value was waived. The coordination office marked the items with the note "Verwaltungswertpost", underlined in red from June 1, 1954. In addition to the postage fee, there was a fixed handling fee . All common franking options were permitted for franking, later only official stamps.
On July 1, 1954, the administrative mail was reorganized. Authorities, administrations and state-owned enterprises, consumption and other trading cooperatives as well as institutions and bodies of state organs were now obliged to send documents that were not classified as administrative mail. Sending to private individuals was prohibited. On March 31, 1956, the delivery of administrative mail was stopped.
Central courier service 1955–1956
The administrative mail procedure did not meet the security requirements of the government of the GDR and on October 10, 1955, a central courier service was set up. From October 10, 1955 to March 31, 1956, the next thing to do was administrative mail with a red “paid” stamp from Berlin. Corresponding mail items were delivered to the “Postamt Berlin 0 17” and stamped onwards there. Letters to Berlin had a normal stamp and therefore remained largely undetected. However, such items had transit stamps on the back.
All mail from the state, economic and other administrative bodies was sent by courier. This service went from Berlin to the districts and counties (from Oct. 10, 1956) and back (from Oct. 11, 1956). After the Central Courier Service began operating, the existing courier services within the German Democratic Republic had to be dissolved. The courier service of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was excluded from this. At the same time, comprehensive instructions for Deutsche Post employees were issued. The Minister of the Interior was responsible for the Central Courier Service (ZKD), and the Minister for Post and Telecommunications was responsible for the now restricted procedure with official stamps until it was closed on June 7, 1960.
The internal name of the German Post for postal items with official stamps was "Verwaltungspost". With the establishment of the Central Courier Service, a distinction became necessary. A distinction was made between "Verwaltungspost A" (with official stamp) and "Verwaltungspost B". In both cases, the task of the post was acceptance, sorting, transport and delivery. This central courier service existed until March 31, 1956.
Official stamps
On August 15, 1954, official stamps were issued in agreement with the Ministry of the Interior . All state organs, all state institutions, the companies and administrations of the state-owned economy, the organs of state trade and the state-owned credit institutions are obliged to issue those which originate from them and which are directed towards places in the German Democratic Republic or towards the democratic sector of Greater Berlin Franking postal items with official stamps. Upon request, political parties, democratic mass organizations and cooperatives can be allowed to use badges. Postage stamps can still be used if the value stamp is printed in blue. The official stamps may only be used for the franking of official mail. Their consumption must be monitored. Service deliveries were to be delivered at the counter designated by the post office against a special ID at times agreed in advance. Posting it through the mailbox was prohibited. The use of ordinary postage stamps was prohibited. The maximum weight of such items was 1 kg, parcels and parcels were not permitted. To speed up the service mail, these were not sent to Dept. 12. Department 12 was the censorship office of the Ministry for State Security (MfS).
Over time, new institutions were added, even companies in which the state was only involved. At first there were no comprehensive instructions, and security gaps appeared. The post office was responsible for enforcement, but the orders of the Ministry of the Interior were strictly confidential, mostly only given verbally.
The Central Courier Service introduced new stamps in 1956. After the Central Courier Service began its work, badges were still used in dealings with recipients who did not belong to the ZKD. The use of the official stamps was permitted until June 7, 1960 and blue franking until May 15, 1960. Official stamps were not allowed to be sold unmounted. After official stamps were suspended, the remaining stocks were sold to collectors, and individual issues were even reprinted.
Central courier service 1956–1960
During this period, in addition to the Central Courier Service ZKD of the Ministry of the Interior, which is based on postal facilities, there was also administrative mail A as business mail, franked with official stamps and carried by the post office. On April 1, 1956, the central state organs, councils of the districts, districts, cities, city districts and municipalities, state-owned companies and state institutions and facilities of the German Insurance Company, the state-owned goods and the state-owned trade were connected to the central courier service.
With a few specified exceptions, the Central Courier Service was not allowed to send any consignments to political parties, cooperatives, banks, savings banks or private individuals. If it was official mail, it could still be posted as business mail, according to the regulations in force there, with official stamps or postage stamps. The letters (including parcels) without additional services had to be franked by the sender with special stamps. The items were posted at the posting post office. The collection at the recipient post office had to be done by an authorized person at special counters. The mailings were kept for 30 days, then the envelopes were destroyed.
Every letter transported by the Central Courier Service had to have two control stamps on the front and on the back. If these were available, the letter was deemed to have been properly delivered. The stamp on the front and a stamp on the back must be affixed by the control point of the post office where the letter was posted (in Berlin always post office 0 17). The second stamp on the back was affixed by the control point of the delivery post office. The stamp is only made if the post has been posted and transported in accordance with the regulations. Letters that were transported within a district or a city only had a stamp on the back.
The documents that had been declared a "confidential official matter" were sent via courier like administrative mail A. Security was guaranteed even without a receipt from Deutsche Post. The responsible post offices could only provide information on purely postal matters. Information on questions relating to the handling of Administrative Mail A and the courier service was to be obtained from the secretaries of the councils, who could turn to the Ministry of the Interior in cases of doubt.
From October 1, 1956, the use of ZKD postage stamps in purple was also permitted instead of the ZKD stamps. A ZKD number appeared on the outside of the letters. in the sender or recipient information. Since March 1, 1957, letters marked "With a delivery document" could be posted. Such was also given for letters marked “with a posting slip”. As of August 1, 1958, a VD number was included under the note "Confidential official matter". to specify.
In the law on the postal and telecommunications system of April 3, 1959, Section 4 regulates the rights of government bodies other than those of the post office as of August 1, 1959:
- The Minister of National Defense has the right to post and telecommunications equipment and press products intended for national defense. ( Field post )
- The Minister of the Interior exercises the right for the state courier service.
On September 30, 1960, all security labels of the Central Courier Service became invalid. As before, all stamps and tokens for the Central Courier Service were not allowed to be given to private individuals while they were valid. The used envelopes had to be kept for up to three months for control purposes and then destroyed. The sale of canceled stamps to collectors was prohibited. From 1957 the stamps had to be torn down in order to lose value for collectors. Only after the period of use were the ZKD security strips handed in and sometimes even reprinted.
Central courier service 1960–1972
From June 15, 1960 onwards, the postage paid for with ZKD value strips was gradually replaced by a ZDK rectangular stamp. The postage was charged
From September 1, 1960, all ZKD security strips were invalid. ZKD sender postage stamps in violet or blue with monthly fee invoicing were required for franking. Rolled packets were allowed in the same arrangement. The maximum weight was 4,000 g (exceptions were permitted). All shipments were still permitted with a delivery certificate or as confidential official items. The address and designation of the ZKD participant and the name and position of the recipient were to be stated on the outside. Confidential official items were to be identified with a stamp, including the registration number and the year. After three months, the envelopes had to be recycled.
From June 15, 1963, the address must also include the sector, subject area, department, etc. in which the recipient was active in the case of confidential official matters.
From April 1, 1965, confidential official matters were also permitted in roll form. The maximum weight was 4,000 g, the additional services had to be released with appropriate stamps.
Since November 15, 1967, instead of the stickers “VD” and “ZU”, a stamp “VD” or “ZU” in red was permitted. The stickers remained valid until September 1, 1969.
Central courier service 1972–1988
The Central Courier Service was reorganized on March 1, 1972 by an order for the protection of official secrets of December 6, 1971. Sender franking mark with a special value field "Central courier service" and box stamp were no longer allowed to be used.
The tasks of the central courier service on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior were carried out by Deutsche Post for a fee. (Bulky goods surcharge for shipments with a maximum length of more than 80 cm)
The rules about the outside changed. Window envelopes were not allowed. In addition to the exact address, the stamp "Only for official use" or "Confidential official matter" with a VD number or "With a certificate of delivery" was rejected, depending on the degree of confidentiality. Shipments that were posted without such a stamp were subsequently given the stamp “Only for official use” and a handwritten “T” for transport. Shipments for which the sender requested proof of duties had to be provided with a transport number. The Post was liable to pay compensation for such items. The mailings could not be stamped. The fees were certified in the ZKD outgoing book, the fees paid by cash payment or offset. The additional fees for "VD" and "ZU" were charged as before. The distribution of packaging material to collectors was officially prohibited.
Central courier service 1988–1990
A new order on confidentiality and one on official matters, both dated February 3, 1988, came into effect on April 1, 1988. They brought a new redesign and simplification of the Central Courier Service. A stamp “ZKD” was to be attached next to the address. The People's Police were able to specify the use of additional letters in the “ZKD” stamp for certain state organs. The transport number had to be entered if a special itemized record was required. The designation “delivery document” was required if proof of delivery was required. If only the head of the department opened the letter, the note "personally" had to be added. All other markings were not allowed. At first there were transition difficulties.
By resolution of the Council of Ministers of the GDR on March 14, 1990, the Central Courier Service became part of Deutsche Post on May 1, 1990. Nothing has changed in terms of structures and runtimes. However, fees “covering the costs” were levied (price card sheet 15/90). The senders were free to use the courier service. The comment "personally" was no longer permitted. With disposal VMBl. VF No. 99 (ruling and notification sheet, ruling no. 99) of June 20, 1990, the central courier service was discontinued on July 1, 1990.
Web links
literature
- Peter Tichatzky: "On the history of the Deutsche Post - from the services of the Deutsche Post" series of publications on the GDR collection area, issue 1, 1996. GDR special.
- Werner Steven: "GDR Postbuch 1947 - 1989 edited from official sources", Braunschweig, 2002, self-published.