GPS May 2020

railway system effectively, so they clearly needed to supplement their
forces. This was achieved by employing local civilians after the East
Front moved eastward, most of whom had previously worked for the
Soviet state railway. Accounts regarding the number of employees and
the length of the railway system operated vary greatly; between about
36,950, of which about 11,390 were Germans, operating about 2,040
kilometers of tracks, to about 58,420, of which about 10,280 were
Germans, operating about 2,520 kilometers of track. Regardless of the
true number of civilian employees, identity papers and proof of employment
were necessary.
THE STAMPS
For security purposes, bilingual German/Russian identification
papers and ID cards were issued to the local civilian Feldeisenbahn
employees. Monthly validation of an individual’s ID card required a
cancelled proof of employment, or a so-called evidence stamp.
Based on this, it is reasonable to assume exactly 12 colors make a
complete set of each type. Image 1 shows 12 different color unoverprinted
stamps and 12 different color overprinted stamps. While the
colors are all different in each set, note there is a close correspondence
between colors in the unoverprinted and overprinted sets.
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152
German Postal Specialist