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German Postal
Specialist
June 2020
Volume 71 No. 05
Whole No. 780
Propaganda Stamps
by Wolfgang Baldus Page 198
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German Postal Specialist
German Postal Specialist
Volume LXXI, No. 05 Whole Number 780 June 2020
Columns
President’s Message....................................196
Letters to the Editor.....................................198
Articles
An Odd Propaganda Stamp Issue: The
So-Called “Vlasov Stamps”
by Wolfgang Baldus.......................................198
Disrupted Mail To and From Germany During
the Arab-Israeli Conflict
by Larry Nelson............................................. 220
Zeppelin Matchmaker: LZ-126 / XR3
Trial Flight
byCheryl R. Ganz........................................... 228
News
Membership Renewal................................. 227
Announcement from the Third Reich
Study Group
by Christopher Kolker, M.D............................231
New Issues.................................................... 232
GPS Chapters................................................ 236
GPS Study Groups........................................ 237
Adlets............................................................. 238
Germany
Philatelic Society
Dedicated to the documentation,
preservation, advancement and promotion
of the stamps and postal history of
Germany and its related areas through
education, study, research and services.
Rudi Anders, President
3230 E. 24th Street.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
rudi.anders@iphouse.com
Don Unverrich, Vice-President
PO Box 10285,
Ogden UT 84409
516mru@gmail.com
Marcus Meyerotto
Secretary-Treasurer
PO Box 40
St. Charles, MO 63302-0040
marcusmeyerotto@gmail.com
Peter Weisensel, Editor of the
German Postal Specialist
502 Lynnhurst Ave. E., #404, St. Paul,
MN 55104.
weisensel01@gmail.com
Peter Weisensel & Rudi Anders
Advertising Managers
Germany Philatelic Society
www.germanyphilatelicsocietyusa.org
American Philatelic Society Affiliate No. 48
Opinions of the authors expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Germany
Philatelic Society.
Copyright 2020, Germany Philatelic Society. The German Postal Specialist
(ISSN: 0016-8823) is published 12 times per year by the Germany Philatelic
Society. Periodical postage paid at Chesterfield MO 63006-6547 and additional
mailing offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Germany Philatelic Society, 627 Goodrich
Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105-3522. Subscription rate $40 annually. Single copies $3.
Lena and Don Unverrich
GPS Research Librarians
P.O. Box 10285
Ogden, UT 84409
Email: 516mru@gmail.com
Ph. 801-309-0466
Harold E. Peter
Director International Relations
37850 S. Golf Course Drive
Tucson, AZ 85739
hepeteramgs@aol.com
June 2020 195
President’s Message
Rudi Anders
Dues Are Due
Jerry Jensen, our Zoom commander, ably hosted
our just concluded Annual meeting of the GPS Board of Directors. We
had almost perfect attendance, I hope we can fix that for our next meeting,
planned for September 2020. The two hour meeting allowed us to
focus on membership retention and our budget. I hope the Board can
continue to meet via Zoom every 3 or 4 months because we can adjust to
unforeseen contingencies more quickly. These meeting will also allow us
to work more effectively by not being time-constrained to 2 hour per year.
Membership: As I’ve written in past months, we do not want to
raise dues. The GPS Board of directors agreed. The implications are
that we will not cover our costs with dues – no surprise, because we’ve
not done that for years. But if membership declines…. ? So it’s obvious
that we ALL must work to keep members. Elsewhere in this issue
you’ll find the Dues Envelope and a statement concerning membership
options. Please find that envelope today, write a check or pay via PayPal.
That helps us by not having to contact you again and it prevents you from
forgetting to renew or losing the envelope.
Budget: Since last June, we have been fortunate in raising $11K in
direct donations and over $8K via donation auctions. We’ve taken steps
to reduce costs by going from 12 to 10 issues of the Specialist and do not
have some start-up costs we had in the past year. But we still anticipate
a shortfall of $10K to $12K. As noted above, the Board has agreed to not
increase dues nor cut Specialist costs by further reducing the number of
issue. So we will continue to ask for donations and continue our donation
auctions and sales. We will also provide an incentive:
The GPS Board has decided to donate at least $3,000 in matching
funds to members who send donation with their dues. So please help – do
your part and your gift will be matched by our gift.
Thanks: This is also a good time for me to express my thanks to the
GPS Board and officers for their work. I’m reminded that when I joined
the Society one of the perks of being on the Board was that its members
received – at the very least a reimbursement for their hotel costs. Ah, the
good old days – that ceased in about 1992. So consider that these folks
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German Postal Specialist
do not get paid, they volunteer their time and we should all be grateful
for their efforts on behalf of the Society. Thanks also to our Editor, Peter
Weisensel, Michael Wilhelm, our very industrious webmaster, and our
auction manager, Rainer Jaeschke.
Now – find that Dues Envelope, write the check and remind fellow
members to do the same.
Letters to the Editor
I always enjoy reading the GPS and I thank
everyone concerned in its production.
I particularly enjoyed the letter about Bavarian
beer laws. I drink German beer here in Guernsey
CI - Great Britain but much of what I consume is Becks non-alcoholic
version. May I remind all concerned that fermentation of food such
as bread and cheese has been around for ages (three or four thousand
years), and that fermentation is also a part of making wine and yogurt.
Again my thanks for all your good work
Leonard Deighton
With so many GPSers homebound and
bored because of COVID-19, now is a
good time to investigate the dealer and
auction websites, to merge new stamp
purchases with the old in your albums,
to write up descriptions of recently
purchased covers (e.g., why did I buy
this?), or to verify your old identification
of problematic, pesky varieties.
June 2020 197
An Odd Propaganda Stamp Issue:
The So-Called „Vlasov Stamps“
Wolfgang Baldus
In 1946, the German publishing house Albert Kürzl of Munich,
publisher of the stamp journal Sammler-Woche (Collectors’ Week), printed
a short note in its “Neuheitenliste Nr. 1” (list of new issues No. 1) about
some hitherto unknown stamps. The note referred to five stamps, which
are, until today, erroneously called the “Vlasov stamps” (German spelling:
Wlassow). They illustrate rural scenes of Russia and are inscribed in
Cyrillic “ПОЧТА” (Post) with the denominations in kopecs and roubles
(Image 1).
Image 1. The so-called “Vlasov stamps” turned up in Germany in early 1946.
For years philatelic authors debated about the true nature of these
stamps but their origin remained unknown. The most plausible explanation
seemed to be a Russian liberation issue possibly connected with
the activities of the Russian Red Army General Andrey Andreyevich
Vlasov, who played a certain role in German propaganda operations in
World War II.
When the German Reich attacked the Soviet Union in summer
1941,Vlasov was already a highly decorated General in the Red Army.
In the spring of 1942, his troops attempted to lift the German siege of
Leningrad. The attempt failed, Vlasov escaped, hid in German occupied
territory for ten days before he was betrayed by a farmer and
taken prisoner by Nazi general Georg Lindemann on 12 July 1942.
Imprisoned in Germany as prisoner-of-war No. 16901, Vlasov changed
sides and claimed that during his ten days in hiding it got clearer
than ever in his mind that Stalin and Bolshevism were the greatest
enemies of the Russian people. The German propagandists realized
that Vlasov might be very helpful in future anti-Bolshevik propaganda
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German Postal Specialist
operations. He was taken to Berlin under the protection of the Abteilung
Wehrmachtpropaganda (WPr, the propaganda department of the
Wehrmacht). In late 1942, WPr invented the ”Smolensk committee”,
a fictitious committee of anti-Bolshevik Russians who allegedly met
in Smolensk, the town that was to become the future seat of the new
imaginary Russian government under the leadership of Vlasov. The
“committee” issued an anti-Bolshevik leaflet containing the “Smolensk
Proclamation” that was dropped by the millions on Soviet troops and
territories. In the spring of 1943 Vlasov published an open letter titled
“Why Have I Taken Up the Struggle Against Bolshevism”. Vlasov’s
appeals were an important factor in the German campaign for the
recruitment of a Russian liberation army. To support the campaign,
Vlasov was even sent to Russia accompanied by a delegation of Germans
and Russians
Image 2. This German leaflet of 1943 illustrates General Vlasov visiting Smolensk.
The caption reads: “Lieutenant general A.A. Wlassow (third from left), chairman of
the Russian Committee, during his reception of important representatives of the
Russian liberation army returning from the front; far right – the secretary of the
Russian committee Major General V. F. Malyshkin.”
However, the idea of a Russian liberation army was vehemently
denied by Hitler in 1942 and 1943, and it was only in 1944 when the
Russian Liberation Army (Русская освободительная армия,
Russkaya osvoboditel’naya armiya, РОА/ROA) also known as the
Vlasov army (Власовская армия, Vlasovskaya armiya) was created, a
June 2020 199
collaborationist army primarily Russian led by general Andrey Vlasov
but under German command.
Thus, thinking of a liberation stamp issue for a post-Bolshevik “Free
Russia” under its leader Vlasov was not far-fetched and seemed plausible
despite the peaceful and harmless illustrations that do not match a struggle
for freedom at all. The scenes illustrated on the stamps seemed to
demonstrate that a new Russia would have postage stamps depicting the
country’s peaceful and prospering future. They were different from the
Soviet postage stamps of the time that usually were reminiscent of wars
or revolutions and illustrated fighting scenes, Soviet heroes, Communist
orders and medals or the like.
After a decade of speculations, an interesting find was made. In
1959, the German philatelic journal Deutsche Briefmarken-Zeitung
(DBZ) reported the discovery of an envelope containing the printing
contract for the stamps in question [2] (Image 3). The text of this
contract, however, was published – and the document illustrated – only
fifteen years later, in 1974 [7]. It revealed that the printing of the stamps
was ordered by the German “Propaganda-Abteilung W” (propaganda
department W) in July 1943. Another twenty years passed before the
history of the “Vlasov stamps” was told by Karl F. Heide and F. E. Graf
Kesselstatt in a long and detailed article that was published (in German)
in the DBZ in the issues No. 24 and 25/1993 [8]. An English translation
of it appeared only 13 years later in Czechout, the bulletin of the
Czechoslovak Philatelic Society of Great Britain, in the issue 4/2006
[9]. A write-up in Russian written by Vadim Yakobs was published in
the Russian philatelic journal Filateliya in April and May 2009 [10]. It
seems everything has been said about the history and background of the
“Vlasov stamps”. However, some statements and conclusions made by
Kesselstatt/Heide have to be questioned.
The “Propaganda-Abteilung W” (PAW) was one of the large
German propaganda departments that operated in Eastern Europe
and the Soviet Union in World War II. The letter “W” stands for
“Weißrussland” or “Weißruthenien” (White Russia or White Ruthenia).
PAW, commanded by Major Albert Kost, was assigned to the
“Heeresgruppe Mitte” (Army Group Center) (Image 4). The headquarters
of PAW was in Smolensk, a town approx. 400 miles southwest of
Moscow.
In late 1942, when the preparations for the stamp issue must have
begun, the German propaganda in Russia concentrated primarily on
three major topics: First, the fight against the Bolshevik partisans and
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German Postal Specialist
Image 3. The original printing contract was discovered in 1959.
the Jews, second, a land reform that included the abolition of the collective
farms and the reinstatement of free Russian farmers on their own
land, and third, the “Ostarbeiterpropaganda”, i.e. the propaganda to
encourage Russians to enlist as laborers in Germany [11]. It is evident
from the illustrations that the stamps were included in a propaganda
campaign concerned with the land reform. This agricultural reform was,
in simplified terms, mainly based on the following simple facts:
June 2020 201
Image 4. Major Friedrich Albert Kost (1897 –
1947) was a farmer from Westphalia. He was
Obersturmbannführer of the SS and worked
as a so-called “Stoßtruppenredner” (propaganda
lecturer) for the German propaganda
ministry. Since 1941 he commanded the
Propaganda Department W (PAW).
Enough food for the
several hundred thousand
German soldiers operating in
the Soviet Union could only
be provided by confiscating
cattle and grain etc. from the
local farmers. To guarantee the
future provisions for the army,
it was essential that the farmers
would continue farming and
cattle breeding even after being
looted and mistreated by the
Germans. Therefore, a major
task for PAW was to convince
the local population that all the
German cruelties, the deportations
and assassinations of
thousands of people, the plunderings
and destructions were
in the end for the benefit of the
Russians and were directed only
against the “criminal Bolshevik
partisans” and the Jews, which
allegedly were the true enemies
of the Russians, while the Germans were the true liberators of Russia)
(Image 5).
Image 5. Three German propaganda posters of the land reform campaign. They
are inscribed “The new agricultural order for the industrious farmer – the basis for
wealth” (left, 1942), “Germany has relieved you of Bolshevism, now collaborate on
the building of your homeland!” (middle, 1942), and “Achieving an own piece of land
by working hard. The new land reform will be increasingly continued. The capable
farmer has priority” (right, 1943).
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German Postal Specialist
To support this propaganda task, the German propaganda ministry
and WPr launched a “program of actions” to demonstrate in reality
what had been only promised so far. It was decided to establish so-called
“Mustersiedlungen” in Russia, i.e. paragon settlements or estates, where
educated, happy and satisfied farmer families live in peace by farming
their own land, guarded by the Germans who would protect them from
the Bolshevik partisans.
The first “Mustergut” (paragon estate) was established by the
“Propaganda-Abteilung O” (propaganda department East) in May 1942.
It was the former sovkhozy Polonje near the town of Porchov in North
Russia. The second was established by PAW 400 miles further south,
near the town of Smolensk, in June 1942. It comprised a group of farmhouses
called Sloboda that were inhabited by approx. 30 people, and a
neighboring village called Skrylevshchina (Скрылевщина, in German
sources: Skrelewschtschina) , where about 100 people lived, and which
was situated approx. 12 miles south of Smolensk. [3] A note in the
German OKW propaganda status report of 6 July 1942 reads: “The
propaganda department W has occupied the estate of “Sloboda” that will
be used as a propaganda means in order to raise the willingness of the
population for reconstruction and production, as a propaganda center for
periodical meetings of the rural population, and as a starting point for
the operations against the partisans in the area.” (Image 6) [12]
Image 6. The Sloboda farm on a German military map of 1942 (left) and on an
internet map of today. The village of Skrylevshchina is only marked as a public
transport stop on modern maps.
A “Standortkommandantur” (garrison command) was stationed
in Sloboda consisting of a lieutenant, an administrator, an interpreter
and a few soldiers and Russian POWs for security. Sloboda and
Skrylevshchina were converted into a “Mustersiedlung”. Houses were
built or repaired and painted, roads made up, fences erected and bridges
June 2020 203
built. Every building had to look clean and tidy. Livestock production
and farming were intensified. A very extensive educational program was
started, comprising lectures and speeches as well as theater and music
performances. Sloboda developed into a cultural center where farmers of
the neighborhood met, fairs were held and films shown. There was also
an education center for Red Army soldiers who had deserted or had been
captured and were encouraged to collaborate with the Germans as native
propagandists. Cars with loudspeakers on the top – a favorite propaganda
instrument of the Germans – frequently visited the “Musterhof”
(paragon farm) of Sloboda. Leaflets and posters were distributed and
propaganda lectures held. Sloboda was meant to become a shining example
of successful farming under German protection. To strengthen the
effectiveness of the propaganda, a mobile exhibition lorry with trailer
was built that had 14 showcases displaying little models of Russian
houses after German restoration (Images 7a &7b) (The lorry is important
because the original painting that was copied for the design of the
10 roubles stamp was shown in one of the showcases (Images 8a & 8b).
Images 7a & 7b. (7a).
The exhibition lorry
with seven showcases
jutting out on
both sides of the car
and trailer. The lorry
is inscribed on top
in German “Hilf mit
am Aufbau deiner
Heimat!” (Contribute
to the construction
of your homeland!).
The propagandists
didn’t care that
almost nobody of
the local population
would understand
the German wording.
(7b). The
interior of the exhibition
lorry. Note
the Hitler poster
at the rear wall.
These posters
inscribed “ГИТЛЕР
ОСВОБОДИТЕЛЬ”
(Hitler the Liberator)
or “ГІТЛЕР
ВИЗВОЛИТЕЛЬ”
(Hitler the Rescuer) in Russian or Ukrainian were used in propaganda campaigns all
over the occupied territories.
204
German Postal Specialist
Images 8a & 8b. (8a). The painting of the village Skrylevshchina (СКРЕЛЕВЩИНА)
in this showcase compared the states of the village formerly (РАНЬШЕ, left) and now
(ТЕПЕРЬ, right). (8b). The right picture was used as a model for the design of the 10
rouble stamp.
Evidently, the other stamp illustrations were made from photographs
or paintings of Sloboda or the neighboring area, too. The German philatelist
Horst Grieger was able to inspect a private photo album of PAW
commander Albert Kost a few years ago [12]. Included in the album was a
photograph of the so-called “town hall” of Sloboda that is almost congruent
to the stamp design of the 2 rouble value, as well as another photograph
illustrating a house-building scene like it is shown on the 50 kopek stamp
(Images 9a & 9b). This is proof that the stamps were designed in Sloboda.
The PAW team of artists who also created all the paintings and model
sceneries of the exhibition lorry, consisted of the set designer Friedrich
Hundertmark (Image 10), the draftsman Peter Langhoff, and the artists
Otto Laible, Max Rupp, Hans Hartmann, Georg Kubicek, plus an artist
named Zeume. The stamp designer was certainly among this group.
June 2020 205
Images 9a & 9b. (9a). A photograph of the construction of a house was discovered in the
private album of Major Kost (left). The dark green 50 kopec value shows a very similar
picture (right). (9b). The red 1 rouble stamp illustrates a very common picture. Numerous
photographs and posters displayed ploughing farmers. The stamp designer certainly used
one of these sources. (9c). This photograph from Major Kost’s private photo album (left) is
proof that the stamps were designed in Sloboda. The design of the 2 rouble stamp (right)
is almost congruent. The picture illustrates the so-called “town hall” of Sloboda. (9d). The
4 rouble stamp illustrates the Uspenski cathedral and the massive city wall of Smolensk
(right). A very similar picture is shown on an old postcard (left). Illustrating a church might
refer to the freedom of worship promised by the Germans for the future Russia.
206
German Postal Specialist
Image 10. The set designer Friedrich Hundertmark working on one of the small
model houses displayed in the showcases of the exhibition lorry. He was possibly
one of the stamp designers.
June 2020 207
What was the purpose of the stamps that were designed in a
small estate in Russia called Sloboda and printed in Germany? How
and where were they distributed? Who was the target group? The
authors Kesselstatt/Heide provided a theory in their DBZ article of
1993 [8]. They assumed the stamps were indirectly part of the “Aktion
Silberstreif” (operation silver stripe). This was the name of the biggest
German propaganda operation of World War II, lasting from May to
September 1943. Its main aim, however, was to encourage Red Army
soldiers to desert by the thousands by promising them a good treatment
and offering them the possibility to join the “Russian Liberation
Army”. Kesselstatt/Heide stated that the German propagandists of WPr
(department IV), in collaboration with the department “Fremde Heere
Ost” (Foreign Armies East), already discussed and planned the administrative
body of the future Russian counter-government, including the
establishment of Russian postal authorities with distinctive postage
stamps: “…Prop. Abt. W was instructed to produce the planned postage
stamps... It is certain that the idea was to achieve an additional piece
of propaganda by means of stamps. It was a well-known fact, even at
that time, that postage stamps can have a very large propaganda value…
The designation “Wlassow-Marken” (Vlasov stamps) was coined during
this period”. These statements are probably true but are not confirmed by
written sources. They just represent the opinion of the two authors. The
only existing documentary evidence is the printing contract where the
stamps are called “Gedenkmarken”, a term used for both postal and nonpostal
commemorative stamps.
Although the contract is dated 12 July 1943, there is a cancelled
imperforate proof providing evidence that the stamps were produced in
May 1943 or earlier (Image 11). Mono-colored proof sheets bearing one
of each value are known and must have existed at that date, i.e. at a date
when a Vlasov army did not yet exist. Furthermore, imperforate proofs of
each value in the final color inscribed “color template” are known (Images
12 & 13). All these trial printings must have been presented for approval
prior to May 1943, i.e. two months before the permission to print the
stamps was given. It is unclear which German authority coordinated the
stamp printing. Kesselstatt/Heide were convinced that the Department
East of the Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda (RMVP)
approved, ordered and paid for the printing. Responsible for the entire
military propaganda, however, was not the RMVP but the Abteilung
Wehrmachtpropaganda (WPr) of the High Command of the Wehrmacht
(OKW), the superior body of the Propaganda-Abteilung W. The question
is unsolved and it is therefore unknown who filled out the contract.
208
German Postal Specialist
Image 11. This lower part of a trial proof was illustrated in Horst Grieger’s article of
2010. The date of the Sloboda cancellation is clearly “V.”, i.e. May 1943. A cancelled
trial proof is most unusual. It makes only sense when the trial proofs as well as the
cancellation had to be submitted to WPr for approval. Therefore, both must have
existed prior to May 1943.
Write an
article
for the
Specialist.
June 2020 209
Images 12 & 13. (12). A proof sheet illustrating all five values in the brown color
of the 10 rouble stamp. Similar sheets in the colors of the other values exist. (13).
Imperforate proofs in the final colors inscribed “Farbvorlage!” (color template!) were
mounted on black paper for approval.
The printing contract contains all technical data of the stamp
production. Roman Greulich & Son, Lithography & Printing, Berlin
C 2, Georgenkirchstr. 40, supplied the paper and perforated the
sheets line 11 ½. The Repro shop Max Lindacker, Berlin SO 36,
Reichenberger Str. 36 prepared the printing plates and transfer prints.
The Kunstdruckerei (art print shop) Sebastian Malz & Son, Berlin SW
11, Saarlandstr. 67, printed the stamps in the offset process.
According to the contract the number of stamps to be printed was
326 sheets at 50 copies each of the 50 kopes, 1 rouble and 2 rouble stamps
(= 16,300 stamps each), 470 sheets at 35 copies of the 4 rouble stamp
(= 16,450 stamps), and 442 sheets at 30 copies of the 10 rouble stamp
(= 16,560 stamps). This is an average of 16,382 stamps per value and doesn’t
match the entry “10,000 each” that is given for the number of issue in line
six of the contract. Horst Grieger considered the number 10,000 to be the
number of stamps ordered by PAW and delivered to Smolensk [12]. This is
possible but cannot be derived from the wording of the printing contract.
210
German Postal Specialist
It is unknown how many sheets were sent to Russia, and when and
how the stamps arrived at the PAW headquarters in Smolensk or in
Sloboda. There is no documentary evidence that they arrived there at
all. However, there are many cancelled “Vlasov stamps” and all of them
have cancellations of Sloboda. There are two types. One reads “ST.O.K.
Sloboda” (correct abbreviation for STandOrtKommandantur) in sansserif
letters, the other “Standortkommandantur Sloboda” in a Gothic
font (Images 14 & 15). Both cancellations have dates of September
1943 in the center. The first cancellation resembles a German standard
Feldpost cancellation, the latter a “Briefstempel“ or “Dienststempel”
(official stamp) as used by all authorities in Germany. If this resemblance
was intended it was not thoroughly considered because both
German cancellation types were not used to cancel stamps, while
both Sloboda cancellations were used exclusively to cancel the “Vlasov
stamps”. Strangely enough, all known cancelled “Vlasov stamps” are off
paper. Copies tied to a souvenir sheet, an envelope or to any other piece
of paper by a Sloboda cancellation do not exist, and Sloboda cancellation
strikes without adhesive stamps (e.g. on a military passport, an
administrative document, or on a fieldpost envelope) do not exist either.
Therefore, Kesselstatt/Heide’s statement of the cancellations being
just ordinary cancellations of the Sloboda garrison command (official
stamps, Dienststempel) and having nothing to do with the “Vlasov”
stamps cannot be true. Every ordinary German Dienststempel must
show the imperial eagle and never had a dateline. The Sloboda cancellation
devices must have been especially produced for the “Vlasov stamp”
campaign, i.e. stamps and cancellations must belong together. Every
stamp cancelled by a Sloboda cancellation would carry the message that
Russia’s future would emerge from Sloboda. The postmark dates would
symbolize a functioning postal traffic. The Cyrillic inscription of the
stamps and the German wording of the cancellations would indicate
that Germany is the guarantor of this Russian future. Just the reason
for producing two different cancellations for the same purpose is not
comprehensible. It was superfluous.
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June 2020 211
Images 14 & 15. (14). The ST.O.K. SLOBODA cancellation compared with common
German Feldpost cancellations. On first glance the similarity is not very obvious
but postal cancellations of the Third Reich are almost exclusively two-ring
cancellations with or without date bridge (with the exception of some machine
cancellations that are irrelevant here). Just the Feldpost cancellations have only onering.
Therefore, if it was intended to imitate a German cancellation the most similar
type for the “ST.O.K. SLOBODA” cancellation is the Feldpost cancellation type. (15).
Two “Standortkommandantur Sloboda” cancellations compared with official stamps
(Dienststempel) of four German garrison commands. The Dienst- or Briefstempel
of authorities are the only German cancellations using Gothic type fonts with the
size of the letters being always small in relation to the diameter of the cancellation.
By using this design the producer of the “Standortkommandantur” canceller must
have had such a Dienst- or Briefstempel in mind. What he did not observe is that
by replacing the eagle by a dateline the non-postal Dienststempel became a postal
cancellation in the design of a Dienststempel , a hermaphrodite.
Sheets or part sheets were cancelled in Smolensk or Sloboda in
advance (Images 16 & 17) to be separated later. The results were accumulations
of cancelled stamps off paper, bearing often full strikes of
Sloboda cancellations. I have checked 136 cancelled stamps bearing
dates of 15 days in September 1943. The earliest date is 10 September,
the latest 30 September. The missing days are September 12, 13, 14, 19,
26, and 28. 108 copies had the “ST.O.K. Sloboda” cancellation, and only
28 the “Standortkommandantur Sloboda” cancellation. According to
Kesselstatt/Heide the dates would indicate the days of distribution but
this is very doubtful, at least for the last week of September. There were
hard battles in the Smolensk area in that month, resulting in the retreat
of the German Army. Smolensk was surrendered on 25 September
1943. Shortly before Sloboda and Skrylevshchina had to be evacuated.
This means that the stamps could be distributed from Sloboda only a
few days, from September 10 to approx. September 20 or 22. The military
situation certainly prevented an organized distribution afterwards
and I venture to doubt that many educational lectures or other propaganda
activities, during which the stamps could have been distributed,
were held at the Sloboda farm in view of the impending evacuation.
Cancellation dates from about 22 or 23 until 30 September must represent
pre-cancellations anyway. Kesselstatt/Heide explained the late
dates by stating that the stamps were taken to the Hatitsche farm
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German Postal Specialist
north of Baranovichi (470 km west of Smolensk) after the surrender of
Smolensk and Sloboda, and were immediately distributed from there,
which resulted in the datestamps between 25 and 30 September. This
is implausible. The groundwork for the establishment of a paragon farm
at Hatitsche was only started (!) after the arrival of the former Sloboda
garrison (at perhaps 26 or 27 September or even later) and one can be
very sure that they had better things to do during the first days and
weeks than distributing a few propaganda stamps cancelled “Sloboda”, a
name that nobody in the area around had ever heard.
Images 16 & 17. Two A multiples
of “Vlasov stamps” with Sloboda
cancellations. The 2 rouble multiple
(Image 16) is cancelled of 23
September 1943, the 50 kopec
multiple (Image 17) is dated 17
September 1943. These rare multiples
are proof that the stamps
were pre-cancelled using various
dates.
It is important to realize that the only existing account about the
distribution of the stamps originates from a Russian nationalist and
former participant of the Russian White Movement who collaborated
with the Germans since 1939. This individual was Boris Alexeyevich
Smyslovsky (aka Holmston-Smyslovskij aka von Regenau) (Image 18).
In the beginning of 1943 he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the
Wehrmacht and was given the command of “Sonderdivision R” (special
division Russia). The main task of this unit was intelligence and the
struggle against the partisans in the German occupied territories of
Russia.
June 2020 213
Image 18. Lieutenant Colonel Boris Alexeyevich Smyslovsky provided the
only oral report of the stamp distribution at Sloboda.
Kesselstatt/Heide commented Smyslovsky’s statements “which he
made in conversation in Liechtenstein after the war” and wrote: “In
September 1943, Holmston-Smyslowskij was in Sloboda, presumably
as a lecturer and witnessed at first hand what happened… The stamps
were distributed to German military personnel and advisors but above all
to the Russian students in the Education Centre. It is not known if the
farmers in Sloboda and Skrelewschtschina received any. The stamps were
available mint and used but it is mainly the used ones that were sought
after.”
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German Postal Specialist
Smyslovsky’s statements may be true but are unconfirmed and
cannot be verified. The distribution as described above is plausible but
does not explain why so many different cancellation dates were used.
My own theory is that all (!) the cancellations were applied in advance
just after the stamps arrived from Berlin at around 8 or 9 September.
The cancelling devices had changeable figures for the dateline. For the
first run the remaining days of September were used. Stamp sets with
a mixture of different days would indicate that the stamps were used or
distributed over a longer period and did not mark a single event. The
specific date applied on a stamp was therefore unimportant and did not
refer to the day of distribution. After cancelling the sheets the stamps
were separated and sets compiled arbitrarily, i.e. without regard of the
cancellation dates, or consciously by compiling sets with different dates.
If a cancellation date would refer to the day of distribution, as stated by
the previously mentioned authors, the stamps of all the cancelled sets
that were handed out must show a common date. Sets with a common
date, however, were never seen. A second run with pre-cancelled
October dates did never come true due to the military retreat of the
German Armies in the area. This theory would explain the different
dates that were not necessarily linked with a certain propaganda activity
at the day of distribution but simply signify a longer-lasting operation.
Images 19a & 19b. Full sheets are
exceedingly rare. The largest multiples
of the 1 and 2 rouble stamps I have
seen are part sheets of 30 copies.
June 2020 215
It is assumed that only a smaller portion of the printed issue was
delivered to Russia while the larger portion remained in Berlin. The
majority of uncancelled stamps as well as the few full sheets known
today (Images 19a & 19b) certainly originate from the “Berlin portion”.
All the cancelled copies should originate from the “Russia portion” and
somehow made their way to the philatelic market after the war. The vast
majority of “Vlasov stamps” got lost or were destroyed. Roughly 2,000
sets worldwide are said to exist today.
Fake “Vlassov stamps” appeared on the market a few years ago. They
originate from a very prolific stamp producer in Taiwan and are easily
identified by the perforation (Image 20). At least one fake cover is presently
known having genuinely cancelled “Vlasov stamps” pasted onto an
envelope (Images 21a & 21b). A similar philatelic cover was reported by
Rostislav Polchaninoff already in 1955, as well as three gummed stamps
cancelled “Berlin”. These items, however, were never seen.
Image 20. Fake “Vlasov stamps” (below) compared with genuine copies (above).
Share your research.
Submit an article for a
future issue!
216
German Postal Specialist
Images 21a & 21b. This cover is, of course, a fake. Cancelled “Vlasov stamps” were
mounted on an envelope. The cancellations do not match exactly where two stamps
meet. The “STO” of the left cancellation had to be retouched on the red 1 rouble
stamp, and the day of the right cancellation was not the 29th and had to be erased.
Since March 2018 this cover is offered on ebay for 750 euros.
The story about the “Vlasov stamps” would be incomplete without
mentioning a mystery. The two illustrated 50 kopecs stamps are clearly
datestamped 23 and 24 September 1942 (Image 22). The stamps with
the erroneous name withhold a little piece of their history for future
researchers.
Image 22. In 2018 I discovered two copies with 1942 dates. They are from 23 and 24
September 1942. The cancellations are a mystery. The Sloboda farm was occupied in
June 1942 but nothing is known of a propaganda stamp project at this early date.
June 2020 217
Sources
[1] Polchaninoff, R.: Vlassov Post. Rossica No. 46/47, December 1955,
pp. 47-48
[2] Fischer/Sandwald: Neuentdeckung! Vorbereitete, aber nicht mehr
zur Ausgabe gelangte Wertzeichen für Rußland im Jahre 1943. Deutsche
Zeitung für Briefmarkenkunde No. 22/1959, p. 1499
[3] Heysing, Günther: Entwicklungshilfe 1942-1944. Die Wildente No.
27/1965, pp. 31 – 48
[4] General Wlassows Briefmarkenausgabe. Baltikum-Sammler No.
6/143, November 1972, pp. 11/12
[5] (editorial staff): Die Armee des gehenkten Generals hatte besondere
Marken. Briefmarken-Mauritius No.3/1972, p. 3
[6] Blaese, Dr Hermann: Die “Wlassow-Marken”. Deutschland-Sammler
4/1974: pp. 56-57, 5/1974: pp. 78-79.
[7] (editorial staff): Nochmals die „Wlassow-Marken“. DBZ 6/1974: pp.
85-86
[8] Heide, Karl-F./Graf Kesselstatt, F.E.: Geheimnis um die Wlassow-
Marken endlich geklärt. DBZ 24/1993 p. 1900 ff., 25/1993, p. 1992 ff.
[9] Heide, Karl-F./Graf Kesselstatt, F.E., translated into English by
Douglas D. Baxter: Light is finally thrown on the mystery surrounding
the “Wlassow” (Vlasov) stamps. Czechout, Vol. 24 No 4, December
2006, p. 101 ff.
[10] Вадим ЯКОБС (Vadim Yakobs): “Власовские марки” А были ли
они? Filateliya No. 4/5 April/May 2009.
[11] Quinkert, Babette: Propaganda und Terror in Weißrußland 1941-
1944: Die deutsche „geistige“ Kriegführung gegen Zivilbevölkerung und
Partisanen (Krieg in der Geschichte). Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn
2009
[12] Grieger, Horst: Die Gedenkmarken der Propaganda-Abteilung
Weißruthenien – auch Wlassow-Marken genannt – im neuen Licht.
Arge Deutsche Feldpost, Rundbrief 109/110, January/June 2010, p. 3062 ff.
See also: http://stampsforum.ru/
evropa/324-germaniya-1943-god-general-vlasov
218
German Postal Specialist
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Tel. June +49-(0)40-33 2020 71 57 · Fax. +49-(0)40-33 13 30 · info@aucon-galleries.de · www.aucon-galleries.de 219
Disrupted Mail To and From
Germany During the Arab-Israeli
Conflict
Larry Nelson
On May 14, 1948, the British evacuated Palestine and Israel
declared its independence pursuant to United Nations Resolution
181, adopted November 29, 1947. The War of Independence between
Israel and its neighbors followed and did not end until the last armistice
was signed with Syria on July 20, 1949. What followed were many
years when there was no postal service between Israel and its neighbors.
Indeed, it was not until January 27, 1980 that the first postal service was
established between Israel and Egypt. However, from time to time, mail
to or from Germany and Israel (as well as the Arab countries) would
be disrupted, resulting in delays and sometimes censorship. This article
reviews examples of such mail.
In 1947 and 1948, prior to the creation of Israel, there was much
unrest in Palestine. It is during this period that the cover shown in
Image 1 was sent from Berlin to Haifa, Palestine. It was, however,
misdirected to Cairo, Egypt and censored there by a Type 1 Egyptian
censor handstamp on the front (Reference 1, p. 113)
Image 1, front and back
Note that this philatelic cover was originally cancelled at the Leipzig
Fair on March 7, 1948. It was subsequently addressed and sent by registered
mail from Berlin on April 16, 1948 to Haifa, using a Rohrpost
cancel. I would like to thank Walter Farber for explaining that this type
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German Postal Specialist
of “delayed mailing” of philatelic items was allowed in Germany at that
time. This is stamp-dealer-to-stamp-dealer mail so perhaps the Rohrpost
cancel was requested to make the cover a more interesting item.
Since there was no postal service between Egypt and Israel, the
cover was returned to Germany and then resent to Haifa, arriving there
on October 22, 1948 per the cancel on the back. It is interesting to note
that the German postal service did not backstamp the registered cover
on arrival in Germany.
Image 2, front and back
Image 2 shows a registered airmail cover, dated November 2, 1948,
which was attempted to be sent from Hamburg to Haifa, Palestine, via
Great Britain. At that time there was no registered mail service to Israel
from Great Britain, so the cover received two faint boxed violet handstamps
on the front, stating “NO REGISTERED SERVICE” and
“UNDELIVERED FOR THE REASON STATED/ RETURN TO
SENDER.” There is also a boxed violet “RETOUR” handstamp as well
as an instructional handwritten ”BRITISH ZONE/ GERMANY” on
the front. The back has a “REGISTERED/1/9NOV48/RETURNED
REGISTER SECTION” oval handstamp.
Like Image 1, there is no cancel on the back indicating when
the registered cover was returned to Hamburg. Also, there are no
markings to show that it was ever received in Haifa. Can any of our
readers explain the 336pf postage?
June 2020 221
Image 3, front, no markings on the back
The next disrupted item is a cover dated September 4, 1962 from
Leipzig to Ramat Gan, Israel (Image 3). The violet, boxed handstamp
indicates that the cover was delayed in one of the Arab states (Reference
1, p. 111). There is no indication of when this delayed cover was finally
received in Israel.
Image 4, front and back
Image 4 shows another misdirected cover, dated November 19,
1964, mailed from Ibbenbüren, Germany to Tiberias, Israel. It ended
up in Egypt where it was censored (Type 8)(Reference 1, p. 116). It also
received a boxed “PAS DE SERVICE” (No Service) handstamp. In
green ink, the Israeli address was crossed out and a green arrow points
to the German stamps. From the cancels of the back we know the cover
arrived in Cairo on November 22, 1964. It was returned to Germany
and then resent to Israel. There is an indistinct Israeli cancel on the back.
As a result of the Six Day War (June 5 to June 10, 1967), Israel took
control of the West Bank and officially annexed East Jerusalem (the
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German Postal Specialist
”Old City”) on July 27, 1967. Mail sent to the Old City in Jerusalem was
routed through Amman, Jordan and could not now be delivered because
of the Israeli occupation. On September 19, 1967 the Jewish Telegraph
Agency reported the following:
“Israel post office workers were engaged today in sorting
out the contents of 500 sacks of mail addressed to residents of
East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which the Jordanian postal
authorities had turned over to the International Red Cross. The
mail had been posted from all parts of the world prior to the June
fighting and the addresses to which it had been directed were
then part of Jordan.
In view of the flight of so many residents of the West Bank
during the June fighting, it is doubtful whether much of this
mail will ever reach the addressees. In any case, the Israeli postal
workers are sorting the mail so that delivery can be made to all
recipients who can be located.” (Reference 1, p. 255)
Image 5, front and back
Image 5 shows an example of Jordanian mail delivered to Israel via
the International Red Cross. The cover was mailed on June 14, 1967
from Hamburg to the Old City in Jerusalem. It arrived at Amman,
Jordan on June 20, 1967 and was held until September 1967, when it
was turned over to the International Red Cross for delivery to Israel.
It was cancelled in Jerusalem on September 29, 1967 and delivered to
Mr. Khatchudourian at P.O. Box 4003, Old City. A Google search
found that Mr. Khatchudourian, an Armenian guide who gives tours
of the Old City, still uses this address. Relatively few examples of this
International Red Cross-facilitated mail has survived.
June 2020 223
Image 6, front, no markings on the back
Image 6 shows a Drucksache (printed matter) cover from Hamburg,
dated February 15, 1968, which was sent to the former Jordanian portion
of Jerusalem. By this time, Jordan was returning mail sent to its territories
now occupied by Israel. Jordan applied a boxed handstamp reading
“RETURN TO SENDER/ DELIVERY PREVENTED BY ENEMY
OCCUPATION OF JORDAD (sic!) TERRITORY.” On November
11, 1968, the Jerusalem Post reported that “thousands of letters returned
by Amman to their senders are now reaching Israel for delivery to East
Jerusalem and the West Bank. (Reference 1, p. 140). When Image 6 was
“properly” returned from Germany to Israel (i.e., not sent via Amman), it
received a mimeographed label stating:
“THIS POSTAL ITEM WAS JUST NOW
RECEIVED IN ISRAEL AFTER IT WAS
ERRONEOUSLY DIRECTED. IN ORDER
TO AVOID SIMILAR DELAYS IN THE
FUTURE, IT IS DESIRABLE TO NOTIFY
THE SENDER OF THE NECESSITY TO
STATE IN THE ADDRESS AS FOLLOWS –
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL” (Reference 1, p. 210)
Note that this mimeographed label came in two sizes; this variety is
the rarer, small print version (Reference 1, p. 212).
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German Postal Specialist
Image 7, front and back
The registered airmail cover, dated July 10, 1969, shown in Image 7,
had a most unusual journey. It was sent from Herzliya, Israel to Berlin,
Germany. When it arrived, the recipient had come to “Kairo,” Egypt
and it was forwarded there to “Post Restante” (General Delivery) and
censored. When the recipient did not claim the cover at the Cairo post
office, it should have been returned to the sender in Israel. Since there
was no postal service with Israel, however, the Egyptians applied the
boxed “PAS DE SERVICE (No Service) handstamp and wrote in red
ink, “Return to West Germany.” After arriving in Germany, it was
resent to Israel arriving in Tel Aviv on August 17, 1969.V
Image 8, front, no markings on the back
Image 8 shows a German cover posted on August 9, 1982 to Beirut,
Lebanon. Because of the Lebanese civil war, however, the German
postal service returned the cover. Per Google translate, the boxed violet
handstamp reads:
“Airmail service is still temporarily suspended
from the country of destination. Recovery is
currently uncertain. Airmail Frankfurt Airport”
June 2020 225
Image 9, front, no markings on the back
The final example of disrupted German mail originates during the
1990-1991 Gulf War. Image 9 shows a cover mailed from Auerbach,
Germany to Haifa on January 22, 1991. It was returned to the sender,
however, with a label dated January 31, 1991, pasted over the address,
which I translate as “At this time there is no postal service with Israel.”
There are no marking to indicate that it was ever resent to Israel.
I suggest that our readers check their German cover collections to
see if they have other examples of disrupted mail.
Reference:
Kibble, Daryl, “The Arab-Israeli Conflict: No Service, Returned and
Captured Mail.” (2014)
We want to ensure you
recieve your GPS issue. If
you’ve changed your address
please notify the editor, he’ll
see that the change is made.
weisensel01@gmail.com
226
German Postal Specialist
GPS 2020/21 Membership Renewal
(look for the envelope)
GPS Membership dues are now payable for the period September 2020 through August
2021. Dues must reach us by the end of August, 2020. Reminder notices are costly
for your Society, so please remit promptly. If you intend to resign please notify us. Life
members, please disregard this dues statement; however, please consider a tax deductible
donation.
Donations will be matched:
This year the GPS Board of Directors has provided an added incentive for donations.
We will match any gift up to at least $3,000.
Foreign membership option:
Last year the Board of Directors agreed to offer a new foreign membership option
which provides the Specialist in digital form only. If you choose this option, you would
not receive a printed version. We offer this option at $40, rather than $75 for the
printed version.
Membership Options:
Dues received by Aug. 31 After Aug. 31, 2020
USA Resident $40 $45
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All foreign (digital only) $40 $45
Pay via Paypal in US $42 or outside US $78 to: marcusmeyerotto@gmail.com
Make your checks Payable to Germany Philatelic Society or GPS. Dues are payable in
US Dollars only. We will accept Payments in Euros sent to: “Volksbank Rhein-Erft-
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Foreign checks drawn on a US bank must bear a US Federal Reserve Bank routing
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incur. Canadian postal money orders drawn on a Canadian bank are considered a
foreign draft and will be returned.
If your Specialist did not include a Dues Envelope – please send you remittance to:
GPS
Marcus Meyerotto
PO Box 40
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June 2020 227
Zeppelin Matchmaker:
LZ-126 / ZR3 Trial Flight
Cheryl R. Ganz
Decades ago, I obtained a zeppelin mail drop bag in auction – a
major purchase for me at that stage of my young collecting life. From the
pioneer period before World War I through the early Graf Zeppelin years,
drop bags full of mail were released from aboard zeppelins, the mail
inside to be posted by the finder. By 1936, when Hindenburg flew, safety
concerns prompted zeppelin officers to forbid such drops. They feared a
card or bag being caught in a propeller. These bags had always fascinated
me, and owning one from a trial flight of the LZ-126, also known as
ZR3 and later as Los Angeles, absolutely thrilled me.
Images 1 & 2. LZ-126 drop mail bag from the 5th trial
flight over Germany, 1924. (front and reverse)
In August and
September of 1924,
the LZ-126 made
six trial flights over
Germany before Dr.
Hugo Eckener and
the crew flew it over
the Atlantic Ocean to
deliver the reparations
airship to the U.S.
Navy at Lakehurst,
New Jersey, in
October. Drop mail
has been recorded
from the second,
third, fifth, and sixth trial flights. All drop mail is extremely rare due to
the small numbers dropped and the smaller number of surviving examples.
Surviving mail drop bags are even rarer.
My drop bag is from the 33-hour, 26-minutes fifth trial flight,
known as the “Greater Germany Flight,” which took place on September
25-26, 1924. The LZ-126 flew over major cities on a route that circled
the country from Friedrichshafen to the coast of Sweden and back. There
were twenty-eight crew and forty-three passengers aboard. The zeppelin
arrived over Flensburg at 6:17 p.m. and departed at 6:23. During this
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German Postal Specialist
brief flyover sweep on half power, an officer dropped the mailbag, which
contained three cards, from the control car. The handwritten notation
indicates that it was picked up as soon as the zeppelin arrived over the
city. Franked with the regular inland postcard rate, the postmark indicates
that it was immediately taken to the post office.
Sand weighted the mailbag and a streamer in the colors of the
German flag fluttered from the top. On one side was printed [translated
from German] Airship Post from the Zeppelin Company (Luftschiffbau
Zeppelin G.m.b.H.) of Friedrichshafen, plus a handwritten notation
of city, date, and time of the drop. On the reverse, the text states, “The
finder of this airship mail is politely requested to deliver the contents of
this bag to the nearest post office as soon as possible.”
Image 3. Anton Wittemann, an officer on many
zeppelin flights, drops a mail bag from a zeppelin
gondola window.
Hugo Eckener, the
LZ-126 commander, had
been born and raised in
Flensburg. One of the
cards was to his relatives,
but it has not yet
been documented in the
philatelic literature. The
second card was to the
citizens of Flensburg
to be published in the
local newspaper. It also
has never surfaced.
The third card was to
friends. When Manfred
Lösemann and Werner Rau published a census of all known trial flight
mail in 1998, the third card had not yet been seen. However, since then,
it came to auction, and I was able to reunite it with the mailbag that had
dropped it.
The only known surviving
card from the fifth trial
flight is a picture postcard
with a portrait of Count
Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
It is one of 118 zeppelin
Image 4. Only known surviving
postcard dropped over
Flensburg on the LZ-126 5th
trial flight.
June 2020 229
cards in a series published by DELAG, Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-
Aktiengesellschaft, a zeppelin operating firm tied to Luftschiffbau
Zeppelin. The message side has a handwritten note “From the airship,
which regrettably has not yet opened its doors to me, an ordinary mortal,
for a trip – nevertheless, I’m sending you my warmest greetings. Yours,
with greetings from the air.” The sender name is illegible. The sender
handed the card to either a crewmember or passenger on the flight. The
addressee was Mrs. Ila Folsdner at 124 Olgastrasse in Friedrichshafen,
a home on the lakefront west of the city center. No doubt, she was
impressed to receive this card as her family saved it for generations!
Image 5. After leaving Flensburg, LZ-126 flew through the night, arriving in Berlin at
10:20 a.m. This real photo postcard by A. Gross shows huge crowds mesmerized by
the site of the zeppelin overhead.
Separated after the drop, this mailbag and one of its cards are
now reunited after most of a century and from sales in two auctions
on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean. I am proud to be the zeppelin
matchmaker who brought them together.
Resources
“Fahrt-Bericht L.Z. 126.” Archiv der Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH,
Friedrichshafen, Germany.
Manfred Lösemann and Werner Rau, Zeppelin “LZ 126-ZR3” Handbuch
über die Postbeförderung (Dülken/Friedrichshafen: 1998).
Special thanks to Dieter Leder, Margit Naden, Patrick Russell, and
M.T. Sheahan.
230
German Postal Specialist
News
News from the Third Reich Study
Group
Christopher Kolker, M.D.
What a month it has been! So many changes, so many dangers. It
simply is a different world out there than it was just 4 weeks ago.
What everyone needs is to stay safe and to enjoy their favorite hobby
at home.
That’s where we come in. The latest issue of the Third Reich Study
Group Bulletin is out and available at www.trsg-usa.com. It’s another
great issue, and for those of you online, it is still free. Just click on the
“Our Journal” button, on the homepage, and there you are. In it you
will find:
• The Feldpost in North Africa
• The Daimler stamp and story - And some great classic cars
to boot!
• A great scan from Jerry Crow
• More interesting stuff from the Channel Islands’ Society
• A wonderful article from the Danzig archive
• And yes, Trivia - this one is a challenge
And check out the very last page - a nice propaganda piece!
I do have a special request from each of you. Please read the
Editor’s letter.
Stay safe, keep calm, and enjoy the Bulletin!
Belong to a local stamp club?
It’s amazing what you can learn.
June 2020 231
New Issues
Baron von Münchhausen
Design: Julia Warbanow, Berlin
Theme: Münchhausen’s Ride on a Cannonball, Lithographie August von Wille
Value: 0,80 EUR
Size: Width 34.89 mm; Height 34.89 mm
Issue Date: 07 May 2020
One of the most widely read German children’s and folk books
are the stories about the untruthful Baron Munchausen. The historical
role model of the literary title character was Hieronymus Carl Friedrich
Freiherr von Münchhausen (1720-1797), who was endowed with an
astonishing storytelling talent and exuberant fabulous enthusiasm, but
did not himself write his stories on paper. The special postage stamp
“300th Anniversary of the Birth of Baron von Munchausen” is now
appearing on the occasion of his milestone birthday. The most famous
anecdotes are probably those of the ride on the cannonball, how the
baron pulled himself and his horse out of the swamp, and how he was
lifted up into the air by ducks that he had tied with bacon tied to strings.
The well over a hundred comic stories attributed to Munchausen arise
232
German Postal Specialist
primarily from the fact that physical and biological possibilities are taken
to the point of absurdity and that they are obviously hair-raising but
good-natured made-up stories.
Historic Postal Routes
Design: Michael Kunter, Berlin
Theme: Postal rider at a gallop bound toward a cityscape
Value: 0,80 EUR
Size: Width 44.2 mm; Height 26.2 mm
Issue Date: 07 May 2020
Leading in the gradual establishment of a regulated European postal
system was the de Tasso courier family, who came from Lombardy and
became called Thurn and Taxis in 1650. In 1490, the Roman-German
king and later emperor Maximilian I commissioned the brothers Janetto
and Francesco de Tasso to set up regular postal connections. This postal
route, by which letters from Innsbruck (the site of Maximilian I’s main
residence) to the Netherlands and to Italy could be sent, is considered the
first permanently operating, centrally organized postal route in the Holy
Roman Empire, making the year 1490 the founding year of the modern
European postal system. The Imperial Post Office was founded in the
16th century and was also run by the de Tasso family. Around 1800, all
Central European cities were connected by regular postal routes, but no
longer only by the Imperial Post Office, which repeatedly had to cede
routes to imperial post and regional post offices.
June 2020 233
New Olympic Sports: Sport Climbing; Skate
Boarding; and Karate
Sport Climbing
Design: Thomas Serres, Hattingen
Theme: “Sport Climbing” after a pattern by Dr. Nils Nöll, Königswinter
Value: 0,80 + 0,40 EUR Surcharge
Size: Width 34.89 mm; Height 34.89 mm
Issue Date: 07 May 2020
Skate Boarding
234
German Postal Specialist
Design: Thomas Serres, Hattingen
Theme: “Skateboarden” after a pattern © Dizzo/Getty Images
Value: 0,95 + 0,45 EUR Surcharge
Size: Width 34,89 mm; Height 34,89 mm
Issue Date: 07 May 2020
Karate
Design: Thomas Serres, Hattingen
Theme: “Karate” after a pattern © Volodymyr Melnyk/123rf.com
Value: 1,55 + 0,55 EUR Z]Surcharge
Size: Width 34,89 mm; Height 34,89 mm
Issue Date: 07 May 2020
The Federal Ministry of Finance supports the “Stiftung Deutsche
Sporthilfe” with the special stamp series “Für die Sport”. Since 1968, the
surcharge proceeds have provided funding for social issues and tasks in
the field of youth and elite sports.
Keep
the GPS
strong!
Now’s the
time to
renew your
membership!
June 2020 235
GPS CHAPTERS
Baltimore (#16): Third Sunday at 1:30 p.m., Baltimore Philatelic Society Clubhouse, 3440 Ellicott
Center Drive, Suite 103, Ellicott City, MD 21043, Contact: W. David Ripley III, Box 854,
Beltsville MD 20704-0854, telephone: 301-785-0210, email: wdrip3@gmail.com
Carolinas (#37) Third Saturday at 11 a.m. at various locations in the Carolinas. Contact: Dave
Mielke at stettindave@gmail.com or telephone 336-264-4069
Central Florida (#23): Second Sunday at Grace Lutheran Church, 745 South Ingraham Ave.,
Lakeland, FL. Contact Priit Rebane, 8192 Wild Oaks Way, Largo FL 33773, telephone: 727-812-
1255, email: priit@rebane.com
Chicago (#5): Fourth Friday at 7:15 p.m. at the Burgundy Restaurant banquet dining room,
5959 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL Contact Bernard Bucholz, 0N079 Vermont Ct.,
Winfield, Il 60190 email bwb0269@gmail.com
Columbus (#20) Second Monday (plus other events). Chapter 20 meets with the Columbus
Philatelic Club, Wesley Glen Wellness Center, Guild Room, 101 Fenway Rd.,
Columbus, OH 43214. Contact: Jason Manchester, PO Box 20711, Columbus OH 43220-2,
email: jhm1939@yahoo.com
Denver (#27): Second Wednesday at Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library, 2038 South Pontiac
Way, Denver, CO. Contact: Patrick McNally, 4530 W 34 TH Ave, Denver CO 80212-1813,
email: diealtemarke@comcast.com
Milwaukee (#18): Third Sunday at 1 p.m. at German Festival Building, W140 N5761 Lilly Rd.,
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 Contact George Breu, gbreu@aol.com, phone: 262-781-6135.
New York City (#1): First Thursday (except July and August) at Collectors Club of New York, 22
E 35 th Street, New York City. Contact Ron Morgan, email: rnldmrgn@aol.com
Omaha (#43): Third Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. at TUVA Enterprises, 721 South 72 nd St.,
Suite 108, Omaha, NE. Contact Bob Hoff, 4706 Redick Ave, Omaha NE 68152-2562,
email: Hoff860@cox.net, phone: 402 884-6468,
Philadelphia (#2): Third Thursday of every month, social hour 6-7 p.m., meeting starts at 7 p.m.,
at Giuseppe’s Pizza, 1380 W Street Rd., Warminster, PA 18974 (215-674-5550). Auction will follow
the meetings. Contact Rich Nalichowski, PO Box 116, Zionhill PA 18981-0116, or email:
richnebay@yahoo.com
St. Louis (#26) 3rd Tuesday evenings at Petros Restaurant, 3801 Watson Rd., St. Louis,
MO. Contact: Marcus Meyerotto, 411 Meramec Way, Saint Charles MO 63303-8447,
email: mmarkie@swbell.net, phone: 636-447-0383
Tucson (#41): Second Saturday (except July and August). Contact Larry Wirth, 14490 S Stagecoach
Rd, Tucson AZ 85736-1430, email: sbgolfhi@msn.com
Twin Cities (#10): Second Friday at 7 p.m. at Gideon Pond, 9901 Penn Ave. South, Bloomington,
MN Contact Rudi Anders, 3230 E 24th St, Minneapolis MN 55406-1406, email:
rudi.anders@iphouse.com
Virginia (#44): Second Saturday at members’ homes. Contact Oliver Wyrtki, 203 Mill Xing,
Yorktown VA 23693-3805, email: okeeper@hotmail.com
Please send changes or corrections to the editor: Peter Weisensel,
627 Goodrich Ave, Saint Paul MN 55105-3522, email: weisensel01@gmail.com
236
German Postal Specialist
STUDY GROUPS
German Colonies Collectors Group Contact: Oliver Wyrtki, 203 Mill
Xing, Yorktown VA 23693-3805. Email: germancoloniescollectorsgroup@
gmail.com. Publication: Vorläufer, published semi-annually. Sample copy
$5. Annual dues $18 (US, Canada and Mexico), $26 international (airmail).
Website: http://www.germancoloniescollectorsgroup.net/
Germany Revenues Study Group Contact: Jim Kellogg, PO
Box 5251, Q Supercentre, Mermaid Waters, QLD 4226, Australia.
Email: jim@aquakleen.com.au Free membership. Join online:
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/GERMANY REVENUES
Stadtpost Study Group Contact: Peter Rogers, 31 Springfield Road, Bury
St. Edmunds, Suffolk 1P33 3AR, UK; email: peterrogerscsc@aol.com
Color Study Group Computer identification of the various stamp colors
and shades. Various communications via emails. Contact John Cibulskis,
email: jcibulskis@sbcglobal.net
DDR Study Group. For all information contact Rudi Anders,
rudi.anders@iphouse.com or Richard Slater, richandpam@iinet.net.au
Third Reich Study Group Contact Dr. Christopher Kolker, email:
ctkolker@mail.com
An electronic version of the GPS is now available.
Contact our webmaster, Michael Wilhelm, at
webmaster@germanyphilatelicsocietyusa.org
June 2020 237
ADLETS
Third Reich Propaganda postcards. Good selection for sale. Barry Hoffman, 291 Spurwink
Ave. Cape Elizabeth, Maine 04107. email: pakistan@tiac.net
For Sale: 1 frame exhibit of AMG Stationery Michel P-902 5 Pf green. Plated with 16 cards
utilizing very scarce uncut printing plate of 16 cards incl. 1 card single franking, catalog Euro
1,500, $1,950 - H.E Peter,
email: Hepeteramgs@aol.com (sa)
Canadian “Marke Individuell” stamps and FDC printed by Canada Post commemorating
various German anniversaries: Martin Luther Reformation Red Baron Richthofen, Koehls
Transatlantic Flight, Sistine Madonna, Ludwigsburg Palace, Helgoland, Bavarian Purity Law, 2014
Soccer World Cup etc. Contact: K. Peter Lepold, 278 Bornais St., Kelowna, BC, Canada, V1X7B6 –
email: lepold@telus.net (sa)
Wanted to Buy German Postal Stationery, official and private, mint and used. Peter M. Ross,
711 Terrace Lake Drive, Brea CA 92821.
email: Peter1937ross@gmail.com (sa)
BUYING AND SELLING Germany, Austria, Denmark, World. Old and new stamps, covers,
postcards, collections, accumulations. Jon Krulla, P.O. Box 88, Downsville, NY 13755. (sa)
Third Reich specialized stamps, propaganda cards, fieldpost, occupations, labels/poster stamps,
etc. Manfred K. Hoffelner (APS). email: mhoffelner@aon.at (sa)
Changing your
mailing address?
Notify the editor
(weisensel01@gmail.com).
He’ll see that the
change is made.
238
German Postal Specialist
Guidelines for Articles
Text
Text should be sent as a Word document using the “Normal”
style - don’t attempt to format for the magazine! Bold text, italics
and tabs are ok. It may be sent as an email attachment or submitted
via CD.
Do not imbed illustrations in the text document! Show the
preferred location if you wish but leave the actual illustration out -
send them separately.
Simple, plain text works best.
Illustrations
Illustrations may be sent to us as either high quality photocopies
(hard copies made using a color laser copier and mailed to us)
or as electronic files (scans). Scans must be sized at a minimum of
100% and scanned at 300 dpi TIF or JPG files for optimal quality.
Internet transmittals can be used. A typical cover should be at
least 1,500 pixels wide.
Originals may be sent. We will make scans and return them
immediately by the same method as they are sent to us. The mails
are not risk free – FedEx may be a better alternative.
Deadlines
Deadline for the receipt of articles, letters, advertising and
news is the first of the month preceding the month of publication.
For example, we need everything for February by January 1.
Your attention to and compliance with these standards will
assure the best quality we can get.
Thanks for your contribution!
June 2020 239
Württemberg 1852, cogwheel postmark of Tuttlingen on 9 kreuzer on
registered letter to Gießen. The only registered cover of Württemberg
with a mute cancellation.
Provenance: Erich Weise (1988)
New date!
27 June 2020
German States – 3 rd ERIVAN Sale
Heinrich Köhler Auction
Wiesbaden, Germany
www.heinrich-koehler.de
Order the auction catalogue now!
240
Germany’s Oldest Stamp Auction House
info@heinrich-koehler.de
phone: +49 611 34 14 90
German Postal Specialist