Deutsche Bundespost Berlin

Last updated

The Deutsche Bundespost Berlin (German Federal Post of Berlin) was the name used on the stamps of West Berlin. It sounds similar to the name of the Western German postal services Deutsche Bundespost and was de facto a dependency of it. De jure , it was independent and was called Landespostdirektion Berlin. The governmental agency to provide mail and telecommunication services for West Berlin. This civil service agency was in operation from 1949 until 1990.

Contents

Historical background

With the end of World War II in 1945, the Allied Control Commission replaced the German government. Germany was divided into four occupation zones, and Berlin into four sectors; the territories east of the Oder-Neisse were placed under Polish authority. Initially Berlin and the provinces in the Soviet zone issued their own stamps (see Scott # 11N2), but by 1946 "Deutsche Post" stamps were authorized that were valid in the American, British, and Soviet zones. [1]

Russian occupation stamp for Berlin, 1945, Scott 11N2 OPD BLN 1945 2A Berliner Bar.jpg
Russian occupation stamp for Berlin, 1945, Scott 11N2

When the negotiations about a general German currency reform broke down, the western zones proceeded with the currency reform, and on June 21, 1948, the Deutsche Mark was introduced. [2] In response, the east German currency reform was set for June 24, 1948, the East German Mark became the currency for the Soviet occupation zone and East Berlin, and its stamps were marked with overprints. [2] This established the economic separation of the two German states. In July 1948, the stamps of the previously common issue were overprinted with "Soviet Occupation Zone" and subsequently the Soviet zone issued different stamps than the western zone, all, however, under the "Deutsche Post" label. [3] West Berlin now started to issue its own stamps on September 3, 1948, initially "Berlin" overprinted common stamps of the "Deutsche Post". [4] The Deutsche Mark (West) became the sole currency for West Berlin on March 21, 1949, and seven months later the stamps of the western bizone as well as the French occupation zone became valid as well. [5]

The Federal Republic of Germany was founded on May 23, 1949, and shortly thereafter, the formation of the German Democratic Republic took place on October 7, 1949. [6] In each republic the "Deutsche Post" now became the government agency to maintain postal and telecommunication services, in West Germany the "Deutsche Post" was renamed "Deutsche Bundespost" in 1950, and in East Germany the term DP (of the GDR) was kept.

West Berlin retained its special status as it remained under the authority of the American, British, and French occupation forces. Thus it continued to issue its own stamps, these stamps became also valid in West Germany on January 1, 1950. [7]

Ernst Reuter, mayor of West Berlin, Scott #9N150 DBPB 1957 165 Reuter.jpg
Ernst Reuter, mayor of West Berlin, Scott #9N150

Activity

1989 welfare semipostal stamp, Scott #9NB272 Stamps of Germany (Berlin) 1989, MiNr 852.jpg
1989 welfare semipostal stamp, Scott #9NB272

The first stamps were issued as "Deutsche Post", in 1952 the inscription was changed to "Deutsche Post Berlin", and three years later to "Deutsche Bundespost Berlin". [8] Many stamps had the same appearance as the stamps of the Federal Republic of Germany with just the inscription changed, while others were distinctly different.

According to the Scott catalogue, during its 41 years the DBP Berlin issued close to 900 stamps, namely 592 different stamps including many commemoratives, plus 285 semi-postal designs; there are no airmail stamps or official stamps. Topics of commemoratives and semipostals include common topicals (i.e. nature, sports, arts), science and technical issues and historical stamps. Additional stamps of the DP consisted of official stamps (44 types). All stamps were issued in West Deutsche Mark and were valid in Western Germany too. The last stamp was issued on September 27, 1990 (Mi #879).

With the 1990 reunification, the DBP Berlin became part of the Deutsche Bundespost which in turn was five years later converted into the Deutsche Post AG . In this process its stamps (starting with Mi # 326) became valid for all over Germany until December 31, 1991. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overprint</span> Layer of text or graphics added to a banknote or postage stamp

An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail. Well-recognized varieties include commemorative overprints which are produced for their public appeal and command significant interest in the field of philately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Austria</span>

This article deals with the stamps and postal history of the Austrian Empire, Cisleithania within Austria-Hungary, and the Republic of Austria.

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the German territory of the Saar. As a border region contested between France and Germany, the Saar has a somewhat complicated philatelic history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of German East Africa</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of German East Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of the Far Eastern Republic</span>

The Far Eastern Republic, sometimes called the Chita Republic, existed from April 1920 to November 1922 in the easternmost part of Siberia. It was formed from the Amur, Transbaikal, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and Primorye regions. In theory, it extended from Lake Baikal to Vladivostok but, in May 1921, the Priamur and Maritime Provinces seceded. Although nominally independent, it was largely controlled by the RSFSR and its main purpose was to be a democratic buffer state between the RSFSR and the territories occupied by Japan during the Russian Civil War to avoid war with Japan. Initially, its capital was Verkhneudinsk, but from October 1920 it was Chita. On 15 November 1922, after the war ended and the Japanese withdrew from Vladivostok, the Far Eastern Republic was annexed by Soviet Russia.

Reichspost was the name of the postal service of Germany from 1866 to 1945.

Each "article" in this category is in fact a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.

Each "article" in this category is in fact a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.

Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Heligoland</span>

During the period when Heligoland was a British possession, about 20 postage stamps were issued between 1867 and 1890. There were up to eight printings of a single denomination and also a large volume of reprints which are known as the Berlin, Leipzig and Hamburg Reprints, respectively. The Berlin reprints are sometimes better quality than the originals. The reprints were done between 1875 and 1895. Consequently, many "old" collections contain reprints rather than originals. Some believe there were seven million reprints as compared to the known 1½ million originals, of which perhaps half were sold through the post office and the remainder sold to dealers when withdrawn from use. A few printings were never postally sold but nevertheless found their way into the hands of dealers. The stamps were printed by the Prussian State Printing Office in Berlin. They were denominated in the Hamburg Schilling until 1875, when both German Reich and British values appeared on each stamp issue. All are embossed with a silhouette of Queen Victoria excepting the four highest values which represent Heligoland escutcheons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of New Guinea</span>

The postage stamps of New Guinea, part of present-day Papua New Guinea, were issued up to 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Montenegro</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Montenegro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Germany</span> Aspect of history

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Germany and philatelically related areas. The main modern providers of service were the Reichspost (1871–1945), the Deutsche Post under Allied control (1945–1949), the Deutsche Post of the GDR (1949–1990), the Deutsche Bundespost (1949–1995), along with the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin (1949–1990), and are now the Deutsche Post AG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutsche Post of the GDR</span>

The Deutsche Post (DP), also Deutsche Post of the GDR was the state-owned postal and telecommunications monopoly of the German Democratic Republic. The DP was placed under the control of the Ministry for Postal and Telecommunication Services of the GDR(Ministerium für Post- und Fernmeldewesen der DDR - ) - a member of the Council of Ministers of the GDR(Ministerrat der DDR) - and was in operation from 1949 until the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germania (stamp)</span>

Germania stamps are definitive stamps that were issued by the German Empire and the Weimar Republic between 1900 and 1922, depicting Germania. They represent the longest running series in German philately and are in their many variations and derivations an essential part of German philatelic collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German post offices abroad</span>

The German post offices abroad were an extraterritorial network of German post offices in foreign countries with a significant German commercial interest to provide mail service where the local services were generally deemed unsafe or unreliable, such as China, Morocco, Ottoman Empire and Zanzibar. The system ended during or shortly after World War I.

The German post offices abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of German commercial interest. In early use only the cancellation mark can identify their postal use abroad; such stamps are known as "Vorläufer" (forerunner) stamps. Later stamps are identified by overprints even when not postally used. German abroad stamps started appearing in the late 19th century and reached their heyday at the beginning of the 20th century; they closed down during or shortly after World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Papua New Guinea</span>

The postage stamps and postal history of Papua New Guinea originated in the two colonial administrations on the eastern part of the island of New Guinea and continued until their eventual merger, followed by independence in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of the German colonies</span>

This is a survey of postage stamps and postal history of the German colonies and part of the postage stamps and postal history of Germany, as well as those of the individual countries and territories concerned.

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Holstein, Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig and incidentally Lauenberg. Separate stamps were issued for Holstein (1850), Schleswig (1864-1867), Holstein (1864-1866), Schleswig-Holstein (1865) and Schleswig (1920).

References

  1. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 799
  2. 1 2 Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 893
  3. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 911ff
  4. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1317, p. 1320
  5. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1317
  6. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 929 and p.1549
  7. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1333
  8. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1341
  9. Michel Deutschland Spezial 1997, p. 1410

Sources

See also