GPS June 2020

German Postal

Specialist

June 2020

Volume 71 No. 05

Whole No. 780

Propaganda Stamps

by Wolfgang Baldus Page 198

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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


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

196


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

198


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

200


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).

202


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


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


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


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


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

212


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.”

214


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


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


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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

220


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 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 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

222


”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 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 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).

224



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 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


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


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

Canada & Mexico (print) $75 $80

Overseas resident (print) $75 (or 67 Euro) $85 (or 76 Euro)

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-

Köln eg”. The correct BLZ is 37062365 und the IBAN is DE76 3706 2365 0034 0430

19. The BIC Swift GENODED1FHH.

Foreign checks drawn on a US bank must bear a US Federal Reserve Bank routing

number; otherwise, they will be returned due to steep bank charges the GPS would

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

St. Charles, MO 63302-0040

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

228


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


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


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



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



Skate Boarding

234



Theme: “Skateboarden” after a pattern © Dizzo/Getty Images

Value: 0,95 + 0,45 EUR Surcharge

Size: Width 34,89 mm; Height 34,89 mm


Karate


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


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


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


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


GPS June 2020

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